Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki, of Japan, throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the second inning of a baseball game on May 9 in Phoenix. (AP Photo)
LOS ANGELES–Touted Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki landed on the injured list Tuesday with right shoulder impingement.
He told the team his arm was sore after his last start in which he pitched on five days rest for the first time in the majors. Sasaki threw four innings and gave up five runs on 61 pitches Friday at Arizona.
“Physically he was a little bit sore afterwards and that’s something that we’re still trying to figure out, what’s normal and what’s not normal,” manager Dave Roberts said before the team announced Sasaki was sidelined. “We want to make sure that he’s in a good spot physically.”
The right-hander is 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts. He has 24 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings while holding opposing hitters to a .225 average. Sasaki was scheduled to make his next start Thursday against the Athletics.
The 23-year-old from Japan joined the Dodgers in January after spending the last four years with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.
Sasaki was known for throwing 100 mph in Japan and in his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo in March he repeatedly reached 99 mph in the first inning.
But he’s struggled to find that same zip on his fastball since, with his velocity dipping to the mid-90s.
“We’re still trying to have conversations to see where he’s at,” Roberts said. “At the end of the day we want to make sure that he is performing up to his capabilities and up to our capabilities and our expectations.
“There’s a lot of kind of things that we’re trying to suss out right now with Roki.”
Sasaki was pulled from his Dodger Stadium debut in the second inning because of control issues. His sad face and teary eyes were shown on a Japanese TV feed.
His injury is the latest blow to the Dodgers’ rotation. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are on the injured list, although Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to make his season debut Saturday after starting the season on the IL.
Right-hander J.P. Feyereisen was recalled for his second stint with the Dodgers this season.
