I got my ball control, but I can't throw a 100-mile fastball anymore? Sasaki was praised for the first time by the catcher
Apr 06, 2025
|
|
Sasaki started the away game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the 6th (Korea time) and pitched three hits and one run in four innings. He gave up two walks and struck out four.
In his debut in Game 2 of the opening series against the Chicago Cubs at Tokyo Dome on the 19th of last month, he showed a lack of control allowing five walks while allowing one run in three innings. On the 30th, he gave up three hits and four walks in one ⅔ inning against the Detroit Tigers and allowed two runs.
Then, local media fiercely criticized Sasaki, saying he should be sent to the minor leagues.
It wasn't very satisfactory pitching on this day, but I was able to get a glimpse of the stability of leading the game. In the previous two games, the strike rate was 49%, less than half, but 41 pitches, or 60% of the 68 pitches, were declared strike on the day. In addition, the number of walks that gave up nine in four ⅔ innings in the previous two games was drastically reduced to two on the day.
|
Sasaki showed off a strong fastball of up to 101.9 miles and an average of 100.1 miles on the WBC in March 2023, when he received the full-fledged attention of Major League Baseball. Since then, he has thrown an average of 98.8 miles of fastballs in the 2023 Chiba Lotte Marines regular season. However, last year's injury to the shoulder and radiolucent muscles reduced it to an average of 96.7 miles.
Sasaki threw two fastballs over 100 miles at the Chicago Cubs held at Tokyo Dome on the 19th of last month. They were 100.5 miles and 100.0 miles, respectively. The average speed of fastballs thrown by 37 pitches reached 98.0 miles, perhaps because it was his Major League debut.
However, in the game against the Detroit Tigers on March 30 after returning to the U.S., 33 fastballs were held up to 96.9 miles and an average of 96.1 miles. Most of the fastballs remained in the 96-97-mile range on the same day.
|
Catcher Austin Barnes, who had a battery with Sasaki, said "Before going to the ground, he said "Let's do it well."I told him ' I liked it. It was good to see him go up to the mound and fight"Some players hit his splitter, but he threw a good fastball." Targeted the lower section of the strike zone, came in well to the right by my standards. "The effect of the splitter was also great because he put pressure on batters by throwing mainly fastballs and taking the ball count to his advantage."
Sasaki "I spent the last week worrying. I tried to find something to be confident about, even if it was a technical part. It's really important to adjust your form and gain confidence. "In recent bullpen pitching, I paid more attention to physical pitching form, especially the movement of the lower body, rather than the mindset. I tried to throw a strike last time, but it didn't work out. It was helpful to attack the strike zone well today."
This slightly lowered Sasaki's ERA from 5.79 to 4.15.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
