Roki Sasaki has made his name known during the postseason, emerging as a bright spot within a Dodgers bullpen that needs all the help they can get.
Sasaki’s first test of playoff action has been a success, as he racked up a pair of saves at Citizens Bank Park before shutting out the Philadelphia Phillies in the eventual series clinching Game 4 of the NLDS.
Now, his next challenge will be facing a Milwaukee Brewers that not only defeated the Dodgers in every game played this year, but held the best
record in baseball during the regular season. Now with the Monster of the Reiwa Era fully unleashed, his teammates are in awe of the turnaround he’s made since returning from injury, notes Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, and he will be heavily relied upon in the most meaningful situations against Milwaukee.
“Since coming back, coming in from the bullpen, he’s honestly one of the best pitchers I’ve ever seen,” said Tyler Glasnow. “His stuff is incredible. He’s locked in around the strike zone. For him to start the season how he did, and then come back now, it’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen.”
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Shohei Ohtani will be well rested ahead of his next start against the Brewers, with Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto slated to start the first two games of the NLCS at American Family Field. As far as when exactly he’ll take the mound in the series, Dave Roberts still doesn’t have a clear idea as to when Ohtani will pitch in the series, notes Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.
“We just don’t know which day,” Roberts said of when Ohtani will get the ball. “But he’ll pitch at some point.”
Despite having the best record in baseball during the regular season, the Brewers are still considered as the underdogs against the Dodgers, writes Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
“I think that’s kind of been the narrative all year long. So it’s not really anything new,” Brewers rookie third baseman Caleb Durbin said Sunday. “Since Opening Day, that’s been kind of the idea.”
