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Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki made his Major League debut where his baseball journey began: Japan.
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The Dodgers traveled overseas for the start of the season and returned home 2-0 after sweeping the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Series.
Sasaki had the honor of pitching in front of Japanese fans to open Game 2 at the Tokyo Dome. It was a sold-out matchup in the 23-year-old’s home country, so it was only natural Sasaki dealt with some nerves.
“It was a good nervousness,” Sasaki said. “I think it was a really excellent environment created by the Japanese fans and an environment that’s unique to Japan. I think it will be very different from what it will be like in the United States. So I think it was a really good thing to be able to pitch in front of the fans in Japan.”
Since it was announced Sasaki would be making the jump from Nippon Professional Baseball to MLB, there had been anticipation for the Japanese flamethrower to make his debut. The Sasaki sweepstakes featured a unique free agency process where teams fought over the international phenom, even though he had yet to throw a single MLB pitch.
On Wednesday, Sasaki threw a total of 56 pitches in his three-inning start for the Dodgers. The outing featured fastballs and nasty splitters, but the right-hander could not hide the fact that he was a rookie.
At times, Sasaki struggled with his command which led to five walks and a bases loaded jam in the third. And yet, the phenom showed extreme poise when he stranded the bases loaded on back-to-back strikeouts of Michael Busch and Matt Shaw.
While there will certainly be growing pains as Sasaki adjusts, the flashes of brilliance from the right-hander only confirmed how deep the Dodgers rotation is going to be in 2025 and beyond.
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Photo Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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