Roki Sasaki Admits He ‘Tried Too Hard’ as Dodgers’ Fifth Inning Fell Apart

The Los Angeles Dodgers watched a promising start dissolve in a single frame Friday night, and Roki Sasaki didn’t flinch from taking the blame.

The young right-hander cruised through four scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox, holding the league’s worst offense to just a whisper. Then the fifth inning happened — and everything went sideways. Chicago plated seven runs, fueled by walks and defensive miscues, turning a winnable game into an 8-2 blowout at Dodger Stadium.

Sasaki’s line looked ugly: 4.1 innings, 7 hits, 7 earned runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, and an ERA that jumped to 4.76 across 12 appearances. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. What stood out was his candor after the game.

Speaking through an interpreter in comments shared by SportsNet LA, Sasaki didn’t hide behind mechanics or bad luck. He pointed directly at his own mindset.

“In the fifth inning, I know I gave a lot of walks,” Sasaki said. “I couldn’t just get the quick outs. I was trying too hard, too much.”

He elaborated on the mental shift that unravelled his outing. “I didn’t want to give him a point, so I threw it with a bit of force,” Sasaki explained. “I was trying to go for it with a bit of force, but it made it difficult for me to get to the zone. I think that’s why I wasn’t able to fix it.”

That admission — raw and self-aware — is rare for a pitcher of any age, let alone a rookie adjusting to the major league grind. Sasaki’s philosophy early in the inning was simple: stop the bleeding fast. But that urgency backfired.

“I was trying to get the quick outs, so I was trying to do too much,” he said.

For the Dodgers, Friday’s collapse is more than a footnote in a long season. It’s a teachable moment for a pitcher they believe will anchor their future. Sasaki arrived in Los Angeles with elite stuff and sky-high expectations. But the transition from Japan’s NPB to MLB has come with growing pains — uneven command, a tendency to overthrow in big spots, and a learning curve that can’t be shortcut.

The good news? He’s aware of the problem. The next step is adjusting on the fly, something veteran pitchers learn over years. The Dodgers are betting he can accelerate that timeline.

Whether Sasaki channels this frustration into his next start or lets it linger will say a lot about his resilience — and how fast he can turn a rough night into forward momentum.