Roki Sasaki turned in the sharpest start of his young Dodgers career Sunday, striking out a career-high eight over a career-high seven innings in a 10-1 rout of the Angels in Anaheim. He allowed one run, needed just five pitches to get through the seventh and, for the first time, worked into an inning he had never reached before in the majors.
The outing came after a first inning that could have gone differently. Sasaki gave up a double to Mike Trout, then struck out Nolan Schanuel to begin a stretch that showed why the Dodgers believe his arsenal is starting to come together. Dalton Rushing said the club had not quite gotten to see Sasaki’s stuff like that just yet, while manager Dave Roberts said the right-hander has been trending.
Late April, Sasaki introduced a new splitter, and Sunday offered the clearest sign yet of what it can do when paired with the rest of his pitches. Statcast credited his slider with seven whiffs, and the splitter drew a 50% chase rate. Rushing said the game plan was to pick one of three pitches to get ahead, then use that to push hitters outside their comfort zone. He said the stuff makes it easy to miss barrels and called Sunday a big step, while adding that Sasaki still has room to get better.
The performance also fit a broader pattern the Dodgers have been watching. Roberts said Sasaki has been trending, and that the club has been through a wait-and-see process with him as he adjusted to Major League Baseball. Roberts said there has been a learning curve, that a pitcher sometimes needs failures to be more open, and that this year’s relationship has been much better because Sasaki has been more willing to initiate conversations with coaches and make adjustments.
Sasaki said pitch selection changes hitter to hitter and that he saw the batters’ reactions and adjusted. That approach mattered against an Angels lineup that came in with a 48% swing rate, which ranked in the top third in the league, yet could not force him out of rhythm. The Dodgers’ offense backed him with a series total of 31 runs, and the 10-1 win completed a sweep in Anaheim.
For the Dodgers, the day was as much about the shape of Sasaki’s progress as the score. Rushing said he trusts the pitcher has a lot more in the tank, and Roberts said the latest outing matched what Sasaki has been telling everyone he needs to do better. After a series in which the Dodgers rolled across town and left no room for doubt, the larger question is no longer whether Sasaki can survive in the majors, but how quickly his ceiling becomes the standard.
