Dave Roberts surprised by Roki Sasaki's sudden pitching slump
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says he is surprised by Roki Sasaki's recent pitching slide: after four straight quality starts in May, the right-hander has allowed 13 runs over his last 14 innings, including five walks in four-plus frames against the Padres while his velocity has returned but his command has not. Roberts insists Sasaki has not lost his stuff and expects mechanical fixes to restore the momentum he built midseason.
Key Takeaways
- Roberts called Sasaki's sudden command loss surprising after a month of strong May outings unlocked better velocity.
- Sasaki has a 4.88 ERA across 14 starts and gave up 13 runs over his last 14 innings entering the Padres series.
- His June 26 Petco Park debut revived memories of San Diego's failed pursuit when Sasaki chose Los Angeles for stability.
- Sasaki walked five batters and lasted into the fifth inning as the Dodgers fell behind the Padres 3-1.
- Both Roberts and Sasaki say the issues are mechanical and fixable rather than a permanent loss of form.
Why Is Dave Roberts Surprised by Roki Sasaki's Pitching?
The Los Angeles Dodgers believed Roki Sasaki had finally turned a corner. Beginning with his May 17 start against the Angels, he strung together four consecutive quality outings, including a seven-inning shutout on June 5. Sports Illustrated reported that over his last three starts, however, he reverted to the control problems that plagued him early in the season.
"I am a little surprised, because there was such good momentum going on," Roberts said. "But the last — I don't know if it's the last one or the one before — where it just wasn't what he was doing in May. Hopefully we can get him back to throwing the way he did in May."
What Happened in Sasaki's Start Against the Padres?
Sasaki faced San Diego at Petco Park on June 26 for the first time since choosing the Dodgers over the Padres 18 months earlier. The San Diego Union-Tribune noted he entered the night with a 4.76 ERA and could not quiet a lineup that had once courted him at Manny Machado's home.
Ty France homered off a slider, part of 14 home runs Sasaki has allowed in 70 innings. He walked five batters and was chased in the fifth with the Dodgers trailing 3-1. Roberts kept the message blunt: "At the end of the day, even if you don't feel great, you've still got to go out there and make pitches and not walk guys. That's just the bottom line, that's the big leagues."
Can Roki Sasaki Get Back on Track This Season?
Roberts sees reasons for optimism beneath the box scores. He said the club "unlocked something where the velocity came back," with Sasaki's fastball averaging 98 miles per hour recently, per the Union-Tribune. The surprise is command, not power. "I'm surprised that he can't repeat it start to start, certainly recently," Roberts said, "but I don't think that he's lost that feel for the power, because the velocity is still there."
Sasaki echoed that view, telling reporters he felt different mechanically than ever before and needs to study what happened. "Overall I am trending in the right direction so I'm just going to keep working on it," he said. Los Angeles still leads the NL West, giving Sasaki room to work through growing pains that the Padres warned would come.
Why Does Sasaki's Slump Echo the Padres' Failed Courtship?
Tom Krasovic's Union-Tribune column framed Friday's outing as a what-if moment for San Diego. The Padres had foreseen growing pains when they recruited Sasaki, knowing his velocity and accuracy dipped before he arrived in MLB. Joe Musgrove said Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani made the Dodgers the likely landing spot, though Musgrove felt Sasaki "already had his mind made up."
What the Padres could not match was Los Angeles's rotation depth. With Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow injured, Sasaki is getting regular turns as what was once the team's No. 6 starter. For more on high-profile sports pivots, see our Celebrity Breaking News coverage.