Los Angeles Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki threw 23 pitches in the first inning before being pulled from the game after he gave up four runs, with three walks and two hits.
His command was awful, throwing only eight strikes. He used four fastballs, seven cutters, and five splitters, showing his new third pitch, but he could not find the strike zone.
Sasaki struggled to maintain consistent velocity and location during his rookie year, and command was once again a problem.
He did not get hitters’ respect when he threw a strike, and even when he did, the batters were all over his fastball, which had less spin.
However, after a terrible first 23 pitches, which led to manager Dave Roberts pulling him without an out on the board, for Wyatt Crowell.
Sasaki came back out for the start of the second after Crowell limited the damage and did not allow another run.
The Japanese starter would go on to retire his next six hitters, getting two strikeouts. He generated 10 whiffs, four from his new cutter, two from his four-seamer, and three from his splitter, along with another from his sinker.
His velocity was stable at 98 MPH, but there was less spin on his fastball than he had in 2025, making it flat and leading to the grand slam shot in the first.
It was an encouraging switch-flip for Sasaki, who has lacked confidence at times and has so much to work on.
This was Sasaki’s second straight poor overall start, with his first also looking rough due to location issues and his stuff not being good enough.
After the first start of 2026, Roberts was still bullish on Sasaki figuring things out.
“It is, but I think that Roki has still – there’s a lot of growth potential with Roki as a young player, and so it’s important because we’re expecting him to be good, he’s expecting to be good and to continue to get better,” Roberts said. “But, yeah, I mean, it’s a big one. But they should all be big in a certain way.
“Roki is still developing, and like I said, he’s not going to be fully developed by the season’s start, and that’s to be expected.”
The Roki Sasaki rollercoaster continues to fluctuate, but the flashes of brilliance will keep the Dodgers and fans in their seats for the time being.
