Roki Sasaki Reacts to Dominant Dodgers Debut in Cactus League Game vs Reds
Roki Sasaki entered Tuesday night’s Cactus League game against the Cincinnati Reds in the fifth inning, guns blazing.
The first pitch of the inning, a 99.2 mph four-seamer, resulted in Noelvi Marte grounding out to Mookie Betts at shortstop for the first out.
Sasaki’s fastball averaged 98 mph, while his splitter sat at 85.8 mph and his slider at 83.3 mph.
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“We were all kind of waiting to see how he manages his emotions under the lights, first big league game,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And I thought he was fantastic.”
After a rough start where he allowed a hard-hit single to Austin Wynns and then hit Stuart Fairchild with a 97 mph fastball while he was attempting to bunt, Sasaki bounced back. He struck out Reds regulars TJ Friedl and Matt McLain, both looking at splitters.
Sasaki entered Tuesday’s game yet to hit 99 mph this spring, and ended up topping out at 99.3 mph.
“It was a mixture of excitement and nervousness,” Sasaki said of his emotions at the start. “But once I was on the mound I felt like I was able to focus and able to pitch.”
During spring training, Sasaki has been working on refining his pitches, particularly the fastball that once reached 102.5 mph but lacked its usual power last season. Time in the Dodgers’ pitching lab has helped him improve his mechanics.
“There’s a few things I was working on during the offseason then coming into camp and working with the pitching coaches, going into some deep dive of what I want to work on — I think today was the fruit of all the hard work that I was able to put in during the offseason and the first part of the spring camp.”
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Overall, Sasaki threw 46 pitches — with 26 landing for strikes — and recorded eight swing-and-misses from the opposing hitters. Seven of those whiffs came on his splitter. He gave up two hits and struck out five.
“A couple things I noticed with big league hitters: They do hit mistakes, and they do take some splits that I threw,” Sasaki said. “But I did feel really good about being able to jam some hitters. As long as I throw quality pitches, I should be able to get these guys out.”
Sasaki is set to make his final spring start on March 11, according to Roberts, before the much-anticipated series in the Tokyo Dome.
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Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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