LOS ANGELES — Maybe Roki Sasaki needed to see what all of the fuss was about.
Now Sasaki is aware of firsthand — nearly — simply how powerful of an at-bat his countrymate could be.
Sasaki posted a number of movies of himself taking a simulated at-bat in opposition to Yamamoto within the Dodger Stadium batting cages on his Instagram story on Monday. To his credit score, Sasaki made some contact, fouling off strike two earlier than swinging by strike three.
“Yoshi is nasty,” Sasaki captioned the video of his whiff.
Sasaki — who celebrated his twenty fourth birthday alongside the Dodgers’ back-to-back championships with a parade by the streets of downtown Los Angeles and a sold-out occasion at Dodger Stadium — made the soar to the Majors this season with the aim of turning into one of many best pitchers in baseball.
After weathering some rising pains early — and a few bodily ache, a proper shoulder damage — Sasaki returned in September and pitched far nearer to his electrical full potential all through the Dodgers’ championship run. Yamamoto went by an analogous expertise in 2024, his first Main League season, when he really excelled within the postseason and carried that momentum into ’25.
There’s lots that Sasaki might study from Yamamoto, however he took it a step additional on Monday. In spite of everything, what higher option to perceive what it takes to be the very best of the very best than to step in in opposition to them?
