ST. LOUIS — Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki’s new splitter may prove to be the key as he makes his case to remain in the major-league rotation once lefty Blake Snell returns from injury.
After debuting the pitch last week, Sasaki mixed it in with the slower version he’s more traditionally thrown during the Dodgers’ 3-2 loss to the Cardinals on Saturday.
“We always have game plans going into games,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior told The Times before the game. “Sometimes those get thrown out in the first batter, sometimes you execute those perfectly, and things are great. So you just obviously read and react, you listen to the catcher, listen to the pitcher, and kind of what we’re seeing and what the offensive approach is, and make determinations. But they’re both still in play.”
Sasaki’s had two of his best starts of the season the past two weeks, after introducing a version of his splitter that’s about 6 mph harder, playing off his fastball. And though the Dodgers’ continued offensive struggles sunk them Saturday, extending their losing streak to four games, Sasaki authored his first quality start of the year.
The Dodgers’ Max Muncy runs for an RBI single during the ninth inning against the Cardinals on Saturday in St. Louis.
(Scott Kane / Associated Press)
In a matter of weeks, the Dodgers will have to decide how to clear a spot in the rotation for Snell’s return. The southpaw is scheduled to make his third minor-league rehab start on Sunday for triple-A Oklahoma City. Snell will likely need at least a fourth before returning, manager Dave Roberts said earlier this series.
Sasaki is one of three young pitchers at the back end of the rotation, along with right-hander Emmet Sheehan and left-hander Justin Wrobleski, who will be competing for two spots once Snell returns.
“No matter what the situation is, I just focus on what I can do,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo. “So just making sure I’m doing [my] best performance ever, and also I go with whatever the team decides after that.”
In a post-start debrief a couple weeks ago, Sasaki mentioned that he’d like to try to see if he could throw his forkball harder, Prior said, similar to what he’d done in 2022 in Japan and somewhat in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He thought his delivery was in a good enough spot to pull it off.
According to multiple scouts who watched Sasaki pitch in Japan, Sasaki did indeed throw his signature forkball harder than the roughly 85 mph it averaged in his first MLB season, and 86 to begin this year.
The difference could be attributed to a variety of factors, including natural migration of grips or the difference between the baseball used in Nippon Professional Baseball versus MLB. Sasaki’s fastball velocity also dipped in his final season in Japan.
“We’re always supportive of crisper, harder, however you want to define it, assuming that it maintained his throw and maintained everything else,” Prior said of the new splitter.
Assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness showed Sasaki a grip adjustment that he thought would achieve the desired result.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki throws from the mound during the sixth inning of his team’s loss to the Cardinals Saturday in St. Louis.
(Jeff Le / Getty Images)
“Lo and behold, the first one was really good,” Prior said. “The second one was really nasty.”
Sasaki took the new splitter into his start last week against the Cubs, with promising results.
On Saturday, he used both versions, with the ability to default to the original when, at times, the crisper split didn’t have the shape he was looking for.
Sasaki not only recorded an out in the sixth inning for the first season, but finished the inning to tie the deepest start of his MLB career, as he limited the Cardinals to three runs and five hits.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Sasaki labored early. Despite issuing two walks and hitting a batter in the first two innings, he escaped both unscathed.
No such luck in the third. Sasaki gave up back-to-back doubles to Iván Herrera and Alec Burleson, and a home run to Jordan Walker — who’s been swinging the hottest bat of any hitter this series — for a quick three runs.
Sasaki rebounded to throw three perfect innings to finish his outing.
“I do think that there was a lot of growth,” Roberts said after the game. “Each of his last handful of starts, he’s gotten better. But there’s some finishing school that needs to happen, where you’ve got to get the guys out that you need to get out and try to face less hitters.”
The Dodgers’ offense, however, didn’t score until the ninth inning. Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández hit back-to-back infield singles, testing Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn’s range to both sides.
Then Max Muncy shot an RBI single over the head of second baseman JJ Wetherholt. And Andy Pages drove in another run with a ground ball just past the glove of diving third baseman Ramón Urías. Their late rally stalled there.
The star-studded Dodgers lineup hasn’t scored more than two runs in a game since Monday.
“Obviously, we didn’t score enough to win a ball game,” Roberts said. “On the pitching side, I think we just continued to get good pitching.”
