Roki Sasaki Slated to Start Game 2 of Tokyo Series After Dominant Dodgers Debut
The Los Angeles Dodgers saw a glimpse of their future Tuesday evening when international phenom Roki Sasaki took the mound after a long-awaited Cactus League debut.
Question marks were turned to exclamation points as a lanky 23-year-old struck out five Cincinnati Reds batters over three scoreless innings in the highly-anticipated outing. Over 46 pitches, Sasaki only allowed two hits, one walk and zero earned runs.
Read more: Roki Sasaki Shines in Cactus League Debut for Dodgers — Here’s All the Highlights
According to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, fans can expect to see Sasaki make his major league debut in Japan during the second game of the Opening Day series against the Chicago Cubs. The right-hander will make his way into the rotation shortly thereafter.
Another Japan-born pitcher in Yoshinobu Yamamoto will get the nod as the Opening Day starter for 2025’s inaugural MLB game. There were questions about whether Sasaki would actually get that Game 2 start leading up to Tuesday’s game, but he put them to rest in a matter of three innings.
Manager Dave Roberts, as well as many fans watching the debut, was in awe of the young phenom on the mound.
“That’s the best we’ve seen him,” Roberts said of Sasaki.
“The split, he throws it hard,” Roberts added. “It looks like a fastball. Some break straight down. Some go to the left. Some go to the right. It’s tough to obviously square it up because you just don’t know what it’s going to do.”
Sasaki’s splitter was one of the many selling points when he made his way to courting MLB teams before his signing.
The phenom spoke after the game through his interpreter about how he felt getting into the game and putting on the performance he did.
“It was a mixture of excitement and nervousness,” Sasaki said. “But once I was on the mound, I felt like I was able to focus and able to pitch.”
A sheepish-looking 23-year-old during his introductory news conference in Los Angeles was nowhere to be found Tuesday in Arizona as a confident and polished pitcher was striking out major league-level batters, seemingly with ease.
Although just a sample size of what’s to come, fans can be confident that this electric right-hander will be dominating in a Dodgers uniform for many years to come.
More news: Will Smith Exits Dodgers Cactus League Game vs Reds After Getting Hit By Pitch on Knee
Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Have you joined our Discord Channel yet? Be a part of the ultimate Dodgers Nation community and get VIP Nation Access! Don’t miss out on real-time Dodgers talk, call-in access to Dodgers Dougout, behind-the-scenes content, exclusive interviews, giveaways, and more!
