"No excuses for being THIS kind of bad" - Fans disappointed after Roki Sasaki's disastrous LA debut for Dodgers

MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs - Source: Imagn — Fans disappointed after Roki Sasaki's disastrous LA debut for Dodgers - Source: Imagn

The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their commanding start to the 2025 MLB season, beating the Detroit Tigers 7-3 on Saturday to make it five consecutive wins to begin the campaign.

Although the reigning World Series winners continued their undefeated start to the season on Saturday, Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki struggled in his home debut against the Tigers.

Sasaki was pulled from the second inning after the 23-year-old hurler walked four batters. He allowed two runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings and threw 61 pitches with just 32 strikes.

Fans let their disappointment known after the new Dodgers pitcher's lack of control at Dodger Stadium.

"Sasaki isn't some 18-year-old Dominican kid who got called up from high A ball. dude has multiple years of professional baseball under his belt, no excuses for being THIS kind of bad. plenty of time for sure but come on be a fucking man and throw the ball," wrote an angered fan.

Expand Tweet

"Doesn’t deserve to be in the MLB. Dude is so scared to throw strikes. He’ll be sent down in 2 weeks," wrote another fan.

"He looked like he was having a panic attack on the mound," alleged a fan.

Although it was a tough outing for the rookie pitcher, several fans recalled his Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto's sluggish start last season.

"Yamamoto started out rough last season too. He’ll be fine."

Expand Tweet

"I hope no one was expecting a Cy Young performance on Saturday. I was expecting Sasaki to be nervous in his 1st start in the majors," defended a fan.

"This is just international pressure for him. Once he’s settled, no one’s gonna be hitting his," wrote a hopeful fan.

Roki Sasaki was signed by the Dodgers in the offseason after several MLB teams pursued the young Japanese sensation. He made his major league debut in Game 2 of the Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs last week.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged Roki Sasaki's nerves

Saturday's start was the second Dodgers game of Roki Sasaki's budding MLB career. The former NPB pitcher came into the game after a shaky debut in Japan against the Cubs.

However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts looked past his Cubs game in the lead-up to his second major league start for the NL West team.

“I think there’s going to be some nerves still,” Roberts added. “Understandably so. ... But I just think he’s going to go out there and give us a chance to win.”

While Roki Sasaki struggled with control, the young pitcher continues to impress with his fastball, throwing a 97-mph fastball for a strike against Riley Greene on Saturday.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

Know More

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash