Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki flipped a new switch 10 games into his first MLB season. Sasaki improved his mechanics on the mound in defeating the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday.
But is Sasaki already showing he’s his own worst critic? He dropped a telling admission via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic after the 3-1 victory. He admitted his tough stretch.
“I did go through the week feeling a little anxious,” Sasaki said, via his interpreter Will Ireton.
That’s not all. Sasaki went “searching,” he admits. What was it he searched for?
“I was searching for something that I could feel confident about,” Sasaki said.
He discovered his confidence for the first time in his young MLB career. He bounced back from a rough March 29 evening which saw Sasaki’s brutally honest side after. Now he grew confident through each pitch he flamed.
Other Dodgers react to epic Roki Sasaki outing vs. Phillies
Dave Roberts lowered his expectations for Sasaki after that Detroit Tigers performance. The manager watched Sasaki’s ERA hit 5.79.
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Roberts found a way to unlock his much-hyped first-year pitcher. He asserted that Sasaki needed to be aggressive with his fastball.
It’s everything,” Roberts said, via Ardaya. “When you’re facing big-league hitters who are very disciplined, they’re going to be patient. I just think that the approach right now, until otherwise shown, they’re going to try to wait him out and force him to be in the hitting zone. If he’s in the strike zone, then you can kind of flip the script a little bit.”
Sasaki ultimately adapted to his competition. He fired an array of four-seam and splitter throws at the Phillies. His four-seamer even hit 97 mph. But Max Muncy shared Sasaki’s splitter left him in awe.
“The splitter from the side looked like he was throwing (Tyler) Glasnow’s curveball,” Muncy said, per Ardaya. “That’s the kind of movement from the side that it has. I know it’s not the same, but the bottom’s falling out of it.”
Meanwhile, Kiké Hernández sent a message to Dodger fans and critics of Sasaki.
“I think the kid’s going to be more than all right, and he showed that today,” Hernandez said. “There’s no need to panic over one or two bad outings.”
Sasaki struck out four Philly batters and allowed one run. He pitched through the bottom of the sixth.
