Roki Sasaki becoming a playoff option for Dodgers to start

Imagine the scene.October. Playoffs. Roki Sasaki on the mound.Not as a reliever.As a starter.What would have sounded like pure fantasy just a month ago is shaping into an actual possibility.This isn’t to say Sasaki has an inside track to be part of the Dodgers’ postseason rotation.The Dodgers have Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani.

They are expecting back Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow.But if any of them are unavailable for any reason, and if the Dodgers don’t acquire Tarik Skubal before the trade deadline, Sasaki will be a legitimate option to start games for the two-time defending champions in October.Sasaki’s seven-run disaster in Chicago last week was an anomaly. He was back on track on Friday night, the unpleasant finish to his start notwithstanding.Sasaki pitched five scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles at Uniqlo Field, only to give up back-to-back home runs in the sixth that wiped out a three-run lead and cost him a decision. The Dodgers scored three runs in the ninth inning to win the game, 6-5.The game showed Sasaki what he had to work on, but it also offered evidence that he was on the right path.“I thought he was great,” manager Dave Roberts said.“I liked the way he competed.

He was fantastic tonight.”Unlike in his previous start, Sasaki had better control of his splitter and slider.“I worked a lot on my breaking balls,” Sasaki said in Japanese.  “Especially my slider.”But his fastball was his primary weapon.He averaged close to 99 mph with his fastball again.Five of his pitches were clocked at 100 mph or faster, making this the fourth consecutive start in which he touched triple digits.He was able to throw the pitch down the middle of the plate and not be punished for it. He used his fastball to get ahead in counts.

He used it to finish hitters, recording the third strike on three of his six strikeouts with it.He was able to pitch efficiently as a result, his pitch count at just 54 through four innings.He f...