Major League Baseball fans should probably get used to hearing the name Roki Sasaki because with every outing, he’s looking more and more like the next big-league star out of Japan.
Last week, the 20-year-old Sasaki pitched the first perfect game in the NPB in 28 years when he shut down the Orix Buffaloes with 19 strikeouts. Sasaki nearly followed up the historic effort with ANOTHER perfect game.
During Sunday’s Chiba Lotte Marines game against the Nippon-Ham Fighters, Sasaki went eight perfect innings with 14 strikeouts before he was pulled at 102 pitches. The Marines ended up losing, 1-0, in the 12th inning, which had to be one of the tougher no decisions any pitcher could take.
But still, if you’re throwing 17 consecutive perfect innings in professional baseball, you have to have some filthy pitches to work with. Well, Sasaki doesn’t disappoint there. The 20-year-old boasts a 101 mph fastball to go along with a 91 mph splitters with intense movement. Just check it out:
Rōki Sasaki, Unhittable Splitters. 😳
8 Perfect Innings (with 14Ks), taken out with a PG intact…after throwing a Perfect Game with 19Ks last outing. Insanity. pic.twitter.com/sKpLotnHCp
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 17, 2022
And some more highlights from his latest outing:
Last week: Rōki Sasaki throws a perfect game with 19Ks in a 1-0 victory for the Chiba Lotte Marines in 🇯🇵
Today: Sasaki throws another 8 perfect innings with 14Ks before being taken out on 102 pitches at 0-0.
He has 17 consecutive PERFECT innings… 🔥pic.twitter.com/l1sOEDBi6U
— Baseball Brit (@BaseballBrit) April 17, 2022
His final pitch of the afternoon was clocked at 163 kph, which comes in at, oh, 101 mph. That’s cheat code stuff right there.
Roki Sasaki is being pulled after 8 perfect innings. Naoya Masuda is coming in, he posted a 2.24 ERA in 64 innings last season. Sasaki has retired 52 straight batters and counting, we'll see how far that streak continues next week. Here's Sasaki's last strikeout from the day. pic.twitter.com/hFmXnRa8h4
— Kyle Kishimoto (@kylemoto10) April 17, 2022
He’s retired 52 straight batters, and again, it’s easy to see why with his pitching repertoire. The bidding war for his services could be historic when he’s ready to break into the big leagues. No wonder MLB fans were in awe.