Roki Sasaki As Closer Boosts Dodgers’ Odds to Repeat
By James Moreau | 12 Oct, 2025

The Japanese pitching trio of Ohtani, Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki fires the Los Angeles Dodgers’ through an undefeated postseason.

The World Series champs are headed to the NLCS for their seventh time in the past decade following convincing Wild Card and NLDS wins.  The hot start has made the LA Dodgers heavy favorites to defend their title.

The Dodgers’ strong Japanese presence features generational superstar Shohei Ohtani, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki, the off-season’s most talked-about rookie.  The 6’4” 23-year-old was brought in to reinforce the starting rotation as future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw finishes off his final season. 

Sasaki’s first season didn’t go as planned with a right shoulder impingement that kept him on the injured list for over four months.  Upon his late September return the Dodgers deployed him to the bullpen to add stability to the team’s struggling relievers.

A revived shoulder and a new mission have produced a revelation.  With his fastball hitting over 100 mph Sasaki struck out 9 batters in 7.1 innings through 6 appearances with zero runs.  His first two career saves have come in the playoffs to give the Dodgers a 2-0 NLDS lead over the Phillies.  Ohtani and Sasaki made a history as the first Japanese-born starter and reliever duo to earn a win and a save in the same postseason game.  To close out the series Sasaki provided three shutout innings of extended relief as game 4 went into extra innings.

The success prompted manager Dave Roberts – who in 2020 became the first manager of Asian heritage to win the World Series – to designate Sasaki as the primary option in the 9th inning.   A return to a starting role is possible, but for now Sasaki’s formidable fastball and devastating splitter appear key for the Dodgers to close out games as they close on a second straight World Series title.