After a challenging start to the 2026 MLB season, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki is finding his groove. As a result, the patience that the Dodgers have had with their starter is beginning to pay off.
In his last three starts against the Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies, Sasaki has gone 17 1/3 innings, giving up four earned runs, striking out 19 batters, and walking three batters.
As Sasaki has gained confidence over his last three starts, Dodgers catcher Will Smith told Dodgers Territory about the growth he has seen from the Japanese pitcher since May 17.
“He continues to work really hard on his days between starts,” Smith said on the June 1 edition of “Dodgers Territory.” “He’s getting a lot better. I think he’s also gaining some confidence the more he goes out there and the more success he has.
“But yeah, as far as his fastball, I think he’s just putting it in better spots. He’s more convicted with it. I’m sure he’s cleaned up some mechanical things to get the velo a little bit back up to where we were all hyped to see him when he came from Japan.”
Moreover, Smith didn’t just spotlight the player’s fastball; the veteran catcher also touched on the other pitchers Sasaki has improved against to help him find success in his last few starts.
“His slider’s coming along great,“ Smith added. “His splitter has been really good. He’s just attacking guys and letting his stuff work, and he’s been really good the last few starts.”
Roki Sasaki Looks to Build Off Recent Success on the Mound
After his start against the Phillies, in which he went 5 1/3 innings, struck out seven, and allowed only one earned run, Sasaki spoke with the media on May 30 and noted that, moving forward, he would focus on finding consistency in his last three starts.
“I think the content [of my pitching] was good, and above all, my performance is improving,“ Sasaki said (h/t Dodgers Beat). “If I can maintain this at a minimum level, my own expectations and what I can calculate [in terms of performance] will change.
“I want to maintain this performance, and while there may be times I get hit, I want to work with the catcher, raise my own performance level, and prepare to hit the spots requested.“
Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki Talks Rise in His Velocity
As Smith mentioned, Sasaki’s velocity is up after his start against Philadelphia. The Japanese standout also shared why he believes velocity is up as he looks to maintain it going into his next start.
“Basically, I haven’t changed anything major from the previous game,” Sasaki added. “It’s just that my physical condition is improving, and that’s a factor. It’s not that I changed anything in the last few days; it’s that I’ve been stacking up the things I noticed from the offseason and the beginning of the camp, making fine adjustments, and it just clicked.”
It will be interesting to see if Sasaki can keep this form going for the entire season as the Dodgers could use the help with injuries to Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow.
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