Hall of Fame Pitcher Confident Dodgers' Roki Sasaki Will Bounce Back After Game 1 Struggles

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers (9) watched his double off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) during the ninth inning of their National League Championship Series game October 13, 2025 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After a dominant start to the postseason, rookie pitcher Roki Sasaki finally looked human in the Dodgers' NLCS Game 1 win over the Brewers Monday night.

Following starting pitcher Blake Snell's dominant eight inning start, Sasaki took over in the ninth with a 2-0 lead and three outs separating the Dodgers from a key road win against Milwaukee.

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts' decision to put Sasaki in to close the game made perfect sense. The 23-year-old had allowed just one hit across 5.1 innings this postseason with two saves and five strikeouts.

However, on Monday night Sasaki showed his first signs of struggle.

Sasaki forced the first batter he faced to pop out, but walked the next batter. After allowing a ground rule double, the Brewers had runners on second and third with the winning run at the plate.

Jackson Chourio hit a sacrifice fly off of a 98 mph fastball from Sasaki, bringing in one run and officially putting the pressure on a Dodgers team in danger of blowing a late lead. After Sasaki walked Christian Yelich, Roberts had seen enough, pulling him in favor of reliever Blake Treinen.

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After the game, Roberts was asked if he thought Sasaki's letdown performance was a result of his three-inning outing in NLDS Game 4 against the Phillies.

"I don't know. He had three days off," Roberts told reporters. "Everything I heard, he felt great, and there were some near-misses, but you walk three guys. So, he was off just a little bit. I thought his stuff was still good, but just missing. I don't know if there was carry-over from the three innings. Just kind of betting on how he is saying how he feels and the coaches and training staff. With the three days off, I felt good with him."

Despite the shaky performance, the Dodgers will surely rely on Sasaki again this series, perhaps as soon as Game 2 as they look to leave Milwaukee with a commanding 2-0 series lead.

In order for Sasaki to be at his best, Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez posted on X that he must have a short memory.

Sasaki will be just fine. I think he needed to feel the ball a bit more but he will be ok. Relievers are taught to have a very short memory. He’ll be even better with the feel for the ball. #sasaki #postseason

— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) October 14, 2025

"Sasaki will be just fine," Martinez wrote. "I think he needed to feel the ball a bit more but he will be ok. Relievers are taught to have a very short memory. He’ll be even better with the feel for the ball."

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