Roki Sasaki turned in his second straight excellent start for the Los Angeles Dodgers as helped lead them to a victory over the New York Mets on Friday night.
Sasaki pitched seven innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts at Citi Field. The right-hander has now allowed one run or fewer in each of his last two outings.
He is also on a run of success since a July 2 start against the San Diego Padres. After he allowed six runs in three innings, the Dodgers determined that Sasaki was giving away some tells to opposing batters.
One change Sasaki apparently made was using a larger glove to help him avoid tipping pitches.
Although his glove appears bigger to nearly everyone, Sasaki denied that as a factor, and instead joked about the size of his face, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group.
“It’s about the same size,” Sasaki insisted through his interpreter, denying that he was tipping his pitches. “Probably my face kind of got smaller. That’s why the glove looked bigger.”
In Japanese culture, the concept of a small face has been seen as fashionable and desirable since ancient times. It is traditionally an indication of status, beauty and wealth.
That would also surely bring confidence, so perhaps it’s Sasaki’s way of saying he’s now more confident while on the mound.
Regardless of the actual reason and how much Sasaki’s glove size has changed, the results are undeniable.
Over his last 18.2 innings, Sasaki has a 1.93 ERA in three starts since working to make changes about pitch tipping and giving away tells.
Sasaki has also improved his fastball recently, adding more average and max velocity while increasing the pitch’s movement and shape.
If this is the Sasaki the Dodgers will see for the rest of the season and into his career, he’s much closer to a frontend starter than the pitcher who looked like he belonged in the Minor Leagues that was seen so much earlier this year and last season.
Dave Roberts hopes Roki Sasaki had turning point
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts compared Sasaki’s outing against the New York Yankees to Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s start versus them in 2024, which proved to be a turning point in his season.
“I hope so,” Roberts previously said on SportsNet LA when asked if a similar outcome could play out for Sasaki. “On the road, to battle his emotions and go out there and put forth the effort that he did was fun to watch. Hopefully he continues to build on that and it keeps giving him confidence.”
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