The Los Angeles Dodgers are aiming for a World Series hat-trick, and they can’t afford to maintain underperforming starters. Following the upset the Texas Rangers pulled over them on Sunday, the Dodgers are 11-4. Among the four losses, two came with Roki Sasaki on the mound, including the Rangers’ one. As Sasaki’s starts remain equally shaky in three of his outings, his place in the rotation becomes uncertain.
Roki Sasaki is in his second season with the Dodgers after signing a minor league contract in January 2025. Sasaki did not have the smoothest transition to the major leagues, as he is still struggling to register quality starts. Sasaki threw 4 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 home run, and 5 walks against the Rangers on Sunday. With Sasaki being the weakest piece in the current Dodgers’ rotation, his lack of improvement has left the Dodgers on the lookout for a redeeming quality, reported Dylan Hernandez of the NY Post.
“I think the thing that stands out is [that] he limited damage,” manager Dave Roberts said, according to the NY Post. “Once he exited the game, we were still in a good position to win the game.”
When Sasaki exited the mound, the scoreboard read 2-1 with the Dodgers trailing. Despite the loss, Sasaki had struck out six hitters, his highest so far this season. However, with Sasaki pitching only four innings, the Dodgers had to field four relievers, including Edgardo Henriquez, Ben Casparius, Jack Dreyer, and Will Klein, to finish the game. This was a high number of bullpen arms for a losing game, a point with which Sasaki also agreed.
According to the NY Post, Sasaki noted, “In my three starts, I’ve pitched four innings, five innings, four innings, so I haven’t pitched very many innings. I can’t burden the relievers like that.”
Despite the low-inning count, Sasaki had thrown 94 pitches, one more than what the Rangers’ Jacob deGrom threw in 6 innings. He has thrown 13 innings across 3 starts, averaging 20.15 pitches per inning this season.
Against the Rangers, Sasaki barely ever got the upper hand.
In the first inning, Sasaki gave up the lead-off single to Brandon Nimmo and walked Carter, before Corey Seager took the plate. The Japanese struck out Seager with a fastball, with the next two batters following. In the second, Sasaki gave up one walk and a double to Josh Jung, but he kept the Rangers scoreless. But the Rangers took a 2-1 lead after a homer by Evan Carter and four other batters reached base. The Rangers did not score a run past Sasaki in the fourth, though he walked Evan Carter.
His pitches were wayward, and he was lucky to restrict the damage to just two runs.
The only time Sasaki looked like a major leaguer was when he hurled against the Chicago White Sox minor leaguers on March 20, 2026. Sasaki dominated with 9 strikeouts, allowing only 1 hit and zero walks. According to the NY Post’s Hernandez, that game showed Sasaki is too good for the minors, but not good enough for the majors yet. Roberts is holding onto the hopes that Sasaki recaptures that form to fix his spot in the Dodgers’ rotation.
“If he took the same stuff that he had that day on the back field into every start, I would bet there would be success at the major-league level,” said Roberts, reportedly.
However, with Blake Snell’s potential return coming near, the Dodgers might have to decide on what Sasaki’s future will look like if he does not show improvement.
Blake Snell throws a live session as he nears return
Blake Snell is on the 15-day injured list and steadily working his way back from a shoulder inflammation. The shoulder injury has delayed Snell from making his regular-season start this year.
On Saturday, Snell faced hitters during a live practice for the first time in 2026. In one simulated inning of 15 pitches, he faced major league batters like Tommy Edman and Alex Call. Ideally, his next stop would be throwing two simulated innings.
After the session at Dodger Stadium, Snell reportedly stated, “I was looking forward to it a lot. I was very excited coming to the field today. Like, I finally get to throw and pitch and see where I’m at. See if I’m good, bad. Kind of figure myself out.”
Meanwhile, a fan got to hear it out from Snell during the pitcher’s live stream on Twitch.
When a fan commented, “Get off the injured list,” it landed the wrong way with Snell.
The remark made the left-hander unhappy, who then burst out with a few expletives in between.
“Like I can f—ing control that,” Snell reportedly exclaimed.
He then looked at his shoulder and spoke to it, saying, “Hey, shoulder, don’t have inflammation. Don’t pitch in the postseason when your shoulder doesn’t feel good. Don’t try to win a World Series. Oh, you can’t start the season because your shoulder still hurts from pitching.”
Snell continued, “Like what the f—k you want me to do? What are we talking about?”
The exchange has since turned viral. However, Snell later admitted that he needs to censor his language while joking about getting a call from his mother.
