Roki Sasaki shakes off his poor spring performance and allows just one run in four innings, but the Dodgers are shut out for the first eight innings in a 4-2 defeat.
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki throws to the plate during the second inning of a game against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night at Dodger Stadium. Sasaki allowed one run in four-plus innings in a 4-2 loss.
LOS ANGELES — If Roki Sasaki is very much a work in progress, the Dodgers finally didn’t have to squint and strain the imagination to see some signs of progress. After an erratic spring training that raised questions about his place in the Dodgers’ starting rotation, Sasaki made his season debut Monday night and quieted the questions . The young right-hander pitched into the fifth inning, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out four. But rookie left-hander Parker Messick and two relievers combined to shut the Dodgers out for eight innings as the Cleveland Guardians handed the Dodgers their first loss of the season, 4-2, on Monday night. Before the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did what he could to strike a note of optimism about Sasaki’s chances of making his spring performance forgettable. “He could have cashed in last year. Given his health early, the lack of performance towards the middle of the year, towards the end, he could have just written it off and started fresh in the offseason,” Roberts said. “But he was willing to pitch out of the bullpen, ramp back up and give us whatever we needed . So for me, that was something where he put himself out there. “That’s why I have a lot of confidence right now turn the corner from spring training. If he would have run from that last year, that would have checked me up a little bit.” Sasaki ran a 3-and-1 count on the first batter he faced but came back to strike out Steven Kwan and retired six of the first seven batters he faced. Austin Hedges led off the third inning with a double and scored two batters later on Kwan’s double. Sasaki walked the next batter but settled back down and got through four innings without giving up another run. When Angel Martinez led off the fifth with a single, Roberts pulled Sasaki.Still, that put the Dodgers in the trail position for a fourth consecutive game to start the season. This time, the offense was stuck in neutral for too long.The Dodgers put runners on base in four of the first five innings against Messick but hit into two double plays and, most costly, had a runner picked off second base. Miguel Rojas led off the third inning with a double. Dalton Rushing’s popped-up sacrifice bunt attempt turned into a base hit when a tumbling Messick couldn’t make a play, putting two runners on with no outs for Shohei Ohtani.Rojas was the only Dodger to even make it to second base until they put runners at the corners with two outs in the seventh inning. Max Muncy stranded them both by striking out against Guardians reliever Erik Sabrowski. By then, the Guardians had expanded on their early 1-0 lead. They loaded the bases with no outs against Justin Wrobleski in the top of the seventh. Wrobleski nearly escaped. He got a pair of pop outs to keep the runners in place but walked Rhys Hoskins to force in a run and gave up a two-run double to Daniel Schneemann that made it 4-0. The Dodgers avoided the shutout in the ninth inning when Tucker beat out an infield single, went first-to-third on a pitch that got away from Guardians catcher Hedges and scored on a double by Mookie Betts. Betts scored on a ground out by Freddie Freeman before the Guardians closed it out.A look at the new ballpark for the Dodgers’ Class A team in Ontario75 arrested in downtown LA at ‘No Kings’ protest; federal officers injured, authorities sayInside Paul McCartney’s Friday night performance at LA’s Fonda TheatreBreak up LAUSD before it fails another generationVoices from ‘No Kings’ protests around Southern California
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Guardians’ Chase DeLauter hits 4th home run in 3rd career game, Guardians beat Mariners 6-5Rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter hit his fourth career home run to give Cleveland the lead for good in the 10th inning, and the Guardians beat the Seattle Mariners 6-5 on Friday night.
Read more »
Dodgers Dugout: Random thoughts after the opening sweep; meet our new Dodgers reporterHere are some random thoughts about the opening sweep, and also you get to meet our new Dodgers reporter.
Read more »
Dodgers' trust in Roki Sasaki a big leap of faith: 'Expect it to get better'Last Tuesday, during the Dodgers’ final preseason exhibition game against the Angels at Dodger Stadium, manager Dave Roberts got up from his perch at the top step of the dugout and went to fi…
Read more »
Guardians vs Dodgers Prediction, Odds & Home Run Pick for Today's MLB GameOur Guardians vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks highlight the total for this matchup on Monday, March 30.
Read more »
Roki Sasaki's encouraging start undermined by Dodgers' offensive woes in first lossRoki Sasaki puts his ugly spring behind him with a solid season debut, but a ninth-inning rally comes too late for the Dodgers in a 4-2 loss to Cleveland.
Read more »
Roki Sasaki shows improvement, but Dodgers bats go silent in loss to GuardiansAt the start of Monday night, all the questions around the Dodgers were focused on Roki Sasaki. By the end of it, the concern had shifted to their suddenly sluggish offense. In a 4-2 loss to the Cl…
Read more »