Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott look like Dodgers playoff bullpen anchors

SAN FRANCISCO – The sequence was promising on paper.In practice on Friday night, it was spectacular.Roki Sasaki in the eighth inning.Tanner Scott in the ninth.Manager Dave Roberts emphasized they wouldn’t necessarily be deployed in that order come the playoffs, but their performances in the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory over the Giants indicated they could be the foundation of a championship-caliber bullpen for the Dodgers.“I don’t want you to pigeonhole me into using these guys in certain roles, but, yeah, I think it’s just better to have as many guys that you have confidence in leverage (situations),” Roberts said.Sasaki followed a seven-inning effort by starter Tarik Skubal by striking out two batters in a perfect eighth inning.Scott retired the side in the ninth to record his 24th save.On their World Series run last year, the bullpen was something the Dodgers had to work around.

They were extremely dependent on their starting pitchers, whom they counted on not only to pitch deeper into games but also make relief contributions.Sasaki’s emergence as closer was as much a reflection of their lack of options as it was of the Japanese fireballer’s gifts. The Dodgers should enter the playoffs next month with an entirely different feel.Scott has recovered from his nightmare season last year, looking more like the Padres relief ace who shut down Shohei Ohtani in the 2024 playoffs to earn a $72-million payday with the Dodgers.As for the 24-year-old Sasaki, he looks even better as a reliever than he did last year.“I think the fastball’s better,” Roberts said.

“I think the split’s better.It’s also nice that he’s already done it.

So, just in total, he’s just a better pitcher than he was last year and a lot more confident.And certainly, the stuff was really good the last couple outings.”Four of the six fastballs Sasaki threw were clocked at faster than 100 mph.The other two registered readings of more than 99 mph.“Overall, he just keeps getti...