LOS ANGELES – Roki Sasaki had a spring to forget. But that’s the beauty of spring: Once it’s over, every player starts the regular season with a clean slate.
Questions arose every time Sasaki took the mound this spring, more like the shaky starting pitcher he was at the start of last season than the reliable reliever he found in the postseason. But the Dodgers remained steadfast in their belief that if the 24-year-old right-hander took the mound in a meaningful game, he would find ways to get outs and provide the team with some length.
Under the lights of Dodger Stadium, after warming up with a raucous “Bailalo Rocky,” Sasaki seemed to take that message to heart during his debut against the Guardians on Monday night. He struggled with his command at times, but put together an outing that was more promising than any of his Cactus League games. In four innings, Sasaki struck out four, walked two and gave up one run on four hits.
The Dodger bats couldn’t muster much support, falling 4-2 to the Guardians for their first loss of the young season. But Sasaki held his own in a way he hadn’t during his spring training, which he admitted affected his confidence.
“Actually, I didn’t have any confidence before the game started,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo. “But I was focused on doing what I can control.”
Sasaki kept his velocity in his outings, topping out at 99.5 mph and averaging 97.6 mph with his four-seamer. He didn’t generate many swings and misses with his fastball (two whiffs in 17 swings), but his new cutter slider (four whiffs in 12 swings) and signature splitter (three whiffs in five swings) helped him miss bats. He caught 45 of the 78 pitches he threw for a score, his command improving as they went on.
“Establishing the fastball early, I think is very important,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “Getting a splitter is going to make a big difference for him, if he can put the splitter in when he needs to. And then just let it go. Once he does, he’s going to get more swings and misses. But I thought it was a good start for him.”
The most encouraging part of Sasaki’s first season may have been his ability to limit damage. During Spring Training, the Dodgers implemented a rule allowing pitchers to re-enter games with Sasaki, who was removed after having an inning spiral in all four spring games he started.
In the third inning on Monday, the Guardians appeared to be on the verge of a big inning against Sasaki. After retiring his first seven batters, Sasaki retired Austin Hedges, who was driven home by Steven Kwan two batters later. Sasaki followed that by walking Chase DeLauter, but he struck out José Ramírez on three pitches and got Kyle Manzardo to fly out to end the threat.
The start of that third inning was similar to the innings from Sasaki during the spring, but unlike that outing, he was able to take care of business.
“That’s growth,” manager Dave Roebrts said. “I know he was a little nervous going into this start about what to expect. … But he responded well.”
Sasaki pitched the fifth inning, but gave up a leadoff single to Angel Martínez, his final batter. Tanner Scott relieved him, and after allowing a base hit to Kwan, he was able to strand Martínez at third base to keep Sasaki’s bottom line.
“I thought Roki had a really good game,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We were lucky enough to scratch one out of him.”
After Sasaki posted an unimpressive 15.58 ERA (15 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings) during the spring season, many questioned why the Dodgers were so desperate to have him in the rotation. The team would like to see Sasaki have more success in the spring, but the most important thing is that he performs at his best during important games.
The Dodgers saw success breed confidence in Sasaki during the season. Now, they’d like to see him take the next step toward becoming the big league starter they believe he can be.
When you don’t have success, it’s really hard to be confident,” Roberts said. “That was an honest confession. But when you do, you really start to believe in yourself. So I hope he can build on this.”
