Dodgers' Roki Sasaki: Flying to LA after rehab start

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Sasaki (shoulder) is flying to Los Angeles on Wednesday and will meet with the Dodgers to discuss next steps, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Sasaki's flight comes after he posted his most promising minor-league rehab start to date Tuesday, giving up three runs on three hits and four walks with eight strikeouts over 4.2 innings. While that final line isn't going to blow anyone away, the rookie right-hander most notably reached triple-digit velocity on six of his fastballs and induced 16 whiffs on 35 swings. Sasaki's eight punchouts also stood out after he notched the same number of strikeouts over his first four rehab appearances spanning a combined 14 innings. It's not yet clear what's next for Sasaki, though Harris reports that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts "left the door open" for the Japanese hurler to potentially be on the team's postseason pitching staff, which would require Sasaki to get into multiple big-league games before the end of the regular season. If that were to happen, Sasaki would likely need to work out of the bullpen, as Los Angeles' rotation currently has six healthy pitchers and has been performing well of late.