Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed what led to Roki Sasaki’s sixth-inning issues against the Seattle Mariners.
For the first five innings, Sasaki looked like an ace in the making, showing off all the reasons why he was so hyped coming out of Japan.
In Japan, the righty showed a disgusting forkball, a trademark pitch for Japanese pitchers, and a high-movement fastball that would regularly hit triple digits.
During his rookie season stateside, Sasaki had inconsistent velocity, leading to overpitching and command woes, while his forkball couldn’t be properly mixed because of his fastball issues.
His third offering, a sweeper, was not very impressive either.
Over his three post-All-Star games, Sasaki has rectified a lot of these problems. His fastball is averaging in the 99 mph range, with better movement and not coming out as flat.
Additionally, his splitter, a very hard offspeed pitch with wicked drop, is a great new development that has really developed into what his forkball was meant to be.
Roki Sasaki’s amazing first five innings
On Thursday against the Mariners, Sasaki was the idealized version, allowing just two hits and one walk, with seven strikeouts and no runs on the board.
He cruised into the sixth inning, but that is when he hit a wall.
Sasaki gave up a triple and then a double, walked a batter, then came a single and another walk before Dave Roberts pulled him.
A hidden reason for Sasaki’s issues
The drop-off in performance came, in part, according to manager Dave Roberts, because Sasaki suffered from cramps.
Given how hot Southern California is right now, it is no surprise that he may have suffered from some dehydration effects.
Sasaki, on the other hand, pointed to his pitch selection and sequence that played a role in his lackluster results.
“Sequence-wise, I should be really careful,” Sasaki said. “The third time through the order with the first hitter, I should be a little bit more careful.”
Part of Sasaki’s development has been due to his strength training work, helping his body, specifically his legs, get stronger.
He has seen a leap in velocity; now the next step for Sasaki will be making sure the drop-off in his later innings is not as pronounced.
One Response
One must wonder why an article with a headline “Dodgers Reveal Surprise Reason for Roki Sasaki’s Sixth-Inning Struggles” waits until the eleventh paragraph (out of sixteen total) to reveal the reason. That hardly makes it the “headline” of the article.