Roki Sasaki did not have the home debut he was probably hoping for Saturday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif.
Sasaki threw just 61 pitches across 1.2 innings against the Detroit Tigers before being taken off the mound by Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
The Japanese hurler was all over the place, walking four batters and giving up three hits in his brief start. Only 32 of his pitches were strikes.
Sasaki looked emotional after being taken out of the game. The Dodgers rookie appeared to be fighting back tears in the dugout after his rough outing against the Tigers.
While some fans in attendance booed Sasaki as he left the game, several Dodgers fans on social media had Sasaki’s back. Many pinned his struggles on nerves, given that it was his first real start overseas.
Sasaki’s control issues were uncharacteristic based on his body of work in Japan. He walked just 2.0 batters over nine innings on average in his four seasons playing in Japan’s NPB league.
It’s clear that Sasaki has nasty stuff when he’s comfortable. But with the weight of expectations on his 23-year-old shoulders, it may take him some time to get comfortable against MLB hitters.
The Dodgers offense picked Sasaki up on Saturday. Los Angeles snagged a 7-3 win over Detroit to improve their perfect record to 5-0.
