Roki Sasaki addressed the media following his start for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres on June 27, 2026, citing mechanical issues with his arm action and fine control as the root cause of his struggles on the mound.
Sasaki described the outing as overall mediocre, stating that no single pitch or aspect stood out as good. "Everything felt off — there was nothing I could point to and say that was good today," he said during the press conference. He added that the feeling on the mound was unlike anything he had experienced in recent outings, and that the same uncomfortable sensation he had noticed in the bullpen before the game carried over once he took the mound, signaling the mechanical issue was present before he even threw his first pitch.
Sasaki acknowledged that he was frequently unable to execute pitches to the catcher's requests, and that everything went wrong strategically. On the home run he allowed, he noted that he had worked into a favorable count but delivered the softest pitch at the worst possible moment. He also explained that he does not inherently possess pinpoint control, so when he cannot push through counts, he falls behind and gets into trouble — a pattern that defined much of the afternoon.
Comparing the start to a previous outing, Sasaki mentioned that there had been games where he was able to do what he needed to do despite giving up runs, but that June 27's performance was more difficult than the score indicated. He expressed frustration, noting that after a stretch of solid pitching, having a start that does not go as planned is hard to accept.
Despite the setback, Sasaki stated that he views his overall trajectory as trending upward, and that days like this will happen. He said his focus going forward is to reflect on what went wrong and find a way to build innings and keep his team in games.