Roki Sasaki of the Los Angeles Dodgers took the mound on Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium, aiming for his second win of the season in his seventh start. The 24-year-old right-hander started strong, retiring the side in order in the first inning. He induced a sharp lineout from leadoff hitter Lee Jung-hoo that was caught by left fielder Teoscar Hernández, then got Matt Chapman to fly out to left on a 99.5 mph fastball.
However, the second inning proved troublesome. With one out, Giants third baseman J.D. Davis (likely a typo for “Díver” or a specific player; the original Japanese text mentions “ディバース,” which may refer to a Giants batter, but the exact name is unclear—preserving the reference) crushed a solo home run to right field, giving San Francisco an early 1-0 lead. It marked the sixth consecutive start in which Sasaki has allowed a home run, and the first run of the game.
Sasaki’s previous outing on June 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals saw him throw a career-high 104 pitches, allowing three runs on five hits over six innings with four strikeouts. Despite a gritty performance, he took his third loss of the season due to a lack of run support. After that game, he reflected, “Overall, my pitches were not as satisfying as the last time, so I need to adjust for the next one. I believe I found the reason for my early struggles while pitching the sixth inning, which could help me moving forward.”