LOS ANGELES — Roki Sasaki dazzled in his postseason pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers, closing out their sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a perfect ninth inning in the NL Wild Card Series on Wednesday night.
The youthful looking rookie from Japan celebrated with a beer in his hand and goggles on in the team’s batting cage after their 8-4 victory advanced the Dodgers to the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.
The Dodgers partied in the cage, lit up like a surgery center, rather than their remodeled clubhouse featuring high-tech screens that could be ruined by sprays of beer and Champagne.
Sasaki got Spencer Steer and former Dodger Gavin Lux on swinging strikeouts — with 100-mph pitches — before retiring Austin Hays on a lineout to shortstop that started the celebration.
The Dodgers went without a designated closer during the regular season. Did the 23-year-old from Japan earn the role for the postseason?
“I trust him, and he’s going to be pitching in leverage,” manager Dave Roberts said. “So the more you pitch guys and play guys, you learn more. I don’t think the moment’s going to be too big for Roki.”
It appeared to be too big for Sasaki early in the season. He signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in January, receiving a $6.5 million signing bonus because he was under age 25 and subject to international signing bonus pool rules. Sasaki spent the last four seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball League
Expectations were high for the pitcher who’s been a dominant force at every other stop in his fast-rising career.
Sasaki made his major league debut with the Dodgers against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, where he walked five in three innings while throwing just 25 strikes among 56 pitches.
His Dodger Stadium debut on March 29 ended in the second inning he again struggled with his control. He issued four walks and got only five outs while throwing 61 pitches to just 12 batters.
Sasaki came off the 60-day injured list on Sept. 24 and made his first career relief appearance against Arizona. It was his first appearance in the majors since May 9 because of a shoulder injury. All eight of his previous MLB outings were starts, though he did make a few relief appearances during his stint at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
