Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki had another rough outing on Tuesday, March 3, failing to record an out.
Sasaki failed to record an out during his start after throwing 23 pitches. He threw only eight strikes, walked three batters, and allowed two hits, one of which was a grand slam home run.
He was charged with four earned runs, all of which came from the grand slam. He then walked his fifth batter, leading manager Dave Roberts to pull him from his start.
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Sasaki is under pressure to prove himself as a starter, though his outing against the Cleveland Guardians was a notable step back.
Feb 25, 2026; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) throws in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
The right-hander was heavily pursued as an international free agent, eventually landing with the Dodgers, who have a hotbed of Japanese talent on their roster.
He pitched a total of 36.1 regular-season innings, netting a 4.46 ERA. He got a total of 28 strikeouts and 22 walks, with an ERA+ of 94.
Sasaki was moved to the bullpen after the Dodgers suffered from a reliever crisis. He had a good stint, inspiring confidence that his stuff can play in the postseason and that he can become the star pitcher that he was expected to be.
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However, his first start of the 2026 Spring Training was also rough, throwing 36 pitches and only 17 of them being strikes.
He gave up three hits, two of which were doubles, and walked two other hitters before being pulled from action, leading to Roberts being critical of the Japanese hurler.
“Honestly, today was the first day I thought he came out of his mechanics. I just thought he was overthrowing,” Roberts said, adding that he hadn’t seen that during Sasaki’s bullpen sessions or live batting practice this spring.
“The main thing is he’s got to pitch off of his split. He can strike it, shorten it. Then mix in the fastball, commanded. And then work on that third pitch we’re talking about. But today I think he got into some bad counts. He just didn’t have feel or command of that fastball. That first inning I don’t think he used his split at all. So, yeah, I’m just going to chalk this one up to his first outing. Then as we build up to two, three innings I think we’ll see a better outing.”