Dodgers notes: Roki Sasaki, Rick Monday, Shohei Ohtani
Los Angeles, CA - April 25: Starting pitcher Roki Sasaki #11 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws to the plate against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning of a baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images Bringing a team on the verge of 11 consecutive victories to a screeching halt was the seemingly impossible task for a struggling Roki Sasaki on Saturday. On his first ever bobblehead day, Sasaki did what he could to allow the Dodgers to pounce on Chicago Cubs starter Colin Rea, and it resulted in his first win of the season.
Sasaki managed to pitch into the sixth inning of a 12-4 Dodger victory and while he allowed four runs over that span— including three solo home runs— he tallied a season-high five strikeouts with the biggest improvement being only one walk allowed. The biggest difference compared to his first four starts was an increase in both usage and velocity on his splitter, which he threw 48 times while generating a first pitch strike rate of 90 percent. There is still more to be desired for the still unfinished project, as noted by Sonja Chen of MLB.
com , but Sasaki is hoping to not worry about the length of his starts and instead lean more on the efficacy of what he can do on the mound. “The first couple games, I couldn’t go deeper. It was kind of frustrating,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo.
“But right now, I’m just focused on what I can do, and then at the end of the season, I just want to be who I want to be. ” Links In our early season predictions post , I mentioned that I planned on attending Saturday’s game against the Cubs, and it’s always nice to see a Dodger win and get a Roki Sasaki bobblehead. But it was the 50-year anniversary and commemoration of Rick Monday’s iconic American flag rescue that stole the show, and it became even more emblematic when during the seventh inning stretch, “God Bless America” was the prelude to the usual ballpark anthem.
While his two former teams competed, Monday later admitted during the game’s broadcast that he had no idea that the Dodgers would be honoring him and felt “very humbled,” per Beth Harris of the Associated Press . “I had no idea they were going to be here or present me with an honor. Very humbled,” Monday said later on the radio broadcast of the game.