"Your directions are fastball." It's a 164km monster. Why did the Dodgers 'Roberts' leave bitter comments to Sasaki

*This content was translated by AI.

Loki Sasaki (25, Los Angeles Dodgers), who is about to play in the second season of the Major League Baseball (MLB), once again heard bitter words from manager Dave Roberts (54).

Sasaki started the 2026 MLB exhibition game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona on the 26th (Korea time) and threw 27 pitches in one ⅓ inning, sluggish with three hits, two walks, three strikeouts and three runs.

Sasaki, who started by giving up a walk to the first batter, then gave up a walk. Kim Hye-sung's good defense caught one out count, but Nolan Arenado allowed the first run with a left double, and Ildemaro Vargas also doubled once again and the number of runs increased to 3.

Sasaki struck out his first batter in the second inning after striking out consecutively, but walked once again before stepping down from the mound.

The maximum speed was 98.6 miles (158.7 kilometers) per hour. It's not enough compared to his maximum speed of 164km, but it's still in the process of preparing for the season, and it's a ball that boasts tremendous speed in the big league as a whole. However, Molly had a lot of balls, and there were frequent scenes where these balls were hit.

Sasaki decided to mix the balls herself. In the beginning, he played mainly with fast balls, and in the second half, he mixed the cutter and sinker that he was learning anew. The main weapon was only four fork balls.

According to the Japanese baseball media Baseball Channel, Sasaki explained after the game, "I decided to mix it myself because there was something I wanted to try."

Sasaki, who is famous for his "glass body," was injured once again after starting his Dodgers career last season, and eventually had only 1 win, 1 loss, 2 holds, and an ERA of 4.46 in 10 games.

In the fall baseball, he boosted his confidence by playing as a bullpen, but he is currently sweating with his goal of entering the starting rotation.

However, Roberts said of Sasaki, "To be honest, today is the first time I thought he was out of his mechanism," adding, "He throws too many fastball." I think the important thing is to make the splitter the core of the pitch," he pointed out.

The pitching pattern is simply a problem, but Sasaki, who is still in his second year, decides the pitch himself and cannot lead to results.

This is not the first time Sasaki has been criticized for her attitude. During the last season, Roberts pointed out Sasaki's ball mix once, but said, "I hope you don't lose your confidence and take the mound. There are times when I'm too cautious, but I want you to fight," he advised.

He pointed out this attitude after running with pain and the news of the injury was revealed later. At the time, Roberts said, "The communication between the player and the club should be both sides," adding, "I would have learned that we have to communicate honestly through this."

But once again, it was pointed out. It may be somewhat humiliating for Sasaki to say that it is out of the mechanism. It is very unusual for Roberts, who is not even a former pitcher, to directly mention the pitch type and mechanism, but he seems to have decided that Sasaki needs stinging advice once again.

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*This content was translated by AI.