After the Los Angeles nearly blew a 4-0 lead in Game 2 of the NLDS, 23-year-old phenom Aki Sasaki was called upon to score the winning goal to close out the game, earning him his second save of his MLB career (both historically recorded in the postseason).
Sasaki, who had a shutout in Game 1, was hesitant at first to enter the game early in the 9th inning, but Sasaki, who had transitioned from a starting pitcher to a relief pitcher, spoke about his feelings after Game 2 (although he did have one day off between the two days).
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“It actually feels great to be able to pitch back-to-back,” Sasaki said. “I pitched pretty hard on my off day, so I felt pretty good.”
Sasaki is one of the postseason’s greatest success stories and one of the few bright spots coming out of the bullpen.
After being highly regarded as a starting pitcher in Japan and attracting interest from 20 MLB teams to post as an overseas free agent, he joined the and immediately attracted high expectations, not only as a member of the defending champions, but also as a lethal rotation pitcher.
The phenom posted a 4.72 ERA in his first eight games, but his fastball velocity had slowed compared to his four years in Japan, and he showed signs of a lack of command on the mound. He was sidelined for more than four months due to a shoulder impingement, but even when he returned for rehabilitation, his speed still hadn’t picked up.
During his starts at the Triple-A level, Sasaki not only increased his velocity by more than 4 miles per hour, but due to improved play in the starting rotation, the began experimenting with Sasaki out of the bullpen. He appeared in the final two games of his rehabilitation period as a reliever and was out of the bullpen in his first two games back in MLB.
Sasaki currently has more relief appearances in the postseason (three) than the regular season (two), and his only career save came against a 96-win National League team. He’s definitely a special player, and he’s pitching his best this year when the team needs it most.
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Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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