Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki pulled in second inning after rough start vs. Tigers

The much-anticipated Dodgers Stadium debut of Roki Sasaki didn’t go as planned for the Japanese phenom when, after much fanfare, he was pulled from the game with two outs recorded in the second inning by Dave Roberts for Jack Dreyer.

Things started out well enough for Sasaki right out of the gates, with Zach McKinstry singling out to left and Riley Greene struck out swinging, but as the inning progressed, things took a turn for the worse rather quickly, with Spencer Torkelson getting on base, Kerry Carpenter popping out to shortstop and Colt Keith being walked to load up the base. Manuel Margo hit a dribbler down the third base line to advance each runner one base, and Sweeney was walked to add another run to the board. While Sasaki was able to leave the inning with only two earned runs, as Max Muncey got Margot out a third with a fielder’s choice, Roberts already had Dreyer warming up in the bullpen just in case.

Returning to the mound in a 1-2 game thanks to a Freddie Freeman home run, Sasaki began the inning with 41 pitches thrown and ended up throwing 20 more before getting pulled for Dreyer, finishing out the game with just 32 strikes thrown, two earned runs, and an ERA of 5.79.

Fortunately for Sasaki, he won’t be adding his first loss of the season to his record, as Andy Pages tied things up at two with an absolutely insane run off of a Michael Conforto double, but failing to even get to the third inning? In his Dodgers Stadium debut? Goodness, that isn’t an ideal way to start off the career of one of the hottest international prospects in recent memory.

Will Sasaki bounce back? Absolutely, he will without a doubt make it out of the second inning in a game with the Dodgers this season and will likely perform incrementally better as he earns even more experience at the MLB level. But for now? Fans certainly have a bad feeling in their mouths, especially considering Sasaki only faired slightly better in his Dodgers debut in Japan, where he was pulled after three innings with one run allowed.