Welcome back to the best version of Roki Sasaki.
And, in a frustrating setback for the Dodgers, the worst version of Tanner Scott.
Entering the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night in Los Angeles, the red-hot Dodgers seemed to be rolling to a seventh-straight win and a series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
They had gotten 5 ⅓ spectacular innings from Sasaki, who rediscovered 100 mph life on his fastball for the first time this year. They were also protecting a two-run lead, thanks to some big outs from relievers Alex Vesia and Kyle Hurt in the prior two innings.
That’s when Scott came trotting in, trying to extend a 12 ⅓ inning scoreless streak that resembled nothing of the career-worst campaign he endured last season.
Instead, the veteran left-hander quickly imploded in a 4-3 defeat, succumbing to the exact same two-strike issues that plagued him through so much of his 2025 struggles.
He got leadoff man Justin Crawford in an 0-2 hole, before throwing a low slider that was hit for a single.
With two outs in the inning, he was ahead of Bryce Harper in a 1-2 count, but threw a down-and-in fastball that the two-time MVP ripped to right for an RBI single.
In the next at-bat, Scott got to two strikes again against Edmundo Sosa, this time trying to climb the ladder with a putaway fastball. His heater, however, stayed in Sosa’s “wheelhouse,” as manager Dave Roberts acknowledged.
Sosa walloped it to left for a go-ahead two-run home run.
“We were trying to go up and I thought I could get it high enough, [but] I left it too much in the zone,” Scott said. “Just a bad pitch.”
Just like that, the Dodgers had squandered a lead they had held since Santiago Espinal’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and extended on an RBI single from Mookie Betts in the seventh.
Even worse, they let Sasaki’s one-run, three-hit, seven-strikeout gem go to waste, snapping a season-long winning streak that had seemed so certain to continue.
What it means
For the first time since the start of the Dodgers’ recent 13-3 tear, their bullpen finally faltered.
In the previous two losses of that stretch, lackluster offense had been to blame. The bullpen, meanwhile, had been almost flawless, at one point setting a club record with a 38-inning scoreless streak.
On Saturday, however, the loss fell most squarely on Scott, marking the first time this season he took the mound with a lead and failed to protect it.
“[When] you get count leverage, then you have to be able to put them away,” Roberts said. “And tonight we couldn’t do that.”
Who’s hot
Sasaki, especially with his fastball.
From the very start of the night, the right-handed phenom had found renewed life on his four-seamer. In his very first at-bat against Kyle Schwarber, he hit 99 mph twice, then eclipsed 100 mph for the first time since he was pitching out of the bullpen in last year’s playoffs.
Sasaki would keep lighting up the radar gun the rest of the game, averaging a season-best 98.5 mph with his heater.
It allowed him to attack the Phillies’ star-studded lineup in a way he has rarely been able to as a big-league starter, bouncing back from a second-inning home run from Alec Bohm by retiring the next 13 batters he faced consecutively.
Sasaki’s night only ended after back-to-back one-out singles in the sixth, forcing manager Dave Roberts’ hand with a couple left-handed hitters on deck. But Alex Vesia escaped that jam, preserving what was only Sasaki’s third one-run start this year.
In his last three outings overall, Sasaki has now posted a 2.08 ERA in 17 ⅓ innings, while striking out 19 batters and walking only three.
For the first time this season, he had 100 mph heat to go along with it, marking the most encouraging step yet in his continued growth process in the big leagues.
Who’s not
While Scott was the main culprit, the Dodgers’ offense didn’t help matters either.
Despite racking up nine hits –– including three from Betts –– the club failed to cash in on several chances and went just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Kyle Tucker’s 0-for-4 loomed particularly large, especially after he took pregame batting practice on the field for the first time this season in hopes of finding a better feel for his swing.
Instead, he left two runners aboard by grounding out to end the first inning, then failed to get Betts home after a one-out double in the third. He also recorded the final out of the seventh, rolling over to second base again right after Betts had pushed the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1.
With that, Tucker’s season batting average is back down to .236, amid a 1-for-16 slump since the start of this homestand.
“It’s a work in progress,” Roberts said of the $240 million slugger. “I think he’s frustrated with his swing [and was] really getting beat on some pitches today, not hitting it hard.”
Up next
The Dodgers will try to salvage this series in a Sunday afternoon rubber match, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-4, 3.09 ERA) faces off against right-hander Andrew Painter (1-5, 5.40 ERA).
