Roki Sasaki Still Looking to Improve After Best Start of Career
Los Angeles Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki had the best outing of his young MLB career Sunday, but is still looking forward despite his impressive result . The right-hander threw seven innings of one-run baseball against the Los Angeles Angels, striking out a career-high eight batters while allowing just four hits. He finally managed to avoid dangerous contact on his fastball, and his new slider looked the best it has all season.
While his fastball looked the best it has all season, Sasaki still saw potential improvements in his game. “In terms of the fastball, I want more velo. The offspeed pitches, I feel pretty good about it,” Sasaki said .
“So I’ll just keep continuing working on it and make sure I’ll be in a better spot. ” It’s hard to be unhappy with a result such as his yesterday, though, and made sure to credit his catcher for his success in mixing his pitches. “I think [Dodgers catcher Dalton] Rushing did a great job with calling the game,” Sasaki said .
“Pitch selection. It was because of that. ” May 17, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) delivers during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images What Did Roki Sasaki’s Teammates Think of His Outing? Rushing has caught five of Sasaki’s eight starts this season, and also saw some ways Sasaki could become much better than what we’ve seen. “Today we saw a little bit of miss on the fastball, and that was something obviously we hadn’t seen too much this year,” Rushing said .