Roki Sasaki was better Monday night. But it wasn’t good enough.
The Los Angeles Dodgers starter opened up about his ongoing struggles after he took a no decision despite their 9-3 loss to the rival San Francisco Giants.
Sasaki posted his best outing of the season Monday night. He only walked one, while allowing six hits and three earned runs while striking out five over five-plus innings.
Sasaki pitched into the sixth inning, and exited with the Giants ahead 3-2 after Heliot Ramos‘ two-RBI double. Sasaki got a no decision after the Dodgers tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, but LA’s bullpen imploded by giving up six runs over the final two frames.
Roki Sasaki Was Better but is ‘Still Far Away’
Dodgers fans have been holding their breath when Sasaki takes the mound, really since spring training when he struggled to command his secondary pitches.
But Sasaki looked like the pitcher the Dodgers signed up for then they brought him over from Japan in 2025, at least through the first five innings. He threw 60 of 91 pitches for strikes and allowed only two extra-base hits, Ramos’ sixth-inning double and a solo home run to Rafael Devers.
“My stuff was really good today,” Sasaki said through his interpreter. “I was able to locate the ball really well.”
Sasaki has been a net-negative starting pitcher for the Dodgers, though he made only eight starts due to a shoulder injury that marred his rookie season. Through seven outings this season, Sasaki is 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and minus-0.4 bWAR.
Still, whatever progress Sasaki made Monday, he knows it still needs to be better, especially with how his outing ended. Sasaki allowed three straight hits to start the sixth inning, including Ramos’ two-run double that ended his night.
“The second time through [and] third time through [the order], my pitch selection was a little predictable,” Sasaki said. “I’m not where I want to be right now, so I’ve got to keep going forward.”
The Dodgers Can’t Outscore Their Pitching Issues
It’s one thing to lose a series at home to the Atlanta Braves, who have been the best team in baseball through almost two months.
But the Dodgers offense continues to run hot and cold, even in the friendly hitting confines of Dodger Stadium.
The problem starts at the top with Shohei Ohtani, who is going through the worst hitting slump of his three-year Dodgers tenure. Ohtani is slashing just .233/.363/.404 with just six home runs this season and has a .358 OPS in nine games in May.
But it’s not just Ohtani. The Dodgers still rank tied for fifth in runs scored, and are eighth in the league in batting average with runners in scoring position, but their stars Ohtani, Max Muncy, Will Smith, Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernandez have combined for a .226 batting average with RISP.
It’s all resulted in the Dodgers falling out of first place, since they are a half-game back of the San Diego Padres. The two-time reigning champs will probably be fine, since they struggled at points last year too and still figured it out in time to win 93 games and the World Series.
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