{"id":654141,"date":"2026-03-31T09:48:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/654141\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T09:48:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:48:01","slug":"dodgers-sasaki-overcomes-nerves-in-season-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/654141\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers’ Sasaki Overcomes Nerves in Season Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ASasaki’s debut start for the Dodgers showcases his raw talent and the challenges of transitioning to the major leagues.Los Angeles Today<\/p>\n

Roki Sasaki, the Japanese right-handed pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, made his season debut on Friday but struggled with nerves early on. Sasaki gave up one run over four innings in a 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, allowing four hits and striking out three batters.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

Sasaki is a highly touted prospect for the Dodgers, and his performance in his first start of the season was closely watched by fans and the organization. How he handles the pressure and nerves of the major leagues will be crucial to his development and the Dodgers’ success this year.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

Sasaki, who is in his second season with the Dodgers after signing with the team out of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, was visibly nervous on the mound in the early innings. He gave up a run in the first inning but settled down to pitch scoreless ball over the next three frames, striking out three batters.<\/p>\n

Sasaki made his season debut on Friday, March 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Roki Sasaki<\/p>\n

A Japanese right-handed pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers who is in his second MLB season after signing with the team from Nippon Professional Baseball.<\/p>\n

Cleveland Guardians<\/p>\n

The professional baseball team that faced the Dodgers in Sasaki’s season debut.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a>
\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cRoki had some nerves early on, but he settled in and gave us a solid outing. We’re confident he’ll continue to improve as the season goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dave Roberts, Dodgers Manager<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

Sasaki’s next start is scheduled for April 5th against the San Diego Padres.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

Sasaki’s ability to overcome his early nerves and pitch effectively in his season debut is an encouraging sign for the Dodgers, who are counting on the young Japanese pitcher to be a key part of their rotation this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a Sasaki’s debut start for the Dodgers showcases his raw talent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":654142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2302],"tags":[5,2353,2352],"class_list":{"0":"post-654141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-npb","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-nippon-professional-baseball","10":"tag-npb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116323166148030576","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}