Roki Sasaki's weird dismissal of glove change points to recurring Dodgers theme

In Roki Sasaki's three starts since the All-Star break, he's looked a lot more like the pitcher the Los Angeles Dodgers have been waiting for. On Friday, he pitched seven innings of one-run baseball against the New York Mets with nine strikeouts. It was by far his best outing since the beginning of June, when he pitched seven scoreless with 10 strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels.

Sasaki has been erratic for the Dodgers this season, but this recent stretch gives way to some hope that his success will be sustainable.

What can we attribute that success to? Last year, while Sasaki was rehabbing the shoulder injury that limited him to just 10 starts during his rookie season, he was also reworking his mechanics. It looked like a miracle when he came back and took over as the de facto closer, but it clearly didn't stick.

This year, the answer might be as simple as a bigger glove. In his first start of the second half, he took the mound wearing a bright yellow, and noticeably larger, glove. Ayako Oikawa of MLB.com Japan reported the change was made to hide pitch tipping, which has been an issue for Sasaki since last season.

Sasaki, however, denied that his glove was any different. "Probably my face got smaller," he said. "That's why the glove looks bigger."

It was definitely a joke, but it's also a continuation of a theme: Sasaki really doesn't like to admit when he needs help.

Roki Sasaki downplays new glove change despite clear improvements for Dodgers

The Dodgers have downplayed communication issues with Sasaki since he came over from NPB, but it was clear to fans last season that something wasn't clicking between him — a reportedly introverted player — and the team.

When he came back to the majors as a seemingly new player, Dodgers pitching coordinator Rob Hill was credited with working with Sasaki on his mechanics with other members of the coaching staff. He downplayed the team's involvement and said that he simply watched old videos of himself and made changes accordingly.

At the end of the day, the Dodgers probably don't care much who gets credit as long as Sasaki's success is sustainable. It's fair to wonder if they should've just curbed his pitch-tipping habits instead of obscure them, but that'll be an issue only if the glove eventually fails to do the trick.

For now, Sasaki is enjoying his steadiest run in the rotation since he debuted. Even if the glove looks a little ridiculous, it's getting the job done.

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