LOS ANGELES — While the offense wasn’t much to write home about in dropping two of three games to the Cleveland Guardians, the Dodgers did get pretty good starting pitching in the series. And made history in doing so.
Roki Sasaki started Monday and was so-so, fighting command to get through four innings and managed to allow only one run. Not the best of starts, but compared to his spring training he looked markedly improved. Shohei Ohtani has his sights set on a strong, full pitching season this year,
and got that ball rolling with six scoreless innings on Tuesday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the loss on Wednesday, but you’d take two runs allowed in six innings every time out from him.
In total, the trio against Cleveland allowed three runs in 16 innings, with 12 strikeouts and six walks. The Dodgers became the first team in Major League Baseball history to start a Japanese pitcher in three consecutive games, per Elias.
“These are three great men. They are all different. This is a special time in Major League Baseball, certainly with the Japanese players we’re fortunate to have, and around the league,” manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. “It’s an honor to know that I managed these three guys.”
This is the second year all three have been Dodgers teammates, but the timing never worked out in 2025 for all three to be in the rotation at the same time. Ohtani was rehabbing from his second Tommy John surgery and didn’t get into a game until mid-June. Sasaki went on the injured list in April and didn’t return until September, and by then there was only room for him in the bullpen.
Fourteen Japanese players were on opening day rosters this season, matching 2010 for second-most in a season, behind only the 16 Japanese players on 2008 opening day rosters.
Having three Japanese starting pitchers on the same team in any season is rare enough, as only 35 pitchers born in Japan have started a game in MLB. Yamamoto, Ohtani, and Sasaki are only the third such trio in major league history, joining the 2001 Montreal Expos (11 starts by Masato Yoshii, 10 by Tomo Ohka, and three from Hideki Irabu) and 2003 Dodgers (33 from Hideo Nomo, 27 by Kazuhisa Ishii, and two by Masao Kida).
Yamamoto, Ohtani, and Sasaki combined for 52 starts last season, tied for second-most in a season by Japanese pitchers on one team.
Most starts by Japanese pitchers on one MLB team
- 2003 Dodgers 62 (Nomo 33, Ishii 27, Kida 2)
- 2014 Yankees 52 (Kuroda 32, Tanaka 20)
- 2025 Dodgers 52 (Yamamoto 30, Ohtani 14, Sasaki 8)
- 2002 Expos 51 (Ohka 31, Yoshii 20)
- 2004 Dodgers 49 (Ishii 31, Nomo 18)
- 1998 Mets 45 (Yoshii 29, Nomo 16)
