RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 2 sourcesLos Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the sweepstakes for Roki Sasaki before last season, but the results were not great.
The phenom was free to sign with any team after posting early from Japan. He chose the Dodgers and showed flashes of brilliance, but overall, he did not live up to expectations. This year was looking like more of the same until July 8.
In his last three starts, Sasaki has a 1.93 ERA and 19 strikeouts. He has walked just four batters over that span. In his first start out of the All-Star Break, he touched triple digits 21 times, which was more than all of his other starts combined. The velocity came back down to earth on Friday's start against the New York Mets, but he was still dominant. He went seven innings, allowing just one earned run.
The stretch of elite pitching has coincided with a glove change for Sasaki. After allowing six earned runs in three innings against the San Diego Padres, Dave Roberts said the Dodgers were going to do a dive on Sasaki. He felt like the Padres were on everything, and the Dodgers feared he was tipping pitches.
Shop Our Best Offer!
Looking for the perfect gift for a baseball player in your life? Check out our brand new baseball lifestyle brand!
The Dodgers decided to get him a bigger glove to better hide his grip. Whether that's the sole reason for the better results is unclear, but something is clearly working. Sasaki downplayed the impact of the glove after his last start.
“Probably my face got smaller," Sasaki said when asked why the glove looks so much larger than the previous one, per The Athletic's Katie Woo. "That’s why the glove looks bigger.”
More MLB: Trade Rumor Links Red Sox To High-Leverage Reliever As Deadline Approaches
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.