Roki Sasaki's rough outing proved to be too much to bear as Rangers take Sunday series finale against the Dodgers.
Roki Sasaki has yet to find a concrete footing as a starter.
Every arm in the Los Angeles Dodgers' starting rotation has already caught its groove on the mound, but the odd man out points to Sasaki.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in Sunday's pregame that he was looking for consistency more than anything in Sasaki's third start of the season.
But Sasaki could only register four innings — with more than noticeable command trouble — in the 5-2 loss to the Texas Rangers and broke a 10-game streak of Dodgers starters reaching five innings or more.
"I think the thing that stands out is that he limited damage," Roberts said on Sasaki's outing.
"Once he exited the game, we were still in a good position to win the game; that was important. He didn't let it spin out of control."
No matter how Sunday's outing was to go, Roberts stands by his words and will remain with Sasaki in the starting rotation, even with Blake Snell ramping up his pitching progression by throwing to live hitters.
The command on Sasaki's fastball was the outlier in the loss. The velocity was ticked at certain moments, but the spread on his fastball, particularly, was disheartening.
He only managed to throw just 40% of his pitches in the strike zone. The league average is roaming at 49%.
"The biggest regret is that I threw too many pitches, so I couldn't pitch deep into the game," Sasaki said about his outing. Even with runners in scoring position, I managed to grind through the 1st and 2nd innings, which was good."
Apr 12, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) reacts after his last pitch thrown during the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium. -- © Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images What bailed Sasaki out for most of his outing were his secondary pitches. His slider and splitter were the most effective, with his slider generating an impressive 45.5% whiff rate against Texas hitters.
Sasaki struck out a career high six batters, but also tallied a career high five walks.
The Dodgers' offense was just as shoddy, with Shohei Ohtani's leadoff home run in the first inning off Rangers' starter Jacob deGrom's first pitch, and Kyle Tucker's RBI single was all she wrote.
Apr 12, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) hits a solo homerun during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium. -- © Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images It's not like there weren't any opportunities for Los Angeles to produce runs; it was just that they couldn't cash in when runners were on base. The Dodgers were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left a total of 9 runners on base.
Looking ahead for the Dodgers, they welcome the New York Mets for a three-game series starting Monday. The Dodgers have a somewhat easier path to get back in the win column, as the Mets are currently on a five-game skid.
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