SAN FRANCISCO – The sequence was promising on paper. In practice on Friday night, it was spectacular.
Roki Sasaki in the eighth inning.
Tanner Scott in the ninth.
Manager Dave Roberts emphasized they wouldn’t necessarily be deployed in that order come the playoffs, but their performances in the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory over the Giants indicated they could be the foundation of a championship-caliber bullpen for the Dodgers.
“I don’t want you to pigeonhole me into using these guys in certain roles, but, yeah, I think it’s just better to have as many guys that you have confidence in leverage (situations),” Roberts said.
Sasaki followed a seven-inning effort by starter Tarik Skubal by striking out two batters in a perfect eighth inning.
Scott retired the side in the ninth to record his 24th save.
On their World Series run last year, the bullpen was something the Dodgers had to work around. They were extremely dependent on their starting pitchers, whom they counted on not only to pitch deeper into games but also make relief contributions. Sasaki’s emergence as closer was as much a reflection of their lack of options as it was of the Japanese fireballer’s gifts.
The Dodgers should enter the playoffs next month with an entirely different feel.
Scott has recovered from his nightmare season last year, looking more like the Padres relief ace who shut down Shohei Ohtani in the 2024 playoffs to earn a $72-million payday with the Dodgers.
As for the 24-year-old Sasaki, he looks even better as a reliever than he did last year.
“I think the fastball’s better,” Roberts said. “I think the split’s better. It’s also nice that he’s already done it. So, just in total, he’s just a better pitcher than he was last year and a lot more confident. And certainly, the stuff was really good the last couple outings.”
Four of the six fastballs Sasaki threw were clocked at faster than 100 mph.
The other two registered readings of more than 99 mph.
“Overall, he just keeps getting better,” Scott said. “Even when he was starting, I thought he was pretty dominant. For him to get moved to the bullpen as we go into October, it’s huge for us.”
Sasaki started seven games after the All-Star break and was 2-0 with a 3.05 earned-run average. A blister on his pitching hand landed him on the injured list. When he returned earlier this week, he did so as a reliever.
He also struck out two batters in his other relief appearance, a scoreless inning on Tuesday against the San Diego Padres.
“Throughout the season, I’ve sharpened myself technically,” Sasaki said in Japanese. “Compared to last year, I feel much better in that respect.”
Sasaki will likely pitch next in the regular-season finale on Sunday, Roberts said.
He could close out games again in October, as Roberts said there could be games in which he calls on Scott to pitch against a particularly dangerous segment of the opposing lineup earlier in the game.
Scott said he was open to pitching in any situation.
“Just get outs,” Scott said. “That’s all that matters in October. Get outs.
“October is about winning every single game. It really doesn’t matter what roles you get asked to do. Just go out there and do it.”
