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(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

It’s been a rollercoaster ride for Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Roki Sasaki as a starting pitcher. However, his outing on May 17 against the Los Angeles Angels might be where it’s all starting to click for Sasaki. Moreover, it could be due to a battery connection.

In the Dodgers’ 10-1 win over the Angels at Angel Stadium, Sasaki found chemistry with the team’s backup catcher, Dalton Rushing. The Japanese star went seven innings, only giving up four hits, one earned run, and zero walks while striking out eight batters.

After sweeping the Freeway Series, Sasaki spoke with the media and credited Rushing for helping him have one of the best starts of his major league career.

“I think Rushing did a great job with calling the game,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo (h/t Katie Woo of The Athletic). “Pitch selection. It was because of that.”

Moreover, Sasaki noted what exactly felt right about the outing that allowed him to dominate Angels batters and start turning his season around after a challenging April.

“Today I felt able to throw strikes a little more, and also (the) defense did a great job and the offense also did a great job scoring a lot of runs,” Sasaki noted.

Dalton Rushing on Roki Sasaki’s Outing Against Angels

The seven innings against the Angels was Sasaki’s longest outing of the 2026 MLB season so far, and it’s the first time that the Dodgers starter has only given up one earned run since March 30 against the Cleveland Guardians. However, the downside to that game was he only went four innings.

Following the Dodgers’ win, Rushing shared what he saw from Sasaki in Anaheim that allowed the starter to have his impressive outing and now has a building block to build his confidence.

“[Sasaki] attacked the strike zone,” Rushing said. “He attacked it with all three pitches, too. … From there you can kind of play the chase card with him a little bit, and get outside of hitters’ comfort zone. Obviously, with the stuff that he has, it’s easy to miss barrels, and we hadn’t quite gotten to see that just yet. Today was obviously a big step.”

Dodgers Manager Sees a Different Roki Sasaki

Los Angeles has been patient with Sasaki, allowing the player to work out his issues at the major league level rather than sending him down to the minors to work out his stuff. Now, it seems the Dodgers’ patience his bearing fruit and manager Dave Roberts is noticing a different Sasaki.

“Roki’s opened up a lot more,” Roberts said. “I think the confidence is showing; I think the comfort level of his sequencing, his pitches, is showing.

“I think with him there was a learning curve as far as adjusting to Major League Baseball,” Roberts added. “You’ve got to sometimes have some failures to be more open, I think. We’ve had the kind of wait-and-see process with Roki. … It’s just been a much better relationship this year.”

It’s only one start, but the Dodgers are hoping this is the beginning of consistent dominance for Sasaki, and they’ll need it with Blake Snell out again after surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow.