Dodgers Opinion: Sasaki Was the MVP of the NLDS

LOS ANGELES, CA—Well, it wasn’t pretty, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are heading to their second consecutive National League Championship Series, thanks in large part to 23-year-old Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki.

For real, it’s the same pitcher who couldn’t consistently hit 94 MPH in his first two months in the majors. The same pitcher who was put on the injured list and missed almost the entire summer. The same pitcher who was ridiculed by the national media for showing emotion in the dugout after not performing up to his standards.

Fast-forward to now, and that pitcher turned a complete 180 while the Dodgers’ starting rotation was full of arms; he transitioned into a role that was foreign to him, and so far, he has excelled.

Now they don’t give out awards for the NLDS; that honor is reserved for the League Championship Series and the World Series, but if there was a guy to give the NLDS MVP to, it would be Roki Sasaki.

The Dodgers’ bullpen entering October was a major storyline as it was the true “weak link” to a Dodgers roster that seemed poised to make a run at back-to-back World Series championships.

And while Sasaki shone in his two opportunities from the bullpen during the final stretch of the regular season in Arizona and Seattle from the Dodgers bullpen, many media pundits did not believe that he’d be the savior of the ‘pen.

They were wrong.

Sasaki, so far this postseason, has pitched in 5.1 innings and has yet to surrender a run.

He began his postseason run by closing out Game Two of the National League Wild Card Series against the Cincinnati Reds. He then would go on to pitch in back-to-back games of the NLDS, both in a hostile road crowd in Philadelphia.

Sasaki would collect his first career save in Game One, securing a series-opening win, and then, after a near bullpen implosion, would face the National League batting champion, Trea Turner, for the final out of Game Two, putting the Dodgers up 2-0 in the series and getting his second save.

However, perhaps the most vital appearance from Sasaki came during yesterday’s wild walk-off win, where the right-hander entered the game in the eighth inning and would retire nine straight batters, giving the Dodgers length in the bullpen, helping hold the Phillies hitters until the team could eventually put something together on offense.

It was the first such instance in Major League Baseball postseason history where a relief pitcher entered the game and threw three perfect frames, a stat that likely won’t be replicated anytime soon.

Overall, in the NLDS, Sasaki tossed 4.1 dominant innings at crucial times in the game, while also being a valuable weapon out of the bullpen, allowing Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to stay away from lower-leverage arms.

There’s a case to be made that if Sasaki hadn’t been on the roster or in this series, they wouldn’t have won. Moving forward, I think we’ll continue to see Sasaki do great things in the Dodgers’ quest for another World Series title.

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