Japanese baseball fans finally got the matchup they were waiting for.

The Angels' Shohei Ohtani and the Mariners' Yusei Kikuchi had their first major league showdown Saturday at Angel Stadium. The matchup pitted the reigning AL Rookie of the Year against the Mariners' prized rookie left-hander. They faced each other five times in Japan’s top league.

Ohtani batted third in the bottom of the first inning and reached on a two-out infield single on the third pitch he saw from Kikuchi. The Los Angeles designated hitter eventually scored with Albert Pujols on a Kevan Smith single.

Ohtani later hit the last in a set of back-to-back-to-back home runs off Kikuchi in the fourth inning.

The 24-year-old Ohtani and the 27-year-old Kikuchi attended the same high school in Japan but never played on the same team. They faced each other five times in Japan’s top league.

"I still have mixed feelings. I was trying to treat it like a normal at-bat, but again, he went to the same high school as me, so there was something special about it," Ohtani told Fox Sports West after the game, via interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. "But I'm glad the results are there."

MORE: Dallas Keuchel brings a veteran presence to a young Braves roster

Los Angeles went on to win the game 12-3.

The duo were originally slated to face each other on May 30, but Angels manager Brad Ausmus pulled Ohtani from the lineup shortly before the game's first pitch. Ausmus typically rests Ohtani against left-handed pitchers but gave him a shot on Saturday.

Ohtani, who isn’t pitching this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, entered the weekend hitting .250 with five home runs and 20 RBIs. Kikuchi is 3-3 with a 4.43 ERA in 13 starts.