Sports
Roki Sasaki's MLB debut is tantalizing, and shaky, as Dodgers complete Tokyo Series sweep
TOKYO — It lasted just three innings. It included a grand total of 56 pitches. And it was nowhere near a flawless introduction to Major League Baseball.
But was it ever one heck of a show.
Making his Major League Baseball debut Wednesday night, in front of his home nation at a sold-out Tokyo Dome and under immense pressure that had been building ever since his mid-January signing, Roki Sasaki’s first Dodgers start ran the full gamut of emotions, and included the kind of twists and turns that will likely define his rookie MLB season.
There was jaw-dropping stuff — including four consecutive 100 mph fastballs to start the night, a flurry of signature splitters that seemed to break in unpredictable directions every time they were unleashed from his right middle and index fingers, and even a few swing-and-miss sliders that effectively complemented his other two primary pitches.
There was also wildly inconsistent command — leading him to walk five of the 14 batters he faced on the night, miss the strike zone on more than 55% of his total pitches, and spend much of his night working out of constant stress.
There were highlight reel moments — like when he blew Seiya Suzuki away for his first career strikeout, and stranded the bases loaded in the third on back-to-back punchouts of Michael Busch and Matt Shaw.
And then there were expected examples of growing pains — from Sasaki’s inability to slow the running game, to the bases-loaded free pass he issued to Kyle Tucker that resulted in his only run allowed.
Welcome to the Roki Sasaki experience, one that should make the 23-year-old right-hander one of the most interesting players to watch on this year’s Dodgers team, if not all of baseball.
On any given pitch, the Japanese phenom can dazzle with his talent, and dominate with his pure athletic ability. On any given night, he might make entire big-league lineups look foolish at the plate.
Yet, at any given moment, he can also lose his rhythm, pepper the ball anywhere but the strike zone, and create chaos for himself and his Dodgers team.
Roki Sasaki yells after striking out the Cubs’ Matt Shaw to end the third inning and escape a bases-loaded jam.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Buckle up. Because when Sasaki pitches, it will almost assuredly be must-see TV.
“When you get youth and talent, which is Roki, what that introduces is variance,” manager Dave Roberts said. “So there’s going to be some really high highs, and then some things that you just don’t know that are gonna happen, because of his inexperience.”
The good news for the Dodgers: Sasaki’s inexperience didn’t derail Wednesday’s debut, with the pitcher working out of just enough trouble to preserve a three-inning, one-run line in the Dodgers’ 6-3 Tokyo Series-sweeping win.
In the first inning, Sasaki was flawless. He lit up the radar gun with fastballs of 100, 100, 100 and then 101 mph to begin the night. He pumped 99-mph heat past Suzuki to record his first career K. He retired the side in order while a captivated Japanese crowd roared in applause.
From there, however, little came easy.
Sasaki lost fastball after fastball to his arm side in the second inning, issuing walks to Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson before getting a reprieve on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s line-out double play. He started spraying the ball again in the third, following Jon Berti’s one-out single — the only hit Sasaki allowed in his outing — with three straight walks to force in a run.
At that point, the Dodgers still had a 3-1 cushion, thanks to a two-run rally in the second-inning rally and solo home run from Tommy Edman in the third. They’d add more insurance later in the game on a two-run home run from Kiké Hernández in the fourth and, to the raucous delight of the Tokyo Dome crowd, a Shohei Ohtani solo blast in the fifth.
But in this moment, with Sasaki seemingly on the ropes, Roberts got his bullpen active while staring toward the mound with a contemplative gaze.
-
Share via
It felt like, with Sasaki’s pitch count climbing quickly, he was likely down to his final couple batters.
Then, in the most telling sequence of the night, he struck out both to extinguish the danger — spotting three outer-edge fastballs to sit Busch down looking, before dialing up a pair of sliders to Shaw that he helplessly swung through — and end his debut with a deep sigh of relief.
For years, Stephen A. Smith’s many football blunders have been easy enough to explain away.
He’s not an NFL guy (remember when he said the three key players for a game were three guys who weren’t playing in the game?)
Stephen A. Smith falsely claimed the Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since 2022, but Golden State reached the second round in both 2023 and 2025. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)
He’s definitely not a college football guy (remember when he called Jalen Milroe Jalen “Milroy” multiple times and then read the wrong stat line after a College Football Playoff game?).
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
ESPN forces him into those conversations because First Take has to talk football, and Smith knows that football is the most popular sport in the country and he needs to be seen as an authority (even though he isn’t).
But Monday’s latest mistake is a lot tougher to excuse, because this time Smith wasn’t talking about the NFL or college football. He was talking about the Golden State Warriors, one of the defining NBA dynasties of the last decade.
In other words, he was talking about the sport and the league that’s supposed to be his bread and butter.
JALEN BRUNSON’S SISTER BLASTS ESPN AFTER STEPHEN A SMITH KNICKS RANT: ‘UTTERLY RIDICULOUS’
While discussing whether Steve Kerr has coached his last game with Golden State, Smith confidently stated the Warriors “haven’t been back to the playoffs since that championship in 2022.”
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr looks on during a game against the Sacramento Kings. (Robert Edwards/Imagn Images)
That’s not even close to true. Not only did Golden State make the playoffs last season, but they also reached the postseason in 2023. Last year, the Warriors made the playoffs, beat the Rockets in seven games and advanced to the second round before losing to the Timberwolves. In 2023, they beat the Sacramento Kings in the first round and before losing to the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.
So, Smith wouldn’t even have been right if he said they haven’t won a playoff series since 2022. But he didn’t say that. He said they didn’t make the playoffs in any of the past four years, except they did it twice.
Yikes.
This is not an obscure piece of NBA trivia that Smith could be easily forgiven for not knowing. Perhaps he was too busy playing solitaire on his phone and just missed two of the past three NBA postseasons. That’s a tough look for the guy who fancies himself as the No. 1 NBA analyst in the country.
And it’s a terrible look for ESPN, as they keep selling Smith as one of the faces of their NBA coverage.
Stephen A. Smith made a brutal gaffe while talking Warriors playoff history
If Smith made this kind of mistake while talking about the NFL, nobody would be shocked. At this point, sports fans practically expect him to butcher football analysis. It’s almost endearing that a guy with the ego of Smith can be so consistently wrong while also delivering every “fact” with the utmost confidence. It’s part of the Stephen A. experience.
But this one hits differently because the NBA is where he’s supposed to at least know the basics. This is where Smith prides himself as being an authority figure.
Stephen A. Smith incorrectly stated the Golden State Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since their 2022 championship, despite the team reaching the postseason twice since then. (Candice Ward/Imagn Images)
And yet he couldn’t keep the recent playoff history of the Warriors straight. The team whose head coach is in the news every other week. The team that has won four championships since 2014. Arguably one of the most important franchises in the NBA over the past 15 years.
Yes, Golden State missed the playoffs in 2024 after getting bounced in the Play-In Tournament (although they won 46 games that season). And yes, it fell short again this season. But that’s a lot different from acting like Steve Kerr has spent four years wandering the basketball wilderness since winning that 2022 title.
He hasn’t. In fact, the team is 175-153 in the past four regular seasons.
STEVE KERR DOWNPLAYS WARRIORS OWNER’S EMAIL EXCHANGE THAT HINTED AT COACHING MISTAKES: ‘NOT A BIG DEAL’
The Warriors made the second round in 2023. They made the second round again in 2025.
Before burying Steve Kerr on national television, maybe Stephen A. Smith could take 10 seconds to confirm whether the Warriors were actually, you know, in the playoffs.
A legendary NFL coach found linebacker Rod Martin not by scouting him at USC, but almost by accident.
The Oakland Raiders had a throwaway 12th-round pick in the 1977 draft, and then-coach John Madden grew frustrated hearing his personnel executives contemplate using it on a basketball player or track guy. Finally, Madden blurted out that he could find a random kid walking around the USC campus in sandals who could make more of an impact than that.
“Ron Wolf says, ‘All right, smart guy,’” recalled Madden’s son, Mike. “So they were a couple picks away and dad goes, ‘Let me call [USC coach] John Robinson.’”
Robinson had one question: Has Rod Martin been drafted?
Raiders linebacker Rod Martin stands on the field during a game against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 6, 1987, at the Coliseum.
(Mike Powell / Getty Images)
“Dad goes, ‘What position does he play?’” the younger Madden said. “Robinson tells him Martin is a linebacker, and dad goes, ‘Good. Tough guy we can knock around in training camp. Have him run down on kicks.’ And Robinson says, ‘No, John. Rod Martin will make your team.’”
Martin did a lot more than make the team. He would go on to set a Super Bowl record with three interceptions in one of the most dominant defensive performances in championship history.
Martin, who would play his entire 12-year career with the Oakland then Los Angeles Raiders, is dead at age 72. The Raiders announced his death Monday but did not specify a cause of death.
“The Raiders family is deeply saddened by the passing of Rod Martin, a standout linebacker and key player on two Super Bowl championship teams,” read a team statement.
The franchise called Martin, “a beloved member of the Raiders Family and a favorite of Raiders fans everywhere.”
A two-time Super Bowl winner and a two-time Pro Bowl selection, Martin saved his best game for the biggest stage. In Super Bowl XV at the Louisiana Superdome, he intercepted Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski three times in a 27-10 Raiders victory.
“What I remember about Rod was his ability to diagnose and react,” Jaworski said by phone Monday. “In the Super Bowl, he makes two phenomenal plays. He has three interceptions, but interceptions one and two — I’d like to say they were bad decisions on my part. They weren’t. I tried to squeeze throws in. He just made a great play. He was a great athlete.”
Three years later, Martin was still a key component to the Raiders’ defense in a Super Bowl victory over Washington. He had a sack of quarterback Joe Theismann, a fumble recovery, and a fourth-and-one stop of John Riggins late in the third quarter of a 38-9 blowout.
Born in Welch, W. Va., the son of a coal miner grew up in Los Angeles and attended Hamilton High before going on to play at Los Angeles City College and USC. The NFL saw him as a tweener, too small for linebacker at 210 pounds and too slow to play safety. Clearly, that was a faulty assessment.
Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon was two years behind Martin at Hamilton, and the two remained friends throughout the decades that followed.
“We met when I was a sophomore,” Moon said. “He was a senior — middle linebacker, fullback and center on the basketball team. He was the ultimate athlete. At the time I was there, I looked up to him quite a lot.
“He wasn’t the biggest guy in the world, but he was big enough. He had the strongest hands and the strongest forearms. He could just take a tight end or whoever came to block him, grab his pads, shove him off and go make the play. He was just a real solid player.”
It was those hands that grabbed an opportunity with the Raiders and didn’t let go.
“So dad goes marching into the draft room,” Madden said, “looks at Ron and everybody else and says, ‘We’re going to take Rod Martin, linebacker, USC.’ And they did.”
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
New details have emerged surrounding the arrest of former Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch, who is facing two misdemeanor charges following a run-in with law enforcement just days ahead of the NFL Draft.
Branch, who is a projected second-round pick, was arrested early Sunday morning in Athens, Georgia, and charged with two counts of obstructing public sidewalks/streets – prowling and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Zachariah Branch celebrates after a touchdown catch against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Nov. 28, 2025. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)
He was released after more than two hours in jail after posting $39 in bonds.
The NFL Network obtained the police report from Branch’s arrest, which described an encounter over an alleged sidewalk incident with law enforcement, in which police alleged that the former Bulldogs star failed “to comply with multiple verbal lawful commands.”
“A male, later identified as Zacharia Branch, continued to stand on the sidewalk without making an attempt to move. I continued to give Zacharia Branch verbal commands to move from blocking the sidewalk and advised that if he did not, he would receive a citation for blocking the sidewalk,” the excerpt from the report read.
Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch runs during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 28, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
TOP NFL DRAFT PICK ZACHARIAH BRANCH ARRESTED IN GEORGIA ON TWO MISDEMEANOR CHARGES
“Zacharia Branch smirked, then stepped backwards and to the right, then remained standing upon the public sidewalk, so as to obstruct, hinder, and impede free passage upon the sidewalk as well as impede free ingress/egress to or from the adjacent places of business,” the report continued.
“Due to those actions and Zacharia Branch’s failure to comply with multiple verbal lawful commands, he was placed under arrest for misdemeanor Obstruction of LEO and received a citation for Obstructing Public Sidewalks.”
Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch celebrates with wide receiver Colbie Young after scoring a touchdown against Ole Miss during the Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 1, 2026. (IMAGN)
Branch transferred after two seasons at Southern California and immediately became quarterback Gunner Stockton’s favorite target. He finished the season with a team-high 811 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
His status as a projected second-round pick was bolstered after an impressive showing at the combine, where he clocked a 4.35-second 40-yard dash.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
-
Texas1 minute agoFitness influencer drowns during swimming portion of Ironman Texas
-
Utah7 minutes agoUtah Jazz win coin flip, guaranteed to keep NBA Draft Lottery pick
-
Vermont13 minutes ago
VT Lottery Powerball, Gimme 5 results for April 20, 2026
-
Virginia19 minutes agoVirginia voters to vote on measure that could determine control of Congress
-
Washington25 minutes agoWashington Watch: CCAMPIS grant competition announced – Community College Daily
-
Wisconsin31 minutes agoTranfser Portal Predcition: Wisconsin trasnfer John Blackwell likely to land with contender
-
West Virginia37 minutes agoAIA West Virginia honors design excellence at 2026 gala in Morgantown
-
Wyoming43 minutes agoMan shot, critically injured by deputy during ‘disturbance’ in Rock Springs, Wyoming