Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki has had a mixed second season with the NL West franchise. Sasaki’s struggles worsened after he left Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves with an injury.
Sasaki, who held the Braves to a run over the first three innings, ran into trouble in the fourth. After the Japanese pitcher allowed three earned runs, Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior and interpreter Will Ireton visited the mound.
Dodgers’ head athletic trainer Thomas Albert and manager Dave Roberts also joined them on the mound to evaluate Sasaki’s right hand. The Japanese pitcher exited the game after a brief discussion. He reportedly suffered a blister on the middle finger of his right hand.
•
Sasaki entered Wednesday’s game with a 2.31 ERA over his last six starts since the All-Star break. However, he exited the game after just 3.1 innings with four earned runs and three strikeouts.
His shaky fourth inning helped the Braves overturn a 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead. The Dodgers sent reliever Edgardo Henriquez to the mound to replace Sasaki.
The Dodgers allowed another run in the sixth inning, but bounced back with two runs in the seventh to make it 5-5.
Dodgers’ pitching depth expected to cope with Roki Sasaki’s injury
Edited by Chaitanya Prakash