Guardians hand Dodgers their first loss of 2026

Mar 30, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Angel Martinez (1) steals second base against Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50) during the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Looking to keep their undefeated season alive, the Dodgers couldn’t get anything going until the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians as the offense fell mostly silent in a 4-2 defeat. Roki Sasaki made his first big league start since May of last year, looking to turn the page after a rough spring training where he walked 15 hitters and allowed 15 earned runs over 8 2/3 innings.

Sasaki couldn’t get an out after tossing 30 pitches in his final spring tune-up against the Angels, but against his first batter of the regular season, he struck out Steven Kwan looking. He eventually allowed just one hit to Jose Ramírez in a scoreless first inning on 21 pitches. Sasaki continued to impress in the top of the second inning, facing the minimum and striking out a hitter on just 13 pitches.

Sasaki faced immediate pressure in the top of the third inning, as he allowed a leadoff double to Austin Hedges. Kwan traded places at second with Hedges, marking the fourth straight game that the Dodgers would have to play from behind. Miguel Rojas started the bottom of the third inning in the same manner as Hedges against left-hander Parker Messick, and the Dodgers had two men on with nobody out with Shohei Ohtani at the plate.

On a 3-2 count, Messick picked off Rojas at second base, got Ohtani to line out and then struck out Kyle Tucker to keep the Dodgers scoreless. Compared to his counterpart, Sasaki’s pitch count was noticeably high, and although he posted good results in his first start, he was pulled after allowing a leadoff single to Angel Martínez in the top of the fifth. Over 4+ innings of work, Sasaki allowed just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out four.