Roki Sasaki’s Major League Baseball debut left a bittersweet taste, as although he showed the great power of his arm, reaching 101 mph in one of his pitches, he also had an unbridled streak that limited his performance to three innings on Wednesday night at the Tokyo Dome.
In the balance of the Japanese player’s performance in his homeland, AP notes that Sasaki allowed only one run and one hit, striking out three, but also issued five walks, including a free pass that drove in a run.
The Japanese pitcher threw 56 pitches, with 31 balls and 25 strikes. Sasaki left the game when the Dodgers were up 5-1, and they eventually defeated the Chicago Cubs 6-3 to complete the two-game sweep in Japan.
“I was nervous, but I wanted to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime experience and tried to do my best,” Sasaki told MLB in comments picked up by the New York Post. “I was nervous, but somehow it helped me focus and live in the moment,” he added with the support of a translator.
AP details that the 23-year-old’s first six pitches were fast to the plate at 99.5, 99.5, 100, 100.5, 99.4 and 98.9 mph and he retired the first three Cubs batters in order, including compatriot Seiya Suzuki with a strikeout.
In the second inning, the Japanese pitcher had some trouble, walking Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson before luck helped him out. With one out, Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a hard line drive that was caught by shortstop Miguel Rojas, who then managed to step on second base to double up Busch for the final two outs.
In the third, Jon Berti reached on an infield single and Sasaki walked Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Kyle Tucker, which forced in a run and reduced the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1.
The rookie recovered, striking out Busch and Matt Shaw to end the threat.Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sasaki wanted to stay in the game for the fourth inning, but he thought it was better to leave the rest of the game to the bullpen, especially because of the emotions surrounding the game.
“I thought there was some nerves, and it’s understandable,” Roberts said. “The velocity was good, but I thought the command, the emotions, the adrenaline, it was hard to harness. But in that third inning, he made some big pitches for us.”
After Sasaki’s initial triple-digit speed start, he settled into the 97-99 mph range, and his famous splitter was occasionally spectacular, but often out of the strike zone.
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