Roki Sasaki has given up 13 runs over his last 14 innings, and Dave Roberts said the recent drop in command was surprising after a strong run in May. The Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander has gone from four straight quality outings to a stretch that has again exposed the early-season problems.
Dave Roberts Sees The Slide
"I am a little surprised, because there was such good momentum going on," Roberts said when discussing the latest turn. He also said, "But the last — I don’t know if it’s the last one or the one before — where it just wasn’t what he was doing in May. Hopefully we can get him back to throwing the way he did in May."
That is the shift the Dodgers have to manage. Sasaki had looked steadier beginning with his May 17 start against the Los Angeles Angels, when he opened a run of four straight quality outings, but the latest stretch has pulled him back toward the same command issues that troubled him earlier.
San Diego Padres Expose The Gap
In his last outing against the San Diego Padres, Sasaki lasted four-plus innings, gave up three runs and walked five batters. The walks matter here because they line up with Roberts’ concern about command, not stuff.
Roberts said, "I’m surprised that he can’t repeat it start to start, certainly recently, but I do think that we unlocked something where the velocity came back," and then added, "But yeah, to kind of take a step back with the command is a little surprising. But I don’t think that he’s lost that feel for the power, because the velocity is still there."
Los Angeles Dodgers Rotation Pressure
The Dodgers are left trying to sort out a starter who has posted a 4.88 ERA over 14 starts this season. That number sits alongside the recent swing in results: one month of better outings, then three starts that drifted back to the early-season pattern.
Roki Sasaki to start Thursday as Padres Vs Dodgers opens at Dodger Stadium put the next chapter in motion, but the real issue is simpler than the schedule. Sasaki has shown he can get through a strong stretch; the problem is doing it again before the command slips away.
