Ed Odeven 
Los Angeles Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki delivers a pitch to a Cleveland Guardians batter on March 11, 2025, in Glendale, Arizona. (©KYODO)
Read the full story on SportsLook - MLB Notes: Roki Sasaki Sparkles in First Spring Training Start
Roki Sasaki appears ready for the big spotlight of the 2025 MLB season and the upcoming Tokyo Series after his second impressive outing of spring training.
The hard-throwing Los Angeles Dodgers starter made his first Cactus League start on Tuesday, March 11, working four scoreless innings in a 10-4 rout of the Cleveland Guardians. He delighted Dodgers fans during their home game at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, limiting the Guardians to one hit. Sasaki walked two and struck out two in a 41-pitch outing, his second of spring training.
The former Chiba Lotte Marines ace is slated to start Game 2 of the regular season against the Chicago Cubs on March 19 at Tokyo Dome. Teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the starter for the opener a day earlier, a game in which he'll oppose Cubs southpaw Shota Imanaga.
Assessing his performance against Cleveland, Sasaki said he had mixed feelings about it.
"There are a few more things that didn't go sort of the way I wanted today," Sasaki, 23, told media at Camelback Ranch, MLB.com reported. "I reverted to some bad habits that I developed. To have those come out in a game before Opening Day, so that I can address them in time, is a good thing."
Sasaki added, "I think there were just a few things with the way I'm using my lower half, just some inconsistency between the things that I'm trying to do and what was actually happening."
On March 4, Sasaki made his Dodgers debut at spring training, tossing three scoreless innings out of the bullpen against the Cincinnati Reds. In that game, the "Monster of the Reiwa Era" struck out five.
Manager Roberts Says Sasaki is Making Progress
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts weighed in on Sasaki's pitching performance at spring training, noting the Japanese standout is getting acclimated to his new challenge.
"As he started to pitch in games, get on a routine, I think the command started to continually get better," Roberts said on Tuesday, according to MLB.com. "He was commanding the baseball much better. I think he learned early on that his split (split-finger fastball) plays here as long as he presents it as a strike. There's swing-and-miss there, and it protects his fastball. So [Tuesday], certainly very efficient."
Yamamoto Continues Preparations for the MLB Season
Former Orix Buffaloes ace Yamamoto, who's entering his second MLB season, made his final spring training start on Monday, March 10 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In five innings, Yamamoto scattered four hits and struck out seven in LA's 6-2 win. He allowed one run and one walk.
Yamamoto's split-finger fastball was effective, as he recorded four Ks with the pitch. His fastball was clocked with a top speed of 97 mph (156.1 kph).
"I feel good about my final outing," Yamamoto said, according to Kyodo News, "[and] I was able to throw as hard as I intended to."
He added, "I located my pitches well, and my off-speed pitches were breaking a lot."
Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
