There have been several heavily anticipated moments so far this Spring, and the debut of Roki Sasaki was at the top of that list. Last night, that wait came to an end as the fireballing right-hander took the mound after Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Flashbulbs popped and so did the catchers mitt as the first pitch thrown by the 23-year-old phenom registered 99.2 MPH.
Let’s get to the action
Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up 2 runs in the first inning on some Spring Training scenarios combined with a couple of times that he didn’t execute perfectly.
His final line
4IP 4H 2R 3K 0BB
Yamamoto gave up a double on a 97 MPH fastball that had sink and was fairly decently located. He then ran a fastball in on the hands of Matt McLain, who fought it off enough to hit a ground ball to advance the runner, then gave up a routine ground ball. But, the Dodgers had the infield drawn in, which is a move to work on that situation much more than it was as the best strategy to win the game. And, because the defense was drawn in it ended up in a hit.
Yamamoto then nailed a fastball on the outside corner at the knees. DeLaCruz stole 2nd, but keep in mind, he would not have been on base if the infield had not been drawn in. And, almost never will the infield be drawn in the 1st inning of the game like it was last nght.
Hayes hit a curveball, which is a pitch that, at times, has been a pitch Yamamoto hangs. He got behind Marte, then had to serve up a fastball on 2-0, and hit the outside corner, but Marte was sitting “Dead Red”.
All in all, the hanging curveball and getting behind Marte was the only part of tonight that wasn’t good execution. And, we never know what the plan is or what these guys are working on.
Mookie Betts hit his 1st home run of Spring Training on a hanging breaking ball early in the game, and Shohei Ohtani hit a 109.8 missile to right field. Othani was caught trying to stretch the hit into a double.
Roki Sasaki is a Video Game! His 1st pitch registered 99.2 MPH, and his splitter fell off the earth.
He’s listed as having thrown 18 splitters, 3 sliders, and 25 4 seam fastballs, but, because this was the first time he has been seen in a game, it would be fair to assume some give or take to that mix.
Sasaki looked really good and was definitely worth the wait.
Atta Baby Andy! Andy Pages took an outside pitch an went with it for a base hit t0 Right Center. That hit is a really good sign because we know how well he handles the inside part of the plate, so, mastering the outer half would be a big step forward.
Pages also looked better in Center Field getting more and more reps.
Jake Vogel…Welcome to the Big Show! 23-year-old outfielder from Huntington Beach who is one of the fastest players in the system. + defender with good offensive tools and an overall offensive game that has potential.
Tibu came in dealin’, GLP got an at-bat, Gator got the Game Winner, Feddy got an RBI, Bubba got an AB, and the Maytag got the save.
In English, Jose Rodriguez looked good getting the last out of the 8th, Jake Vogel tied the game with a double which was his 2nd hit of the night, Austin Gauthier knocked in the “Go Ahead” run, Hunter Feduccia hit an RBI ground ball, and then Jack Dreyer got the last 3 outs.
Baseball is Awesome!
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