Sasaki to wrap up LAD, is scheduled to take the mound twice in save situations, recovering 100 miles and making a surprise return to the big league
Sep 25, 2025
|
|
How many times has it been since the starting pitcher lost even though he played well. The Dodgers lost 4-5 in the first of three consecutive away games against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on the 24th (Korea time).
Starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani made his first quality start this season, but Jack Drier allowed three runs in the seventh inning with a 4-0 lead, and Tanner Scott allowed a tie and a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning to kneel down.
The Dodgers won only 10 games and lost 10 games in 20 games in September. It is leading the NL West, but it is only 1.5 games away from the second-place San Diego Padres. With five games to go, the magic number for winning the district is still '3'. Sandiego beat the Milwaukee Brewers, the winner of the Central Division, 7-0, and won four consecutive games.
In addition, in order to go straight to the Division Series, we have to catch the Philadelphia Phillies, the No. 1 player in the NL East, but the loss failed to reduce the gap by four games. The Dodgers, who have confirmed their advance to the postseason for the 13th consecutive year, have to play fall baseball starting with the wild card series for the first time in four years since 2021.
|
In September, he pitched six ⅓ innings in nine games, giving up seven hits and four outs and allowing six runs, raising his ERA to 8.53. After returning from a left elbow injury, he has three saves, three blon saves, an 8.18 ERA, a 0.268 hit rate and a WHIP 1.82 in 14 games. Manager Dave Roberts continues to put these pitchers in a crucial spot in the second half of the game.
Scott is a closer brought in from the FA market last winter for four years and $72 million. He had 22 saves and a 1.75 ERA in the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres last year, so he must have been an attractive bullpen pitcher for the Dodgers, but when he opened the lid, it was 'full of loopholes'.
Roberts said "Otani threw so well and took a four-run lead, and I believed the key bullpen pitchers would do their part. But the results were not good. In the end, he failed to overcome the crisis in the ninth inning. It's hard to accept this kind of game that you had to win."
|
Sports Illustrated (SI) reporter Tom Verducci appeared on the `MLB Network' on the same day and expressed the internal atmosphere, saying, `It's not surprising if Rocky Sasaki throws the final ball to the Dodgers.' He said "Sasaki is scheduled to take the mound twice this week. Both times it will be an urgent situation. It's not strange that he's in charge of finishing the Dodgers. He has a stub to do the job. This week, the Dodgers will test his closing job.'
Sasaki pitched in seven games (five starts) in Triple-A, threw 20 ⅔ innings, giving up 20 hits and 13 walks, striking out 19 and posting a 6.10 ERA. With a hit rate of 0.263 and WHIP 1.60, the figures themselves do not seem to have improved, but the Dodgers' team believes that the ball power has been upgraded to the next level. In particular, he succeeded in changing his position in preparation for his return to the big league by pitching stably with no hits, one walk, and three strikeouts in two innings as relief in the two most recent appearances. Above all, it is encouraging that the fastball speed exceeded 100 miles, and that it was sprayed 98 to 99 miles on average.
|
It is not yet confirmed, but if he maintains his rotation now, Ohtani is very likely to take the mound as a starter in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series. Since Roberts is in an ambiguous situation to shake the rotation at the end of the season, and Ohtani has pitched three consecutive scoreless games, there is nothing strange about leaving him as the first starter of fall baseball. If the ranking is applied on this day, the team that the Dodgers will meet in the wild card series is the New York Mets.
Meanwhile, the match against Arizona was Ohtani's 100th starting game in the big league. According to MLB.com reporter Sarah Reims, Ohtani ranked fifth with 0.202 in the 100-game hit rate ranking for the first time since his debut.
First place is Herb Score (0.194), second place is Nolan Ryan (0.195), third place is Freddie Peralta (0.197), and fourth place is Ed Roylebak (0.201).
|
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
