What Roki Sasaki Actually Said About Spring Training. Not the Quote Going Viral

Roki Sasaki endured another uneven performance on Tuesday night but the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to support the right-hander and his expected place in their Opening Day rotation.

After last having pitched in a Minor League game on a backfield at Camelback Ranch, Sasaki returned to Cactus League play against the Kansas City Royals. He exited after allowing two runs over 3.1 innings pitched. A third run was ultimately charged to Sasaki.

"So yeah, there's a lot of things that I need to work on," he said through an interpreter on the SportsNet LA broadcast. "But it's just Spring Training, so keep working on it. The results in Spring training doesn't really matter, so just keep going."

Roki Sasaki's quote on Spring Training results

Sasaki's purported viewpoint on his spring naturally elicited an impassioned response considering what's been a bumpy transition to Major League Baseball. However, his actual sentiment was lost in translation.

According to Jack Harris and Dylan Hernández of the California Post, Sasaki's answer in Japanese was much more pragmatic.

"From the standpoint of results, I’m glad this was Spring Training. If I’m able to pitch the entire season, I don’t think anyone will remember Spring Training."

The Dodgers as an organization don't overrecat to Spring Training stats--whether positive or negative--but manager Dave Roberts has acknowledged the importance of needing to see improvement with Sasaki.

To this point, that's only come in the 'B' game he pitched against Chicago White Sox Minor Leaguers.

There were early signs the 24-year-old had found his footing at Surprise Stadium, as Sasaki retired six of eight batters faced through the first two innings. During which time he showed fastball command and improved feel with the cutter.

But then came three consecutive walks to load the bases with one out in the third inning. He attributed the sudden loss of the strike zone to the sinker impacting his forearm and having a lower arm slot.

Sasaki was removed from the game but re-inserted in the fourth inning. That led to giving up a two-run homer. He later allowed a double in the fifth inning before his night officially came to an end.

All told, Sasaki threw 78 pitches, with only 38 being strikes, and he retired 10 of 18 batters faced.

The reality is there's truth to both of Sasaki's quotes. The Japanese response certainly comes with merit, as having success in the regular season is ultimately what will most be remembered. And Sasaki indeed does have more work ahead for that to become a reality.