Max Langer
Game 10, 4/5/2025: Dodgers 3, Phillies 1
PHILADELPHIA, PA—It was made abundantly clear over the last few months from many in the baseball industry that Roki Sasaki was not a finished product and that he’d need both time and experience to adjust to MLB. Over his first two starts, in Tokyo and in Los Angeles, those growing pains were evident: Sasaki had the lowest strike rate across the major leagues. But on this Saturday afternoon in South Philly, the rookie Japanese right-hander showed why he was arguably the most coveted free agent last winter.
Following a scoreless first inning from Aaron Nola to begin the game, Sasaki immediately found himself in a pickle in the bottom half of the frame. He gave up back-to-back singles to Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner, and after Turner promptly swiped second, it appeared as if it was going to be another short outing for Sasaki. But he struck out Bryce Harper on a filthy splitter, induced an RBI groundout from Alec Bohm, and then stranded Turner at third after getting Max Kepler to roll over on a fastball. The Dodgers found themselves facing an early deficit, but it could’ve been a lot worse.
In the top of the second, two Dodgers who’ve really struggled this year flipped the score. Max Muncy, who’d been dominated by Aaron Nola throughout the course of his career, ripped a double down the right-field line with one out. After Andy Pages struck out, Kiké Hernandez, who had a lot of success against Nola, lifted a knuckle curve just over the left-field wall for a two-run homer. It was Hernandez’s third hit of the year. All three hits: home runs.
With the two runs of support, Sasaki settled in. He retired nine of the next ten Philadelphia hitters, striking out three. In the fifth, however, the rookie ran into some trouble. He walked J.T Realmuto, and a bloop from Bryson Stott dropped just in front of Teoscar Hernandez in right field. That would spell the end of Sasaki’s day, but his command and control were arguably the best we’ve seen. Dave Roberts elected to turn to Anthony Banda to try to strand the runners. Banda got Brandon Marsh to fly out to center field, but it looked as though Schwarber had tied the game with a sac fly to right. But just before J.T Realmuto crossed home plate, the Dodgers doubled off Bryson Stott with an absolute hose from Teoscar Hernandez. It stayed 2-1 Dodgers, end of the fifth.
In the top of the sixth, Michael Conforto, who’d just missed homering in the fourth, launched one over the right-center field wall to give the Dodgers a big insurance run. But as it turned out, they didn’t even need it.
Once again, the Dodger bullpen was practically unhittable. Ben Casparius retired all six hitters he faced in the sixth and seventh, and Alex Vesia struck out the side in the eighth. It looked as though Tanner Scott might have some trouble in the ninth as Muncy misplayed a squibber off of Harper’s bat on the first pitch of the ninth, but the Dodger closer got Bohm to ground into a double play, and then Kepler to fly out to left to finish the job. It was a three-pitch save from Scott.
The Dodgers are 9-1 through ten games. They also gained a full game in the NL West standings, as the Padres lost again to the Cubs today. Los Angeles will look to take two of three tomorrow from the Phillies, as Tyler Glasnow faces Christopher Sanchez at 1:35 PM EST in an early-morning rubber match for those of us here on the West Coast.
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