It was a less than ideal start to the two-game series in Britain's capital for the St. Louis side who were crushed 9-1 by the Chicagoans in the 2,495th edition of the Route 66 rivalry.

Stars flocked to Stratford for the MLB's second visit, after the 2019 clash pitted the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, including actors Bill Murray and Nick Offerman and English cricketer Jimmy Anderson.

It was a drubbing for St. Louis in front of a 54,662-strong crowd who were only able to record their first hit in the bottom of the fifth inning, but at least they have a shot at redemption in the final fixture today.

MLB officials will also be hoping they can provide a little more competition in order to capitalise on the international exposure to its full potential.

While there is an established pyramid for the sport in Britain, with the National Baseball League sitting at the summit of four levels, there is also a lot of room to grow.

There are just 22,500 people estimated to be playing, almost all of whom are amateur. 

The MLB is aiming to start them young and has made a donation to a London primary school for the construction of a baseball field.

The organisation does not see its London Series as just a way to tap into the British market but a gateway to the continent, and this time its Europe that is the target of globalisation.

"Number one, London is a great sports town - and because there's sort of a natural affinity for sport here in London, it's a great place to gain a foothold into Europe," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said.

"Secondly, I do think, just for historical reasons, there's a special affinity between Great Britain and the United States.

"We understand baseball is a uniquely American phenomenon in some ways.

"But if you're trying to internationalise, starting on friendly territory seems like a good plan." 

Just one European country, The Netherlands, sits inside the top ten of either of the men's or women's baseball top 10 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) world rankings.

The Dutch have been pioneers of the game in Europe since 1911 when English teacher J.C.G Grasé of Amsterdam introduced it following a holiday to the United States.

Grasé founded the Dutch Baseball Union a year later before establishing Europe's oldest baseball club, Quick Amsterdam, in 1913.

The Honkbal Hoofdklasse is the highest level of professional baseball in The Netherlands following its creation in 1922 and one of the only such leagues in Europe.

Despite this, the MLB seemingly has no plans to play in the country with regular-season games instead heading to Tokyo, Mexico City, and Paris between this year and 2026.

The WBSC will be delighted at the MLB's expansions as it can only boost the campaign for Olympic inclusion.

The governing body is gunning for its sports to be reintroduced to the programme at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

And with the MLB doing a lot of the heavy lifting for it, it could be considered a frontrunner for the city's third edition of the Games. 

The planned Parisian series could also represent a shrewd move for Olympic ambitions.

It is only in the planning stages and Manfred states that the MLB is "not at the point where we're going to make a commitment or a more formal announcement, but it is in the planning stages".

Despite being pencilled in for 2025, it could still benefit from the post-Paris 2024 buzz.

Although the decision for LA will be made long before then, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session this October in Mumbai set to be the decisive meeting for the prospective sports.

As a result, the Paris event will act as a popularity booster for baseball's European crowd. 

There is further hopes to extend the World Tour to baseball strongholds in Asia and the Americas.

"We’ve been to Mexico already," said Manfred. 

"We intend to be there again.

"We view Europe, generally, as a strategic priority for us going forward.

"We are also interested in places in the Americas where it's closer to home and baseball has more of a rooting in the culture.

"Japan, Taiwan and Korea also remain important initiatives for us and we will be playing in those countries over the course of the next few years."

Again, further joy is in store for the WBSC who can profit off the back of MLB's moves into Japan and beyond.

The Japanese triumphed at the WBSC's World Baseball Classic which experienced phenomenal and unexpected success. 

Concluding in March, it featured MLB stars such as the winning team's Shohei Ohtani and American Mike Trout and captured attention like never before.

More than a million people attended games in person which nearly doubled the previous record of 510,000 in 2017 while television figures also broke records as 5.2 million tuned in for the final.

The tournament generated between $90 million (£71 million/€83 million) and $100 million (£78 million/€92 million) in revenue, also setting new highs for merchandise and sponsorship sales in the process.

All of this collaborated and concentrated success in international markets will only impress Thomas Bach and co. as they pit the nine hopefuls against one another.

Baseball and softball face competition from cricket, Olympic debutant at Paris 2024 breaking, flag football, karate which featured at Tokyo 2020, and would-be new boys kickboxing, lacrosse, squash and motorsport.

Aside from having the advantage of being "America's favourite pastime", infrastructure will be no problem with Dodger Stadium situated in Elysian Park and another MLB ballpark Angel Stadium in nearby Anaheim.

The MLB World Tour has also contributed to London 2012's impressive legacy by taking place at the Olympic Stadium, further adding to the appeal of what the sport could bring to future Games.

The MLB and WBSC are well on the way to a grand slam if they can continue to successfully stage international events, and crucially crack Europe in front of the IOC, for the prize of Olympic inclusion in Los Angeles.