Straight Talk: So-so Sasaki not close to what he wants to be, L.A. sputters

"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 Lakers star Rui Hachimura and LA 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.

LOS ANGELES – Right-hander Roki Sasaki works into the sixth inning, but comes away with no decision after surrendering three runs on six hits, a walk and five Ks as the Dodgers fall 9-3 on Monday night at home to the San Francisco Giants. 

Q: Roki, when you look at just how you started this game – you were efficient navigating through their lineup, I just felt that there were one or two points where things might have gotten away. Is that something you felt today on the mound?

Sasaki: Comparatively, I had control of all my pitches and was able to challenge guys in the zone. Even in that third inning, I think I was able to hit spots and managed to pitch well up to the fifth inning.

Q: Considering just what this year has looked like, is this kind of the best your stuff has felt right now?

Sasaki: Yes, I think it’s my better ones so far this season.

Q: Roki, what do you need to do to take the next step further in your game?

Sasaki: As far as today goes, the way we attacked the first time through the lineup was good. But the second and third times through, I got the feeling I needed to find something with the pitch sequencing.

Q: You’ve been better with your command and getting in the zone, how do you translate that to better results overall moving forward?

Sasaki: Well, first of all, I have to deal with my pitches because if I don’t do that, we can’t discuss the pitch sequencing. But saying that, a lot of the pitches today were predictable, to a point. If I work on those things, the results will get increasingly better. So, I have to take a good look at was positive today and work to continue having control going forward.

Q: How much is learning to be less predictable, also about figuring out how to use the new pitch mix with the pitches you’ve added?

Sasaki: It’s not just me, it’s having a discussion with the pitching coach and the catcher. And then depending on tendencies that we look at, things will change during a game, so I hope we can have communication. But first, I have to be able to execute the pitches that are called well and I need to keep preparing myself so I can do that each and every game.

Q: Roki, how close do you feel like you are to being what you want to be as a major league pitcher?

Sasaki: Not yet close. I’m not there at all.