The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Texas Rangers, 4-3, despite Roki Sasaki throwing a career-high innings at Globe Life Field.
Sasaki went six innings, allowing just two hits and two earned runs. He threw four strikeouts along with three walks in the outing. He also noted after the game, via The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, that he was surprised to see his first-inning velocity had dipped.
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Ardaya reported that Sasaki is healthy, but the uncharacteristic 92-93 mph velocity was likely a result of his mechanics. The 23-year-old said he was able to fix it as the game went on.
Sasaki averaged 94.7 mph on his fastball over the course of the game with a max speed of 96.9 mph. For reference, Sasaki averaged 96.4 mph on his four-seamer the game prior and capped out at a 98 mph heater.
For someone in the 88th percentile of fastball velocity in MLB this season, it is promising that he not only felt that there was an issue early on in the game, but was able to correct it.
Velocity and Sasaki will forever be linked not just because he is a dynamic pitcher, but it was the subject of the infamous ‘unspecified homework assignment’ when the phenom was choosing which MLB team to sign with this offseason.
Sasaki’s fastball had dipped the season prior in Japan, and he asked for a plan from the perspective teams to not just outline why it happened, but to ensure it would never happen again.
This only further proved not just his existing greatness, but his desire to keep learning and growing during this new phase of his baseball career.
So far, Sasaki has a 3.20 ERA with 16 strikeouts and 16 walks this season. He is still searching for his first big league win through five starts, but Saturday’s career-high six innings is certainly a major step toward getting there.
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Photo Credit: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images
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