The Los Angeles lost to the Texas Rangers 4-3 despite pitching a career-high innings at Globe Lifefield.
Sasaki went into six innings, allowing two hits and two run scored. He threw along with four strikeouts and three walks while out. He also said he was surprised to see the speed of his first inning collapsed after the match via athletics’ Fabian Aldaya.
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Ardaya reported that Sasaki was healthy, but that the uncharacteristic speed of 92-93 mph is likely a result of his mechanism. The 23-year-old said he was able to fix it as the game progressed.
Sasaki averaged 94.7 mph with a fastball maximum speed of 96.9 mph during the game. For reference, Sasaki averaged 96.4 mph on his 4-seamer before the match, closing off with a 98 mph heater.
For someone in the 88th percentile of fastball speeds in MLB this season, he not only felt that there was a problem early in the game, but he promised he was able to fix it.
Velocity and Sasaki were the subject of the infamous “unspecified homework assignments” when he chose an MLB team to sign this offseason, not just because he is a dynamic pitcher.
Sasaki’s fastball soaked up the season in Japan, and he not only outlined why it happened, but also sought a plan from a perspective to ensure it never happens again.
This further proved not only his existing greatness, but his desire to continue learning at this new stage of his baseball career.
So far, Sasaki has an ERA of 3.20 this season with 16 strikeouts and 16 walking. He is still looking for his first big league victory with five starts, but Saturday’s career-high six innings is certainly a big step to getting there.
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Photo credit: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Image
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