Lights-out in spring, Sasaki ready for next step
Tim Stebbins
@tim_stebbinsGLENDALE Ariz. -- Roki Sasaki threw a splitter in the fourth inning on Tuesday that seemed like it dove straight down immediately after leaving his hand. Guardians outfielder Tyler Freeman took it, and it was called strike three.
It’s only been a pair of Spring Training outings, but that pitch -- part of Sasaki’s bread and butter with his four-seamer -- has been as advertised. And so has Sasaki, who is expected to start Game 2 of the Tokyo Series.
Tuesday was Sasaki’s first Cactus League start, and the 23-year-old threw four scoreless innings, holding Cleveland to one hit and two walks with two strikeouts.
The outing was a nice follow-up to Sasaki’s impressive spring debut; he threw three scoreless innings a week ago, pitching in relief of Yoshinobu Yamamoto against the Reds. But the young right-hander is not satisfied with just a nice final line.
"There are a few more things that didn’t go sort of the way I wanted today,” Sasaki said. “I reverted to some bad habits that I developed. To have those come out in a game before Opening Day, so that I can address them in time, is a good thing.
“... I think there were just a few things with the way I’m using my lower half, just some inconsistency between the things that I’m trying to do and what was actually happening.”
Perhaps that is another good example of why so many in baseball are high on Sasaki’s potential. Yes, he has the stuff -- his devastating splitter paired with a fastball that can hit triple-digit velocity. He also has a great mentality and wants to get better.
Sasaki signed with the Dodgers as an amateur free agent over the offseason, after he was posted by the NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines, for whom he dominated on the mound from 2021-24. Spring Training has served as an opportunity for him to begin getting acclimated to a new league and the new hitters he will face.
"Pitching in a game, there’s obviously a lot more adrenaline compared to pitching in a practice setting,” Sasaki said. “And there’s also a lot of things that I can learn just from looking at how hitters react to my pitching.”
Manager Dave Roberts (whose four-year contract extension with the Dodgers was officially announced on Tuesday) has noticed an openness from Sasaki to try to learn from his teammates, coaches and the organization this spring. And as camp went on, Roberts saw growth in him on the mound.
"As he started to pitch in games, get on a routine, I think the command started to continually get better,” Roberts said. “He was commanding the baseball much better. I think he learned early on that his split plays here as long as he presents it as a strike. There's swing-and-miss there, and it protects his fastball. So [Tuesday], certainly very efficient."
The Dodgers planned for Sasaki to throw four innings against the Guardians, but he only needed 41 pitches to get through those frames. He went to the bullpen to get some additional work in after Los Angeles went to the bullpen in the fifth.
The next time Sasaki toes the rubber, he’ll be ready for five innings. Sasaki is ready to get started.
“Obviously being able to pitch in the Major Leagues is something that I’ve worked for a long time to be able to do,” he said. “So I’m really excited.”