Roki Sasaki excels with stellar splitter against Mets

NEW YORK -- Right-hander Roki Sasaki delivered one of his best performances of the season, leading the Dodgers to a 4-2 victory over the Mets at Citi Field on Friday night. Sasaki pitched a season-high tying seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out nine batters. He recorded a career-high 21 swings and misses, primarily with his splitter. His only misstep was giving up a solo home run to Luis Robert Jr. in the second inning.

The mechanical adjustments Sasaki made leading up to his start against the Yankees last Friday proved beneficial. Mets manager Andy Green mentioned that his team had prepared a scouting report advising against chasing pitches below the strike zone, noting, "If a hitter chases beneath the zone, he is going to be in trouble." Green added that his team struggled to connect with Sasaki’s pitches throughout the game.

"Now, it's one thing to say, 'Don't do that.' It's another thing to pick up his split-finger and see the pitch, and we had a hard time with that tonight," Green stated. He acknowledged Sasaki's effective command of his splitter and slider, explaining, "We found ourselves outside the zone more than we needed to. And frankly, you don't beat one of the best teams in baseball by scoring two runs. It's just really hard to beat them like that."

Although Sasaki's velocity decreased compared to his last outing where he hit 100 mph on 21 pitches, he felt his split was effective against the Mets. He attributed part of his success to catcher Dalton Rushing’s performance. "It all worked out in the gameplan," Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo. He noted that pitching on a new mound often results in decreased velocity, but if he can maintain consistency, he would gain confidence and aggressiveness.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised Sasaki's performance from the fourth through the seventh innings, asserting that the pitcher is in a good mechanical place. Roberts said, "He was in really good command all night long. He was efficient. He wasn’t stressed. It was good to see him get through that seventh inning. I do think where he is at mechanically now, he isn’t thinking about that when he is on the mound. He is in compete mode. His delivery is in repeat mode. It doesn’t seem like he is searching anymore. He is just trying to execute a gameplan."

In the seventh inning, the Dodgers gave Sasaki a lead with runners on second and third and one out. Left-hander Brooks Raley was on the mound when Shohei Ohtani hit a sacrifice fly to Robert in center field, scoring Teoscar Hernández. The Dodgers extended their lead in the eighth inning when Kyle Tucker hit a two-run homer off Mets left-hander A.J. Minter, marking Tucker's second hit of the game.

Despite a disappointing season with a .236/.329/.360 slash line and seven home runs, Roberts expressed confidence in Tucker's potential for consistency, saying, "For me, it’s coming. It hasn’t been consistent or as fast as we like, but he is still working hard. To see some success tonight was a good thing for him.” Tucker shared his frustrations about his power hitting but appreciates the support from teammates and coaches, emphasizing the importance of confidence and focusing on each at-bat.