Overview
- Roki Sasaki allowed six runs over five innings Sunday against the Nationals, then finished with a clean fifth that manager Dave Roberts called a sign of growth.
- Statcast shows he is using a mid-to-upper-80s breaking pitch that was first tagged as a cutter before being reclassified as a slider.
- In his season debut earlier in the week versus the Guardians, he gave up one run in four innings with nine whiffs and a 99.5 mph top fastball, according to Baseball Savant.
- Catcher Dalton Rushing and coaches say his forkball, a low-spin split that used to dive late, has been inconsistent and easier for hitters to lay off.
- Dodgers officials have not moved to option him, so he is set to keep starting while Blake Snell remains on the injured list until late May.