One pitcher returns, another gets hurt. It has been the story of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who got walked off by Ha-Seong Kim and the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night (ATL 6, LA 5), and also lost righty Roki Sasaki to a blister. He will be placed on the 15-day injured list, manager Dave Roberts announced after the game.
"When I was facing the first hitter in the fourth inning, I actually didn't feel anything coming beforehand," Sasaki said through an interpreter after the game (via MLB.com). "My skin just ripped off, and then after that, it got worse. I thought I was able to manage at first because the skin was still there, but after that, it kept getting worse, and I think it affected my slider afterwards."
Sasaki, 24, has an unsightly 4.60 ERA this season, though he's been much better since the All-Star break, pitching to a 3.05 ERA in seven starts. That includes Wednesday's tough outing (four runs in 3 ⅓ innings before exiting with the blister). The under-the-hood numbers in the second half have improved as well: 3.34 FIP and 3.79 expected ERA. Sasaki's been pretty good of late.
Tyler Glasnow returned from a nearly four-month absence with a back injury on Tuesday night and Shohei Ohtani could rejoin the rotation as soon as this weekend. He has not pitched since July 3 due to knee and biceps issues. At the moment, the Dodgers' rotation depth chart looks like this:
- LHP Tarik Skubal
- RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- RHP Shohei Ohtani
- LHP Blake Snell
- RHP Tyler Glasnow
RHP Roki Sasaki(out with blister)- LHP Eric Lauer (will replace Sasaki in the rotation, per Roberts)
LHP Justin Wrobleski(out with forearm inflammation)- RHP Emmet Sheehan (in Triple-A)
RHP Gavin Stone(on minor-league rehab assignment following shoulder surgery)
Once Ohtani returns to the rotation, it will be as close to full strength as the Dodgers have been all season. Snell has strung together three very good starts since returning from elbow surgery earlier this month. Glasnow's healthy, and Ohtani is close to it. Lauer has pitched well for the Dodgers (3.78 ERA in 69 innings) and is a capable No. 6 starter for their six-man rotation.
"I know people are waiting to see on Shohei. He's going to throw a bullpen on Friday in Detroit," Roberts said prior to Wednesday's game (via MLB.com). "And then after that, we'll know how the forthcoming days look. Right now, I don't think anyone knows how any day looks until he throws that bullpen Friday."
There's a chance Sasaki has made his final start of 2026. He was not penciled into the postseason rotation, and the Dodgers could bring him back from this blister issue as a reliever and make that role change in September. Sasaki pitched out of the bullpen last postseason and looked great at times and wobbly at others. His raw stuff warrants a spot on the postseason roster, though.
At 80-53, the Dodgers are atop the NL West and in no danger of missing the postseason. Their lead for the NL's No. 2 seed and thus a Wild Card Series bye is down to only two games over the Braves, however. The Dodgers won the World Series without a bye last year, but if it's attainable, you want it. Skipping a round is an enormous advantage.
The Braves and Dodgers will wrap up their three-game series Thursday night at Truist Park. It is a must-watch pitching matchup: Yamamoto (12-7, 2.61 ERA) vs. Chris Sale (12-9, 2.20 ERA). Both will receive plenty of Cy Young votes. The Braves have won the first two games of the series.
