Roki Sasaki continued his remarkable run as a relief pitcher as he provided the Los Angeles Dodgers with three perfect innings in Game 4 of the National League Division Series.
That helped keep the game tied and ultimately led to a walk-off win against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 11th inning, when Andy Pages hit back to the mound with the bases loaded and Orion Kerkering committed a throwing error to home plate.
Sasaki’s three-inning performance on Thursday was the latest chapter in one of the most fascinating midseason turnarounds the sport has seen.
His struggles prior to being activated from the 60-day injured list have been well documented. The 23-year-old from Japan was highly sought after and his arrival to MLB came with extraordinary levels of hype.
It made the poor performance Sasaki endured all the more disappointing, and unforeseen.
Even when he was healthy enough to begin a rehab stint with Triple-A Oklahoma City, the struggles continued as a starter. With the Dodgers all set on starting pitching for the postseason, Sasaki’s rookie season was likely over if his new role in the bullpen didn’t pan out.
But that’s exactly when things began to click for the promising prospect. His four scoreless relief appearances in the Minors earned him an audition with the Dodgers in the final days of the regular season.
Sasaki impressed there as well, and parlayed that into a spot on the Wild Card Series roster. He’s run with the opportunity and hasn’t looked back since, with 5.1 downright dominant innings through the first two rounds of the postseason.
For a bullpen with far more questions than answers, Sasaki has become a much-needed, trustworthy arm. So much so that he’s now the Dodgers’ primary closer.
Of all his appearances thus far, Thursday game’s was his magnum opus. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts couldn’t say enough good things about what Sasaki accomplished, not just in this game but his growth over the course of the season as well.
“Oh, my gosh. You’re talking about one of the great all-time appearances out of the ‘pen that I can remember,” Roberts said. “Certainly given where he started this year, what he is as a starting pitcher, to go out there and not only go one inning, two innings and then three innings, and to do what he did gave us a huge boost.
“I can’t speak enough to his growth and his contribution to this club. We’re starting to see something really special in him, and that’s why he was courted so hard in the offseason.
“But what he’s done now on the biggest of stages, he’s just scratching the surface. But couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Roberts was initially just hoping for two innings from Sasaki in Game 4 of the NL Division Series, but a low pitch count and the manner in which he was retiring batters convinced the skipper to stick with his right-hander.
Roki Sasaki encapsulates Dave Roberts’ favorite part as manager
As Sasaki came off the mound after completing the 10th inning, Roberts emerged from the dugout to congratulate a job well done.
“Pure elation,” Roberts said. “I think a lot of times for me as a coach, I pull for the players, and just seeing, in April and May, when Roki was sitting at the end of the dugout watching his team play, being injured, not performing well, and sticking with them, building a relationship with him.
“And to now see him go not only one inning but two innings and be our closer and go three innings, I just felt so happy for him. That’s kind of where that came from.”
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