Los Angeles right-hander Loki Sasaki appeared to settle in his major league starter until his start with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.
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Sasaki’s night ended after four or more innings, giving up five run earned, two walks and threw a zero strikeout. The rookie has a 4.72 ERA and 1.485 whips in eight starts this season.
The 23-year-old recorded a zero-wiff on Friday for his fastball. This shows that the once-electric pitch for Japanese professional baseball Sasaki has yet to arrive in the major leagues. Sasaki faced 20 batters and did not generate one swing and miss.
The trend since Sasaki’s start at Chasefield was slower, but manager Dave Roberts said he wasn’t worried about it. What Roberts is even more concerned about is Sasaki’s poor order.
“If you’re talking 98, 99 (mph) and you don’t have speed, then commands become more of a priority,” Roberts said. “In the mid-’90s, when you’re throwing a 94, you really need to be in charge of baseball. That’s what we’re going to do as a group. Loki understands that. And this is still his first season.
From a speed perspective, Sasaki admits that he and the are “really in this process of finding the underlying cause (is).”
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Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Immagn Image
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