A no-no? A perfect game? Anything is possible for Dodgers Roki Sasaki

Anything was possible.A no-hitter. A perfect game.That was the feeling Roki Sasaki inspired every time he scaled the mound when he was at his best with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese league.Didn’t matter that he was only 20 or 21 years old.That’s how overwhelming his talent was.Watching Sasaki shut down the Angels on Friday night, it wasn’t much of a stretch to imagine the now-24-year-old right-hander creating a similar sense of anticipation in the major leagues.The improved speed and command of his fastball in his last two starts has made him resemble the pitcher he was in his homeland.Over the two-game period, he has touched 100 mph four times and averaged 98.4 mph with his fastball, which has also made his splitter and slider more effective.Once again, anything feels possible for him, especially if he continues to progress as he predicted he would.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story “I think it will go up,” Sasaki said in Japanese of his fastball velocity.What made him think that?“There are times I’m hitting 99 mph without much effort,” he said.

“In that aspect, I’m getting closer to where I want to be.”If he’s throwing even harder, who’s to say he can’t pitch a perfect game, the way he did for the Marines in 2022? As it was, he looked as if he had no-hit stuff against the Angels.The first hit he allowed came with one out in the fifth inning when Nick Madrigal banged a double over the head of left fielder Alex Call.Sasaki blanked the Angels over seven innings, limiting them to two hits and two walks.The Angels are an objectively awful baseball team and Sasaki posted similar results against them in a start three weeks earlier in Anaheim when he held them to a run over seven innings.What distinguished this s...