Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki waited seven days to throw heat on the mound. Plus redeem himself from a rough regular season start, this time against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Sasaki showed the glimpses of potential the Dodgers envisioned. He struck out four batters in four innings during the 3-1 road win. Sasaki allowed three hits but surrendered just one run. He capped his evening with a 4.15 ERA.

But the latter stat is an improvement from his last start. His ERA fell to 5.79 against the Detroit Tigers on March 29. He only fanned two batters that day. Sasaki became brutally honest with himself after the night. Dave Roberts himeself even started to temper his expectations of his prized rookie addition.

Sasaki, however, revealed how “everything came together” for him this time via Dodgers reporter Matthew Moreno.

“I felt like I was able to really work on my mechanical adjustments, and everything really came together this outing,” Sasaki said through his interpreter Will Ireton. 

Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki threw versatile array of heat at Phillies 

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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The rookie never settled for one pitch only. He threw a versatile array of heat at the Phillies to keep their batters off balance.

The right-hander fired a four-seam fast ball for his first pitch — hitting the strike zone at 96 mph against Kyle Schwarber. Sasaki then switched to a splitter, leading to two balls. Schwarber still singled to right to start the game.

Sasaki, though, never lost his cool. He came straight after Bryce Harper with four straight splitters. All four throws traveled between 83 to 85 mph. Harper only managed one ball out of Sasaki's splitter. The rookie struck out the eight-time All-Star. Sasaki ended the bottom of the first grounding out his next two batters and surrendering one run.

The 23-year-old looked stronger in the bottom of the second. He lined out and grounded out the next three Phillies batters. Again Sasaki switched between the four-seamer and splitter. The former pitch hit a speed of 97 mph.

Philadelphia continued to struggle facing the much-hyped rookie. Brandon Marsh, Schwaber and Trea Turner struck out and flied out, in that order. Sasaki ended up walking two Philly batters and surrendered one hit (single by Bryson Stott) before he got relieved in the bottom of the sixth. But Sasaki's improved mechanics rode the Dodgers to the road win.