Roki Sasaki’s tightrope walk vs. Braves isn’t going to cut it for the Dodgers

It wasn't pretty, but Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Roki Sasaki survived his two innings of work during Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Sunday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves without allowing an earned run. But it wasn't for lack of trying.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts turned to his 2025 postseason hero in order to keep the game within reach. Sasaki entered during the top of the eighth inning to face the bottom of the Braves batting order, with Atlanta nursing a 3-1 lead.

But a five-pitch walk to Braves designated hitter Rowdy Tellez — who hadn't seen a Major League field since the middle of summer — was not what Roberts was hoping to see during Sasaki's first outing of the postseason.

Things didn't improve much with three straight balls to Atlanta's next batter, Austin Riley. Sasaki battled his way back to a 3-2 count, but hit the Braves' third baseman with the seventh pitch of the at-bat to put runners on first and second with nobody out.

A sacrifice bunt off courtesy of Mike Yastrzemski moved the runners up, and then the Dodgers decided to intentionally walk Drake Baldwin which loaded the bases for Braves All-Star Ronald Acuña Jr. Sheesh! Amazingly, Sasaki wriggled out of the jam thanks to a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Roki Sasaki needs to turn back to the clock to 2025 if the Dodgers hope to advance

The ninth inning went much smoother, and Sasaki sat down Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Michael Harris II in order to give the Dodgers a chance to rally from two runs down. Max Muncy's solo shot in the bottom of the ninth made it interesting, but LA ultimately fell by the final score of 3-2.

Sasaki's final line reads zero earned runs, but he certainly didn't make it easy. This was certainly not the version of Sasaki Dodgers fans remember from 2025 when he was giving off prime Eric Gagné and Kenley Jansen vibes. He looked more like the version of Edwin Díaz Dodgers fans saw during the regular season Well, maybe not that bad.

In nine postseason appearances last year, Sasaki recorded three saves and allowed just one run on six hits through 10⅔ innings of work. That's the version of Sasaki that Roberts needs to see in Game 3 and throughout the rest of the playoffs if the Dodgers hope to make their three-peat dreams a reality.

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