Roki Sasaki becoming a playoff option for Dodgers — to start

Imagine the scene.

October. 

Playoffs. 

Roki Sasaki on the mound.

Not as a reliever. As a starter.

What would have sounded like pure fantasy just a month ago is shaping into an actual possibility.

This isn’t to say Sasaki has an inside track to be part of the Dodgers’ postseason rotation.

The Dodgers have Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani. They are expecting back Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow.

But if any of them are unavailable for any reason, and if the Dodgers don’t acquire Tarik Skubal before the trade deadline, Sasaki will be a legitimate option to start games for the two-time defending champions in October.

Sasaki’s seven-run disaster in Chicago last week was an anomaly. 

He was back on track on Friday night, the unpleasant finish to his start notwithstanding.

Sasaki pitched five scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles at Uniqlo Field, only to give up back-to-back home runs in the sixth that wiped out a three-run lead and cost him a decision. 

The Dodgers scored three runs in the ninth inning to win the game, 6-5.

The game showed Sasaki what he had to work on, but it also offered evidence that he was on the right path.

“I thought he was great,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I liked the way he competed. He was fantastic tonight.”

Unlike in his previous start, Sasaki had better control of his splitter and slider.

“I worked a lot on my breaking balls,” Sasaki said in Japanese.  “Especially my slider.”

But his fastball was his primary weapon.

He averaged close to 99 mph with his fastball again. Five of his pitches were clocked at 100 mph or faster, making this the fourth consecutive start in which he touched triple digits.

He was able to throw the pitch down the middle of the plate and not be punished for it. 

He used his fastball to get ahead in counts. He used it to finish hitters, recording the third strike on three of his six strikeouts with it.

He was able to pitch efficiently as a result, his pitch count at just 54 through four innings. He faced the minimum number of hitters until the fifth inning when he walked Colton Cowser with two outs.

Sasaki started the game by giving up a hit to Taylor Ward, who was thrown out attempting to stretch his single into a double, and didn’t give up another hit until the sixth inning.

His only regret of the night was a splitter he threw in the sixth inning that was launched for a two-run homer by Gunnar Henderson.

“The forkball cut (inside),” Sasaki said. “It didn’t move the way it usually does.”

Sasaki also gave up a homer to the next batter, Pete Alonso, but he didn’t think the fastball he threw him was a bad pitch. The 98-mph fastball was on the inside edge of the plate against the right-handed-hitting Alonso.

“I threw the ball where I was asked to throw it and it was hit,” Sasaki said. “Judging by the results, I think the pitch selection was a mistake.”

If his goal last week was to be more consistent with his off-speed pitches, his objective between now and his next start will be to figure out how to attack hitters as he enters the later innings, particularly in his third time through the order.

As disappointed as he was in how Alonso’s homer resulted in his removal after 5 ⅔ innings, Sasaki sounded encouraged by the start.

“On the whole, I was able to do what I wanted,” he said. “I thought I threw a lot of good pitches.” 

Which could explain his demeanor after the game. 

He has changed over the first 2 ½ months of the regular season.

The once-gloomy Sasaki has become more sociable. He even smiles.

Shortly after the Dodgers completed their ninth-inning comeback on Friday night, Sasaki learned that Japan was playing in the World Cup the next day.

“Oh, really?” he asked in Japanese.

Realizing he’d inadvertently revealed that he wasn’t paying any attention to the tournament, Sasaki chuckled.

“I have some time tomorrow, so I’ll cheer them on,” Sasaki said.

Told Japan’s game would overlap with the Dodgers’, Sasaki laughed again.

“Then I can’t,” he said.

Well, he probably could watch part of it. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was scheduled to deliver his first pitch against the Baltimore Orioles at 7:10 p.m. The game between Japan and Tunisia was set for a 9 p.m. start.

“I’ll ask Yoshinobu-san to do his best,” Sasaki said.

Another laugh.

There were glimpses of this side of Sasaki’s personality last October. A surge in confidence relaxed him enough to be more open.

Last year, that self-assurance helped him close games in the postseason. This year, it could help him start them.

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