Roki Sasaki pitches three scoreless innings in spring debut with Dodgers

Roki Sasaki pitched three scoreless innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers in his spring training debut against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.

Sasaki allowed two hits, struck out five and walked one. The right-hander threw 46 pitches, 26 for strikes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto started for the World Series champions and worked four innings of two-run ball before Sasaki came in.

The Reds put two runners on with one out in the fifth, but Sasaki escaped the jam by striking out TJ Friedl and Matt McLain — both looking.

With two outs and runners on second and third in the sixth, Sasaki retired Noelvi Marte on a popup to first.

The Dodgers went on to a 4-2 victory.

Sasaki, 23, agreed to a minor league contract with Los Angeles in January that included a $6.5 million signing bonus. He was considered an international amateur free agent under Major League Baseball rules, leaving the Pacific League’s Chiba Lotte Marines under the posting system.

Had Sasaki waited two more years, he could have commanded a nine-figure contract as a free agent.

Sasaki is one of three Japanese players with the Dodgers, joining Yamamoto and National League MVP Shohei Ohtani.

Sasaki could pitch in the team’s second game of the regular season against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo on March 19.

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The Dodgers are expected to take a cautious approach with Sasaki after he was hampered by injuries over the past two seasons. He had some shoulder inflammation last year and an oblique injury in 2023.

The team plans to use a six-man rotation at times this season to create more rest for its starting pitchers.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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