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Roki Sasaki put together the best start of his MLB career on Friday night, firing seven shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels while allowing just two hits and striking out a career-high 10 batters, per Dodger Blue. He also maintained the increased velocity he’s been showing in recent outings, a sign that the physical tools are catching up to the hype that followed him from Japan.

Sasaki came to the Dodgers as one of the most coveted international free agents in recent memory, a flame-throwing right-hander who had already electrified Nippon Professional Baseball with a perfect game and consistent triple-digit heat. His transition to MLB, though, wasn’t seamless — adjusting to a new league, a new culture, and a grueling 162-game schedule took time. Early outings showed flashes but also the kind of inconsistency you’d expect from a young arm finding his footing. The velocity was there in bursts but not always sustained, and the command wandered at times. What we saw Friday was different. Ten strikeouts across seven innings with only two hits allowed isn’t a flash — that’s a pitcher putting it all together.

The velocity piece matters a lot here. Sasaki’s fastball is his calling card, and when he’s sitting at or near triple digits with consistency, the splitter becomes borderline unhittable. Earlier this season there were stretches where the velo dipped, which is natural for a pitcher still building up to a full American workload. But the uptick we’ve seen over his last few starts — and maintained throughout this one — suggests his arm is in a good place physically. That’s the foundation everything else is built on.

I’ve been waiting for a start like this from Sasaki. We all knew it was in there, but there’s a difference between projecting what a guy can do and watching him actually do it against big-league hitters over seven innings. The career-high strikeout total is nice, but the two hits allowed and the shutout innings tell the bigger story. He was in control from start to finish.

For the Dodgers, a Sasaki who’s pitching like this changes the calculus of the entire rotation. We already have a deep staff, but a front-of-the-rotation version of Sasaki — the one we saw Friday — gives this team another ace-caliber arm. That’s the kind of depth that wins in October. His own words after the game sum it up well: “Everything is coming together right now.” If that’s true, and the velocity and command stay where they are, the rest of the league has a problem. This is the pitcher the Dodgers signed up for.

Source(s): Staff (Dodger Blue) | First reported: June 6, 2026 4:11 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers