Roki Sasaki’s best MLB start to date—seven innings, one run, zero walks, eight strikeouts—arrived while key Dodgers starters were dealing with injured reserve, intensifying belief in him as a potential cornerstone for a postseason push.
For the first 17 starts of Roki Sasaki’s Los Angeles Dodgers career. many stretches have felt difficult—needing only a few rough innings to spiral.. He’s shown a “magical splitter” often described as one of baseball’s nastiest pitches. but the results have been uneven. with outings marked by walking too many hitters. melting down under pressure. and surrendering large runs when things get away.
That volatility became a flashpoint for Dodgers fans online.. With Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell both ending up on injured reserve. some supporters urged the team to either send Sasaki down to the minors or shift him back into the bullpen. where he had thrived during the most recent playoffs.. Dave Roberts and the rest of the L.A.. front office did not follow that advice; they kept backing Sasaki’s future as a starting pitcher and continued to “double and triple down” on his role.
On Sunday, Sasaki offered a different picture—one that landed like a release valve.. The 24-year-old delivered the best outing of his MLB career. throwing seven innings. allowing a single run. walking none. and striking out eight.. It was the kind of start that forced the game’s rhythm to change. with his fastball still not at its best but his command present enough to demand respect.. With hitters forced to account for the fastball. the slider and splitter became the real weapons. knocking opposing batters out of position.
The Dodgers are not treating this as a one-start curiosity.. They expect Glasnow and Snell back for the postseason. but Sasaki’s development could be central if Los Angeles wants to become the first-ever National League franchise to three-peat as World Series champions.. For a team built on momentum and timing, Sunday’s performance arrived right in the window where rotation certainty mattered.
The parallels go back further than this season.. Two years ago. there was an actual debate on whether Sasaki or Paul Skenes had the higher ceiling as a prospect.. Skenes has since lapped Sasaki and embarrassed him with how much he’s evolved. yet the Dodgers still see the unhittable ace that once dominated in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines.
Sasaki has been clear about his own goal—he believes he can become the best pitcher in the world—and the Dodgers seem to share that belief.. The pattern laid out by the season’s swing is hard to miss: when Sasaki’s command and pitching plan hold together. he limits walks and keeps runs off the board; Sunday was the most complete version of that. with seven innings. one run. zero walks. and eight strikeouts.. If the team is right about his trajectory. the story that once read like a horror movie may be shifting toward something closer to a comeback.
Roki Sasaki Los Angeles Dodgers MLB Dave Roberts Tyler Glasnow Blake Snell injured reserve postseason World Series three-peat