Roki Sasaki Impresses in Scoreless Spring Debut with Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers newcomer Roki Sasaki tossed three scoreless innings in his spring training debut on Tuesday, March 4 in Glendale, Arizona.

The former Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher made his first appearance in a Cactus League game as a reliever. He struck out five batters and held the Cincinnati Reds to two hits while walking one.

Sasaki took over pitching duties from Japanese compatriot Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the top of the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds.

The hard-throwing right-hander wrapped up his first Dodgers appearance by striking out the side in the seventh. Sasaki left the game with the Dodgers trailing 2-1. He made 46 pitches, 26 for strikes.

Los Angeles scored three runs in the eighth inning en route to 4-2 comeback victory.

In the fifth, Sasaki showcased his blazing fastball from the get-go. His first offering to Reds third baseman Noelvi Marte was a 99.2 mph heater. Marte grounded out to shortstop Mookie Betts. After allowing a line-drive single to Austin Wynns and hitting Stuart Fairchild with a pitch, Sasaki worked out of the jam, striking out the next two batters, TJ Friedl and Matt McLain.

Elly De La Cruz lashed a leadoff double to left in the sixth inning off Sasaki. With two outs, Christian Encarnacion-Strand walked. A Sasaki wild pitch advanced both runners, but Marte popped out to end the scoring threat.

Roki Sasaki Relies on Fastballs and Splitters in Spring Debut

All in all, it was a strong first appearance for Sasaki in a spring training game. He effectively used his four-seam fastball and split-finger fastball against the Reds, topping out at 99.3 mph. But he only threw three sliders, MLB.com reported.

"A couple things that I noticed with big league hitters," Sasaki said, according to MLB.com, "they do hit mistakes and they do take some splits that I threw. But I did feel really good about being able to jam some hitters. As long as I am able to throw quality pitches, I should be able to get these guys out."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sasaki had his best mound performance since spring training began in mid-February.

"That's the best we've seen him," Roberts was quoted as saying by MLB.com. "And you would expect that, given he's now really in compete mode, the adrenaline is real."

Sasaki Analyzes His Performance

How did the highly prized pitching acquisition evaluate his performance against the Reds?

Sasaki said it provided an indication that he's making progress, but noted he needs to have a better command of his pitches.

"I'm glad I managed to raise the average speed of my pitches from the previous live batting practice session," Sasaki said, according to Kyodo News. "Through working with the coaching staff, I'm building up little by little.

"I often lost command of my pitches. I'll work on the issues I found in today's outing and try to pitch better next time."

Dodgers Notes

LA starter Yamamoto allowed four hits and two runs in his four-inning outing. He fanned three and didn't issue a walk.

Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, who batted leadoff, went 1-for-3. With one out in the third, he stroked a single to right, then was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

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Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.