Dodgers' Roki Sasaki Receives Immense Praise From All-Star Teammate

Oct 6, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth inning during game two of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

After starting pitcher Blake Snell pitched six dominant innings, allowing just one hit, four walks and zero earned runs, the Dodgers bullpen almost squandered a 4-0 lead before going on to win Game 2 of the National League Division Series.

The Dodgers, who are now up two games to none in the NLDS, finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh inning, turning four hits into four runs to silence the Philadelphia home crowd.

Reliever Emmet Sheehan gave up one run in the eighth inning, but pitched his way through the inning to get the Dodgers to the ninth up 4-1. In the ninth, Blake Treinen — who has struggled all season to close out games — gave up three hits, including two doubles, and the Phillies batted in two more runs to make it a 4-3 game.

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Out with Treinen, in with Alex Vesia.

Vesia gave up two hits and Roberts turned to a rookie to clean up the mess his veteran relievers had made.

With runners on first and third, there was zero room for error for Roki Sasaki when he stepped to the mound to face former Dodger Trea Turner. Any hit given up would at minimum tie the game and complete a nightmarish comeback.

Sasaki started with an 84 mph splitter, which was called a ball, before tossing a fastball on his second pitch. His 99 mph pitch hit the middle of the strike zone, where it was met by Turner's bat.

Turner's hit bounced to second base, where it was poorly fielded by Tommy Edman. Luckily for Sasaki, Edman and the rest of the Dodgers, first baseman Freddie Freeman made a great catch on the low ball to seal the Dodgers' second win in the NL Division Series.

"Today is the most pressure situation you can obviously be put in," Freeman said of Sasaki's heroics. "Guy in scoring position, first and third, two outs, bottom of the ninth on the road. To get thrown into that and to be calm, I thought the first-pitch splitter was a really good pitch. It was around the zone, so you knew he was calm and collected."

Sasaki's redemption tour continues after the rookie had a disappointing start to his MLB career with control issues stemming from a shoulder injury. After working for much of the season to restructure his pitching motion, Sasaki has been lights out as a reliever for the Dodgers.

"He was throwing 100, 101. It's everyone, we thought, when we signed, it just took a little bit longer," Freeman said. "Sometimes that happens, and he looked so good on the mound now, so confident. Even when he gets the outs, you can just tell, almost looked like he knew he was going to get it done. It's a massive weapon for us this whole postseason now. "

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