The Los Angeles Dodgers are starting to be rewarded for their patience with Roki Sasaki, as the young right-hander is finally showing meaningful development as a starter.
Sasaki held a potent Milwaukee Brewers lineup scoreless in his final four innings after a less-than-ideal first inning. Manager Dave Roberts pointed to the outing as evidence of the 24-year-old starting to come into his own as a Major League starter.
Teoscar Hernández came to a similar conclusion, adding that Sasaki is starting to show why he was such a hyped prospect coming over from Japan.
“The biggest thing is after those three runs, focusing and getting back to attacking the hitters, hitting the strike zone, getting ahead in the count,” Hernández told Ken Rosenthal on the Fox broadcast. “He’s been great in the last, like, three starts.
“I think he’s still learning, still getting the confidence back. I think we’re going to see the Sasaki that they used to see in Japan.”
The second-year pitcher’s outing against the Brewers was not as dominant as the seven-inning start against the Los Angeles Angels, but was encouraging in its own way.
Sasaki kept the Dodgers in the game long enough for their offense to retake the lead with four runs in the fourth inning, and they and ultimately cruised to a comfortable 11-3 victory. The importance of providing length even after being put in a hole early cannot be overstated, especially for a back-end rotation arm.
Further validating the confidence Hernández expressed, Sasaki pitched well against the Philadelphia Phillies as he struck out seven over 5.1 innings. Unfortunately, the Dodgers’ bullpen wasn’t able to protect a late lead and Sasaki was left with a no-decision.
Sasaki is 3-3 this season with a 4.59 ERA, 5.04 FIP and 1.35 WHIP across 10 starts. Improvements made resulted in holding opponents to a .208/.263/.368 batting line during the month of May, when Sasaki also pitched to a 3.18 ERA.
Roki Sasaki’s improved mechanics
Sasaki’s started against the Angels was the first time in his MLB career that he recorded an out in the seventh inning. Also, his eight strikeouts set a new career high and it was Sasaki’s first start without walking a hitter.
The sophomore pitcher attributed his recent success to something clicking with his mechanics and that has led to better execution of pitches.
It has also coincided with adjustments to Sasaki’s repertoire, with a mix of a slower forkball and harder version of his splitter.
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