Los Angeles Dodgers rookie starter and relief pitcher Roki Sasaki revealed the backstory of how his walkout number came about.
The song “Bailalo Rocky” echoes through Dodger Stadium as Sasaki trots out the pen, but the young right-hander revealed he wasn’t the one who chose the song, despite it shouting out the name “Rocky,” which sounds a lot like Roki.
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“That was actually MiggyRo’s (Miguel Rojas) idea,” Sasaki said last week. “I’m really happy that the fans are enjoying it.”
After Sasaki’s initial struggles in the MLB, posting a 4.72 ERA through his first eight starts, it was night and day for him in his transition to the bullpen.
After a shoulder impingement sidelined him for more than four months, his velocity was still slow during his rehab assignment in Triple-A. In a somewhat miraculous development, Sasaki increased his velocity to over 4 mph between starts — and given the success of the starting rotation and the bullpen in need of help, Sasaki’s last two rehab outings have been a relief.
A few scoreless innings out of the bullpen in the regular season was all manager Dave Roberts needed to ensure he could make a run in the postseason.
To call Sasaki capable in October was a serious understatement.
The righthander has an ERA of 1.13 over eight strong innings. He also earned his first three career saves (the first two came on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies) and was on the mound to close out the Wild Card round and the NLCS at home.
Throwing at home is something Sasaki hasn’t liked this season, as he has allowed six earned runs in his three starts this season. Perhaps the added bonus of a song with a name that sounds like his and the infectious energy of a World Series environment will continue his increased success with relief.
“I hadn’t been able to pitch well at Dodger Stadium before, so to be honest, I didn’t have the best memories of it,” Sasaki said. “But now that I’m getting results as a reliever, the view from the mound looks very different.”
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Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn images
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