Roki Sasaki has endured ebbs and flows during his Los Angeles Dodgers run. He hasn’t always looked like the dominating pitcher who arrived to the MLB with immense hype ahead of his 2025 rookie season. Even his sophomore campaign got off to a rigid start, until Friday evening against the New York Yankees.
The right-hander looked lights out on the mound; striking out five and allowing just one run through five hits. And Sasaki pulled off the feat in 5.2 innings played in the 2-1 win over the Yanks.
Sasaki entered the Dodgers organization armed with a 97 miles per hour fastball. His four-seamer handed manager Dave Roberts intrigue for the future with that type of pitching speed. He unleashed that speed in front of LA’s historic American League rival.
Sasaki, though, quietly hit a new Dodgers record in that winning performance.
The mark Roki Sasaki Hit Against the Yankees
MLB stats expert Sarah Langs helped reveal the new milestone Sasaki hit.
“Roki Sasaki threw 21 pitches at 100.0+ mph tonight, the most by a Dodgers pitcher in a game under tracking (2008),” Langs posted on the social media website X, formerly known as Twitter.
Sasaki hit a milestone few Dodgers have hit, which is unique given the history of fast ball pitchers the franchise won with. Not even Dodger legends Clayton Kershaw, Eric Gagne, or even Orel Hershiser reached the 100 mph mark that many times in a single game.
Did Roki Sasaki Rely Only on his Fastball?
Sasaki mixed his pitches up too in hitting that uncanny mark.
He started off trusting his four-seamer in the first two pitches against Trenton Grisham. Sasaki pivoted to an 88 mph slider to force the pop out against the lead off hitter. The young Dodgers thrower then turned back to his four-seamer against Ben Rice to force the fly out.
Sasaki turned up the pitching head against Paul Goldschmidt, though. He fired off back-to-back 101 mph throws to force the early 0-2 count. Sasaki kept Goldschmidt off balance with a 92 mph splitter. Goldschmidt then swung and missed on Sasaki’s 88 mph pitch.
Chisolm then faced the most 100 mph throws during the bottom of the second. Sasaki topped 100-101 four times with Chisolm at the bat. Although Chisolm chipped a single to center field facing Sasaki’s 101 mph throw. Sasaki forced Jose Caballero to hit a pop out for the third out, though.
‘Turning Point’ Coming for Roki Sasaki
This time Sasaki became the toast of Dodgers social media and their fanbase. Especially in a season once again dominated by the versatility of Shohei Ohtani.
Except the three-time World Series winning skipper Roberts came out even more convinced about the direction Sasaki is going in.
“It’s a good team over there, on the road, to battle his emotions and go out there and put forth that effort that he did tonight was fun to watch,” Sasaki said. “Hopefully, he continues to build on that and keeps getting confidence.”
Los Angeles can certainly use this version of Sasaki moving forward especially after the MLB All-Star break. Sasaki’s heat could help spark a third straight WS title run.
Roki Sasaki Quietly Hits Historic Dodgers Record in Victory over Yankees