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Roki Sasaki's MLB debut has been challenging, with a 5.79 ERA and five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings pitched this season. His start against the Detroit Tigers and his Dodger Stadium debut didn't help his case as he appeared in just 1 2/3 innings and issued two earned runs with four walks.
Upon being pulled during the second inning of Saturday's game against the Tigers, the former NPB phenom was seen crying in the dugout. Sasaki was clear that he joined the squad to hone his skills as a world-class fireballer.
Whilst others were quick to scrutinize the upstart for his early struggles, Dodgers fans rallied behind Sasaki and expressed their support.
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"Roki will be fine," a fan wrote on X.
"The kid is going to be great. I’d rather see someone with elite talent initially struggle & adapt than one who has immediate “success,”" a fan said.
"We believe in Sasaki," a fan expressed his support.
Although Sasaki seemed overwhelmed with his underperformance, fans expressed their support for him, reassuring him that the situation is completely normal for upstarts across the league.
"He'll bounce back from this. One game doesn't define a season," a fan stated.
"He has high standards and cares. Love it. Get in the lab and work young blood," another expressed excitement.
"The pressure of playing in a great team can be grand but he will soon get the feel for everything and fit right in," a fan shared.
Roki Sasaki was brought in by the Dodgers after he requested to be posted earlier than his eligibility period. In turn, he wasn't able to sign a big-money deal but instead signed a minor league one.
It's too early to say whether the move will pan out for the 23-year-old, but he has shown that he has the tools to be one of the most feared pitchers in the modern era of baseball.
How Roki Sasaki put the world on notice
Before his highly anticipated move stateside, Roki Sasaki was regarded as the pitcher with the biggest potential in Japan's NPB. Dubbed as "the Monster of the Reiwa Era" (as his run of dominance coincided with the start of Emperor Naruhito), Sasaki broke the Japanese high school baseball record by hurling a 101-mile-an-hour fastball.
Since the scintillating pitch speed record, Roki Sasaki has been hyped as one of the pitchers to look out for in the future. He then repaid the fans' anticipation when, on April 20, 2022, in just his second season in the NPB and at just 20 years old, Sasaki pitched a perfect game for the Chiba Lotte Marines.
Sasaki's immaculate game against Masataka Yoshida's Orix Buffaloes was the first perfect game in the Japanese league since Hiroma Makihara did it in May 1994 for the Yomiuri Giants. In the contest, Sasaki tied an NPB record by recording 19 strikeouts and broke the world professional baseball record with 13 consecutive punchouts.
After his record-setting output, he would follow it up by pitching eight perfect innings in his next start. However, he would be pulled by skipper Tadahito Iguchi before he had a chance to pitch a consecutive perfect game. From that point on, Roki Sasaki put the baseball world on notice.
