NEW YORK -- Right-hander Roki Sasaki had one of his best games of the season and helped the Dodgers to a 4-2 victory over the Mets at Citi Field on Friday night.
Sasaki pitched a season-high-tying seven innings, allowing a run on three hits and striking out nine batters. Even more impressive, he had a career-high 21 swings and misses, mostly on the splitter. His only blemish was allowing a solo homer to Luis Robert Jr. in the second inning.
The mechanical changes that Sasaki made before his start against the Yankees last Friday proved to be a godsend. Mets manager Andy Green said his team had a scouting report on what not to do against the right-hander. The report said if a hitter chases beneath the zone, he is going to be in trouble.
The Mets were in trouble for most of the game.
"Now, it's one thing to say, 'Don't do that.' It's another thing to pick up his split-finger and see the pitch, and we had a hard time with that tonight,” Green said. “Credit to him, he threw a lot of good strike-to-ball splits and sliders as well. We found ourselves outside the zone more than we needed to. And frankly, you don't beat one of the best teams in baseball by scoring two runs. It's just really hard to beat them like that."
Sasaki’s velocity was down from his last outing. He had one pitch that was clocked at 100 mph compared to the 21 pitches that reached the century mark against the Yankees last Friday at Yankee Stadium. However, Sasaki felt the split was its best against the Mets. It also helped that Dalton Rushing caught a great game.
“It all worked out in the gameplan,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo. “When I throw off a new mound like today, velo is usually a little down. So if I'm able to repeat, I think I will have more confidence and keep attacking more.”
Manager Dave Roberts felt Sasaki was at his best from innings four through seven. The skipper believes his pitcher is at his best mechanically.
“He was in really good command all night long. He was efficient. He wasn’t stressed. It was good to see him get through that seventh inning,” Roberts said. “I do think where he is at mechanically now, he isn’t thinking about that when he is on the mound. He is in compete mode. His delivery is in repeat mode. It doesn’t seem like he is searching anymore. He is just trying to execute a gameplan.”
The Dodgers put Sasaki in line for the win in the seventh frame. With runners on second and third, one out and left-hander Brooks Raley on the mound, Shohei Ohtani hit a sacrifice fly to Robert in center field, scoring Teoscar Hernández.
With Mets left-hander A.J. Minter on the rubber, the Dodgers added to their lead in the top of the eighth when Kyle Tucker hit a two-run homer over the right-center-field wall. It was his second hit of the game.
Entering Friday’s action, Tucker’s first season with the Dodgers has been a disappointment, having a slash line of .236/.329/.360 with seven home runs. But Roberts believes the bat will start warming up.
“For me, it’s coming. It hasn’t been consistent or as fast as we like [it to be],” Roberts said. “But he is still going through it. He is still working hard. To see some success tonight was a good thing for him.”
Tucker acknowledged that he is a little frustrated because the power hasn’t been consistent, but the support of his teammates and coaching staff has made him comfortable in a Dodger uniform. Remember, this is a guy that had 30-homer seasons in 2021 and ’22.
“I just have to battle through the next pitch and continue on with that at-bat. Don’t worry about it too much and try to do my best,” he said. “You have to be confident in yourself. I try to go to every single at-bat and forget about previous ones. I just go out there and compete and move on.”
Tucker was happy to see Sasaki move forward and improve his mound presence.
“He has been giving his all every single time,” said Tucker. “Even sometimes when he is battling adversity, he still goes out there and gives us his best and everything that he has. I think he has been great for us.”