Straight Talk: Aggressive Sasaki comes away empty-handed after quality start

"Straight Talk" is a regular feature in which The Sporting Tribune's John E. Gibson offers a full translation of media availability with Dodgers Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. He will also help translate when Clippers star Rui Hachimura and L.A. Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida are asked questions in Japanese.

The job of interpreters in the heat of the moment is difficult without the ability to write down questions and answers and re-hear responses for proper context. That's where John comes in to help. John currently works as a Japanese-English interpreter and covered pro baseball in Japan for about 20 years. His experience as a sports reporter includes stints at The Orange County Register, The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, The Redlands Daily Facts, The Yomiuri Shimbun’s English newspaper in Tokyo and The Epoch Times. 

PHOENIX — Roki Sasaki posts another strong start for the Dodgers but comes away with no decision as Los Angeles falls for the seventh consecutive game, dropping a 4-3 decision to the host Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. The righty throws two-run ball over six innings, allowing four hits, a walk and five Ks.

Q: Roki, this was your fourth start in which the stuff has looked really good. When you look at the execution tonight, how did you feel on the mound?

Sasaki: Yes, well, they really like to attack early in counts. With that in mind, I think I was able to aggressively pitch in the zone. And I had some good fortune in that some their hard contact was right at people, but I was able to go at them in the zone.

Q: Given where the team is at right now – seven losses in row, but coming into this one, six – how much is at the top of mind for you to want to go out there and be the stopper for this team?

Sasaki: Well, I just stayed focused on what I could do, like aim to keep the runs to a minimum and go as deep into the game as possible. And I tried not to think about trying to be too perfect or not give up a bunch of runs, and just pitch – do what I’m supposed to do as the starting pitcher and not bear the weight of the losses.

Q: This is your best extended run as a starting pitcher in the big leagues. What do you think has allowed you to be more consistent start to start?

Sasaki: As far as today goes, more than any time before, there were times when I threw some hittable pitches because of my control, and there were quite a few pitches. But the guys behind me made some good plays to help me out and there was some good luck in there, so the result wasn’t bad. But my forkball was especially high a lot times, so if I can make some adjustments to it so that I can execute the pitch, I think I can continue to pitch well.