PHILADELPHIA -- The Dodgers have a weapon in the bullpen that seemed unlikely even a week ago.
Roki Sasaki, sidelined since May with a right shoulder impingement, has been dealing since he returned on Sept. 24 in a relief role. He has yet to give up a run and has allowed only one hit over his last three outings.
His emergence couldn’t have come at a more pivotal moment for the Dodgers.
“I just feel like he wants the ball, and everybody else should feel the same way,” Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas said on Wednesday, after the Dodgers beat the Reds, 8-4, to advance to the NLDS against the Phillies. “Roki has been setting the bar really really high for everybody else because he wants to pitch, and everybody else should feel the same way. It doesn't matter what the score is. You've got to come in and attack hitters.”
Sasaki’s biggest moment yet arrived on Wednesday in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Reds. He was called upon to pitch the ninth inning, after the Dodgers’ bullpen labored for 40-plus pitches in the eighth for the second night in a row.
Once Sasaki got on the mound, it didn’t matter that the bullpen had combined to throw 100 pitches, allowed five runs, seven walks and four hits in just the eighth inning of those two Wild Card games.
It took 11 pitches for Sasaki to put down the Reds. He leveraged his velocity, averaging 100.6 mph on his fastball and topping out at a career-high 101.4 mph to go along with a splitter sitting at 88.3 mph for two strikeouts and a soft lineout to clinch the Dodgers’ spot in the NLDS.
Closer-type stuff.
“He's just really in a good head space,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He's very confident right now. And whatever postseason game, I don't think is going to affect his confidence right now. He's in a great spot.”
It’s not just the velo. Sasaki’s pitch command has been remarkable.
Generally, the harder a pitcher throws, the higher his spin rate. But Sasaki has managed to keep his splitter at 570 rpm at 88.3 mph. The only pitch type in the playoffs this year with a lower spin rate than Sasaki's splitter was Guardians pitcher Cade Smith's splitter. But Sasaki is throwing his more than 3 mph harder than Smith.
And that’s not even getting into the movement on Sasaki’s splitter, dropping more than 40 inches on its way to the plate. That’s 27.7 inches more than his fastball, which is dropping 12.6 inches this postseason.
“In terms of the velo, of course that helps,” Sasaki said. “But aside from that, it's about the quality of the offspeed, the command of my pitches. The combination of all those three was something that led to me just having more confidence in myself and the expectation that I could pitch the way I did.”
Put all the metrics aside for a second. What Sasaki’s teammates see from him that stands out more than any of his numbers, is his presence on the mound.
“You can take mechanics out of it,” Max Muncy said. “If you have a good demeanor on the mound, you can find a way to compete. For me, that’s what we’re seeing. He believes in himself, and we believe in him. That’s all that’s going to matter.”
It may sound simple, but it’s something the Dodgers’ bullpen arms have lacked this season. The relievers, many of whom got the Dodgers to the World Series last year while their rotation was decimated by injuries, are struggling.
“I don't think our bullpen struggles are talent-related. It's execution,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said after the Wild Card clincher. “We see it with walking guys and getting behind in counts, which, to me, comes from confidence. So we have to figure out a way to spark that. And if Roki's outing [Wednesday] is that spark, it wouldn't surprise me."
Shohei Ohtani, Game 1’s scheduled starting pitcher, tossed five no-hit innings against the Phillies at Dodger Stadium nearly three weeks ago. He left the mound with a 4-0 lead. By the middle of the sixth inning, the Dodgers trailed, 6-4.
It’s clear: The Dodgers can’t afford to have another bullpen showing like the ones they had in the last round. The Phillies’ lineup is too dangerous.
Roberts plans to deploy even more starters as relievers through the Division Series, including Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw. He’s still figuring out which arms he can trust in the bullpen, but it’s looking like Sasaki can be one of them.
“The way he's handled himself up to this point,” Roberts said, “there's been no signs for me, which I had assumed, that the moment would be too big. And I have full confidence in whatever leverage role we put him in.”