Sasaki sets – Roki Sasaki produced his best start of his career with 10 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings, outdueling Reid Detmers in a 0-0 contest until the bottom of the ninth. Freddie Freeman then hit a walk-off homer off Kirby Yates to give the Dodgers a 1-0 serie
Friday night at Dodger Stadium had the feel of a game that wouldn’t break—until it suddenly did.
Roki Sasaki took the mound looking sharper than the last time. and for seven innings he backed that up with numbers that felt more like a statement than a performance. He struck out 10 batters and carried a seven-scoreless-inning run. setting career highs as the Dodgers pressed for a breakthrough against the Angels. By the time the game finally started moving. Sasaki was already living in the kind of dominance Los Angeles has been getting used to.
That belief showed in how far the Dodgers were willing to let him go. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “I think that we’re getting to the point where he’s earning a lot more leash, and rightfully so.”
The Angels stayed connected for most of the night anyway. Sasaki outdueled Angels starter Reid Detmers in a scoreless tie that held until the bottom of the ninth. Then everything flipped on Freddie Freeman.
Freeman walked off the Angels, 1-0, hitting a home run against former Dodger Kirby Yates to seal the series opener. The Dodgers didn’t need another long stretch from Sasaki after that moment—the game ended on one swing, right after a night that had looked headed for another quiet stalemate.
This wasn’t a one-off showing. Sasaki has dominated the Angels in two starts this season. Earlier, he tossed seven innings of one-run ball last month in Anaheim. What changed in this latest outing was how deep Los Angeles allowed him to work—and how closely his stuff has matched the reputation he brought with him.
At 24 years and 214 days old, Sasaki became the fourth-youngest Japanese-born pitcher to reach double-digit strikeouts in a Major League game. The players ahead of him in that list were Shohei Ohtani. twice in 2018 at 23 years and 277 days and 23 years and 312 days. and Kazuhito Tadano. in 2004 at 24 years and 68 days.
The Dodgers’ comfort with pushing him further fits what they’ve seen since the early adjustments to his arsenal. Since adding a new splitter to his repertoire on April 25. Sasaki has posted a 3.12 ERA with 14 earned runs in 40 1/3 innings through seven starts. In his last two starts. he unlocked the triple-digit velocity that was his calling card in Japan. topping out at a career-high 100.6 mph on his fastball on Friday.
All of it points back to the version of Sasaki Los Angeles has hoped to see arrive in full force. The one that looks like the phenom who appeared set to take the Majors by storm ahead of the 2025 season after a brief but decorated career in Nippon Professional Baseball.
Roki Sasaki Freddie Freeman Dodgers vs Angels Kirby Yates Reid Detmers Dave Roberts walk-off homer strikeouts Dodger Stadium