It’s time for Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki to take next step
Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki got up to 94 pitches Sunday and limited the Rangers to two runs. What a showing, right?
Well, there was a major caveat. That pitch count only got him through four innings.
“It’s not that many,” Sasaki said through Japanese interpreter Kensuke Okubo after the Dodgers’ 5-2 loss Sunday against the Rangers at Dodger Stadium. “So my goal is [to] go deeper in the game a little more.”
Sasaki’s inefficiency seemed to stem from the command issues that plagued him all spring. Manager Dave Roberts challenged him then to find a way to compete even when he didn’t have his best stuff.
In three starts, he’s done that for the most part, though he’s had several innings that have teetered on the edge of completely spiraling.
Especially with the Dodgers committed to a six-man rotation, which by definition limits the number of arms in the bullpen, that’s not going to be enough long term. In order to avoid regularly taxing the bullpen Sasaki is going to need to show that he can be more efficient.
“With the stuff that he had today, the six strikeouts and the swing-and-miss and all that stuff, that sets up for going deeper in the game,” Roberts said. “So that’s something that I talked to him about, and challenging him to, when you take the baseball, we’re trying to go five innings or more. So I think that’s the next progression for him, to be consistently able to do that.
“But I do feel the growth part of it is to hang in there and make pitches when he needs to.”
Even Sasaki’s line displayed that push and pull of good stuff but inconsistent command. He recorded six strikeouts, the most he’s had in a game in parts of two seasons in MLB. He also walked five, tying his major-league career high.
“Honestly, some of the misses were just off, certainly with the fastball,” Roberts said. “So I think that maybe trying to be a little bit too fine. … Where before, there were some bad misses and maybe a little too (much) running from the strike zone. Where I don’t see that now.”
After giving up a leadoff single to Brandon Nimmo and walking Evan Carter to begin the game, Sasaki struck out the next three batters he faced.
He put away Corey Seager and Jake Burger with fastballs, getting away with one down the middle to Seager and getting Burger to chase up. And then he showcased the splitter as strike three to Joc Pederson.
“I think I was able to throw it on the plate, and also had a good depth,” Sasaki said.
Sasaki’s splitter generated six whiffs and three called strikes Sunday, a season high. One of them fooled Burger so thoroughly that he had to catch himself from falling forward. So, that development was promising.
As for Sasaki’s efficiency issues, walks were never an issue for him in Japan (2.0 walks per nine innings). And coming out of the bullpen late last season and through the playoffs, he showed he could take a more aggressive approach to attacking hitters. So, he at least has a blueprint.
“That’s kind of the mindset of a reliever, because you’re going to go shorter and you’re not going to throw as many pitches, so you can kind of empty the tank,” Roberts said. “With starters, they train for more pitches, more innings. And you have to have it in your head to still have that same mindset and trust that your work can sustain 90-100 pitches with the same mindset and effort. So that’s something that we’ve got to get to that point.”