Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki throws 3 powerful but erratic innings in pressure-packed MLB debut

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This article was published 19/03/2025 (234 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TOKYO (AP) — Roki Sasaki’s big-league debut was equal parts electrifying and erratic, with the Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander displaying a powerful arm but also a wild streak that limited his outing to three innings on Wednesday night at the Tokyo Dome.

The Japanese phenom — who was pitching in a pressure-packed debut in front of his home country — gave up just one run and one hit while striking out three, but also walked five batters, including one free pass that forced in a run.

He threw 56 pitches, consisting of 31 balls and 25 strikes. Sasaki left the game with the Dodgers holding a 5-1 lead and they eventually beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 to complete the two-game sweep in Japan.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was an impressive debut considering the difficult circumstances and also a reminder of how much he can improve.

“The highs are going to be high, but when he’s not commanding it, it gets a little tricky,” Roberts said. “At the end of the day, his talent and his compete showed through.”

The 23-year-old’s first six pitches of his career blazed toward the plate at 99.5, 99.5, 100, 100.5, 99.4 and 98.9 mph and he retired the first three Chicago Cubs batters in order, including countryman Seiya Suzuki on a swinging strikeout.

Sasaki was obviously amped for the first inning and his grunts echoed throughout the Tokyo Dome as he fired his fastball. The lanky 6-foot-2 pitcher signed a minor league contract with a $6.5 million signing bonus back in January, becoming the 13th Japanese player to join the franchise.

Sasaki ran into trouble in the second inning, walking Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson before he was aided by some good fortune. With one out, Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a hard liner that was snagged by shortstop Miguel Rojas, who was then able to step on second base to double up Busch for the final two outs.

“Even though my command went awry a few times during the game, I felt good about my mechanics and delivery,” Sasaki said through an interpreter. “I just want to make sure I can repeat it going forward.”

In the third, Jon Berti reached on an infield single and Sasaki walked Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Kyle Tucker, which forced in a run and cut the Dodgers advantage to 3-1.

The rookie recovered, striking out Busch and Matt Shaw to end the threat.

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Roberts said Sasaki wanted to stay in the game for the fourth, but the manager thought it was best to leave the rest of the game to the bullpen, particulary because of the emotions surrounding the game.

“I thought there were some nerves — understandably so,” Roberts said. “The velocity was good, but I thought the command, the emotions, the adrenaline, it was hard to reign it in. But in that third inning, he made some big pitches for us.”

After Sasaki’s initial burst of triple-digit velocity, he settled into the 97-99 mph range, and his famed splitter was occasionally spectacular, but often out of the strike zone.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB