Dodgers' Roki Sasaki Not Satisfied With First Half Performance

Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed pitcher Roki Sasaki added to what has been an up-and-down season in his final start before the All-Star break, tossing six innings and allowing four hits and three earned runs.

Sasaki made it through the first inning on just six pitches, but faltered in the second inning, giving up two home runs. Later, Sasaki allowed the Rockies to tie the game with a sacrifice fly in the third inning.

The Rockies had a chance to take the lead in the fourth after Sasaki allowed a single and a double to start the inning. The 24-year-old worked his way out of the jam, striking out two batters and getting the last to fly out to escape the inning without any additional runs allowed.

"I thought that he was fight-or-flight mode right there, and it was good to see it," manager Dave Roberts said to reporters after the game. "A lot of conviction, every throw he made."

Roberts' comments came in the midst of what has been a disappointing second season for the former Nippon Professional Baseball star. Through 16 starts, Sasaki has a 3-5 record alongside a 5.33 ERA.

A 2025 postseason hero — appearing in nine games with a 0.84 ERA in the Dodgers' 2025 World Series run — Sasaki expressed his disappointment in the first half of his 2026 campaign.

"When you look at the numbers, I'm not satisfied with that," Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo. "But I was able to [stay in] the rotation and the velo's kind of gotten a little bit up. So I'm kind of happy with it."

Sasaki reached 99 mph or better on 10 of his 78 pitches, 56 of which were strikes. His performance comes in the wake of Roberts saying the Dodgers would do a "little dive" to see what has been going wrong for Sasaki this season.

In the pitcher's last 23 innings, he's given up 22 earned runs and a whopping nine home runs. Both Roberts and catcher Dalton Rushing have expressed their concern that Sasaki has been accidentally tipping his pitches, letting his opponents know exactly what kind of pitch is coming their way.

“I’ve been working on a lot of things like the tipping stuff,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo. “Also, I need to make quality pitches.”

With both Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell on the injured list, it appears that Sasaki will continue to play a role in the Dodgers' starting rotation. It's safe to say both the team and Sasaki are hoping for a much better second half of the season.

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