Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Reveals When Roki Sasaki Will Make Cactus League Debut

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki is expected to make his Cactus League debut sometime next week, according to manager Dave Roberts. The 23-year-old pitcher faced live hitters Wednesday for the first time at the Major League level.

Sasaki pitched two innings, throwing 27 pitches and recording two strikeouts. He faced 2024 NLCS MVP Tommy Edman and 2021 NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario.

More news: Roki Sasaki Makes Massive Announcement Following Dodgers First Cactus League Game

“I did feel that today went better than I felt in my bullpen,” Sasaki said through his interpreter.

The crowd watching Sasaki looked as though the entire Dodgers organization plus fans had come out to see the rookie phenom.

“There were more players behind the plate than I thought, but I wasn’t really nervous,” Sasaki said. “I was just a little surprised to see that many people there.”

Sasaki will likely face hitters again ahead of his Cactus League debut, but teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have helped the rookie throughout spring training.

“From the first day of camp they’ve been really helpful in guiding me through all the things that I don’t know about,” Sasaki said. “And as games start I think they’ll be more and more of those things that I don’t know about. So being able to talk to them about those things will be really helpful.”

Despite the solid outing from Sasaki, the best news for the rookie phenom came at the end of the week when he announced Friday morning he had gotten married via an Instagram post. 

Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images