Roki Sasaki, offense dominate as Dodgers rout Angels again

Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times on May 17, 2026

Published in Baseball

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For two straight batters, Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki threw more pitches in or just above the dirt than in the strike zone. And against the swing-happy Angels, the approach worked. He struck out Logan O’Hoppe and Adam Frazier back to back in the third inning.

Sasaki’s gem Sunday against the Angels propelled the Dodgers to a 10-1 win, completing the series sweep in Anaheim.

It was a good matchup for Sasaki. With a 48% swing rate entering Sunday, the Angels were in the top third in the league. And Sasaki took full advantage of it, authoring the best start of his major-league career.

Even when Sasaki has pitched well this season, he’d been searching for efficiency. And on Sunday he found it, tossing seven innings for the first time in his MLB career, while limiting the Angels to one run.

He had never before thrown a pitch in the seventh. And on Sunday, he needed just five pitches to fly through that inning.

Sasaki also recorded a career-high eight strikeouts. His slider generated the most whiffs (seven) of any of his pitches, according to Statcast. And his new splitter had a 50% chase rate.

Sasaki logged two separate two-strikeout innings. In addition to the pair in the third, he fanned Yoán Moncada and Jo Adell to open the second inning.

Against them, Sasaki took a different tact. He threw more breaking balls in the strike zone to Moncada and finished him off with a splitter at the bottom of the zone. And he got Adell to chase off-speed pitches around the perimeter, putting him away with a slider above the zone.

The Dodgers’ offense gave Sasaki early run support. And hustle on the basepaths ended up playing a large role in the rallies in the second and fourth innings.

Kyle Tucker led off the second inning, dropping a flyball single down the right-field line. Then Max Muncy and Dalton Rushing drew consecutive walks against Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez to load the bases.

With one out, all Miguel Rojas had to do to give the Dodgers an early lead was put the ball in the air. He sent his sacrifice fly far enough.

Initially, it looked like it might be a close play at home. Hyeseong Kim, who was on deck, motioned for Tucker to slide. But as he dove across the plate, Angels right fielder Adell’s throw had just reached the cutoff man.

With two out, Kim squeezed another run out of the rally, driving a single into shallow right field.

In the fourth inning, the Dodgers again loaded the bases, this time with two outs. The Angels had a chance to get out of it earlier in the inning with just two men on when Kim hit a grounder to first baseman Nolan Schanuel. But Kim tore down the first-base line and beat Rodriguez to the bag.

Then the top of the Dodgers’ batting order took over. Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages and Tucker each hit singles to drive in a combined five runs.

The Dodgers widened their advantage in the ninth, as Tucker recorded his third hit of the day — tied with Ohtani for the team lead — a two-run double. Teoscar Hernández then drove him home.

Dodgers get pitching help

As the Dodgers navigate the ripple effects of a series of recent pitching injuries, they added depth on Sunday by acquiring left-hander Eric Lauer from the Blue Jays for cash considerations.

The Blue Jays designated Lauer for assignment last week, after a bumpy start to the season. Lauer had yielded a league-leading 11 home runs in eight appearances.

It was a contrast to the far steadier presence he’d provided on the mound last year en route to an American League pennant, when he posted a 3.18 ERA in the regular season in a swingman role and 3.12 in the postseason. Lauer didn’t give up a run against the Dodgers in two World Series appearances, including 4 2/3 innings in Game 3.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers transferred right-hander Brusdar Graterol (right shoulder surgery recovery) to the 60-day injured list.

The Dodgers, who had to pivot to a bullpen game Friday when southpaw Blake Snell (left elbow surgery to remove loose bodies) landed on the IL, made a series of bullpen-related roster moves Sunday morning.

They put left-hander Jack Dreyer on the 15-day IL with left shoulder discomfort. Imaging showed “nothing relevant,” other than inflammation, manager Dave Roberts said. The Dodgers hope he’ll be ready to be reinstated after a minimum stint.

“He was warming up yesterday and then felt something in his shoulder, some soreness,” Roberts said. “We just wanted to be proactive.

The team also optioned left-hander Charlie Barnes to triple-A Oklahoma City. And they recalled two fresh relievers, right-handers Paul Gervase and Chayce McDermott.

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