Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki will jump back into the hot seat Wednesday when he takes the mound in the finale of a three-game series against the visiting Colorado Rockies.
Sasaki (3-5, 5.40 ERA) has experienced an up-and-down ride in his second season with the Dodgers. He had one of his worst outings Thursday when he gave up six runs on seven hits in a season-low three innings against the San Diego Padres.
He needed 88 pitches in his short outing and gave up three home runs to match a season high.
“I think it was a conviction thing,” Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing said of Sasaki, who walked two batters and had a wild pitch. “I don’t think his stuff was too far off (but) you’ve got to attack the strike zone.”
Sasaki is 0-2 over his last four starts with a 10.06 ERA.
The Dodgers will need to clear a rotation spot soon with left-hander Blake Snell making progress after an early-season procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow.
Sasaki can help his own cause if he can lead the Dodgers back to victory after they fell 4-3 to the Rockies on Tuesday. Colorado scored three runs in the eighth inning with the aid of errors from Dodgers infielders Miguel Rojas and Alex Freeland.
Shohei Ohtani hit a home run in the first inning for Los Angeles, his 20th of the season and the 300th of his career.
The Rockies were expected to go with right-hander Ryan Feltner on the mound Wednesday but will instead give right-hander Gabriel Hughes (0-0, 0.00) his first career start.
Hughes, a first-round draft pick (10th overall) in 2022, made his major league debut Friday against the San Francisco Giants and pitched three scoreless innings in relief to earn a save.
He missed the entire 2024 season following Tommy John surgery and still has not found his high 90-mph fastball that he had before his elbow issues.
“If I was constantly trying to chase who I was before surgery, I would really be miserable,” Hughes told mlb.com. “I would be constantly trying to become who I was four years ago, instead of accepting and understanding where I’m at today, and working to maximize that.”
The Rockies’ offense has given the Dodgers fits in the first two games of the series. They forced extra innings Monday with a three-run ninth inning before losing, then won Tuesday’s game with a wild three-run eighth.
Jake McCarthy’s bunt in the eighth not only scored Cole Carrigg, but Tyler Freeman scored all the way from first when Dodgers second baseman Alex Freeland fired a wild throw across the infield.
Colorado ended an 11-game losing streak at Los Angeles as new right-hander Jordan Romano finished off the victory. Romano now has two saves in three outings with Colorado after he ended Tuesday’s victory by retiring All-Stars Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages and Freddie Freeman in order in the ninth inning.
Romano signed with the Rockies in May after he was released by the Los Angeles Angels in April.
Tuesday’s victory came without catcher Hunter Goodman, who was a late scratch with a left hand contusion. X-rays were negative and he is considered day-to-day.
Goodman, who was just named a National League All-Star, was injured when he was thrown out at home plate during Monday’s ninth-inning rally.
–Field Level Media
