Why Roki Sasaki has been effective playoff closer, and how the Dodgers plan to use him for the rest of October

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged on Tuesday that he has a new leading candidate to pitch the ninth inning: rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki. Sasaki, 23, has already earned the save in both of the Dodgers' wins in their National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. He wasn't the first choice to close out Monday's Game 2 win, however, and he entered only after Blake Treinen had failed to deliver (and Alex Vesia got two outs). Roberts stressed that he doesn't intend to use Sasaki as the Dodgers' exclusive closer heading forward.

"He's definitely the primary option now. We have to win X amount of games [to win the World Series], and he's not going to close every game," Roberts said during his media availability session. "It's just not feasible, so, you've got to use other guys."

Sasaki, one of the Dodgers' prized offseason additions, has had an eventful first season in MLB. He made eight rocky starts before landing on the injured list for more than four months because of a shoulder impingement. Since returning, Sasaki has made five total relief appearances, including three in the postseason, without surrendering so much as a single run.

Prior to Sasaki's activation in September, CBS Sports noted that he had made some tweaks to his arsenal that boded well for his chances of success, including the forging of a cutter and potentially a sinker. Interestingly enough, Sasaki's run of relief appearances have seen him park his new toys in favor of his old classics. In those aforementioned five outings, he's thrown more than 97% four-seam fastballs and splitters. Clearly that approach has worked well for him to date.

The Dodgers' bullpen ranked second-worst in the majors in meltdowns during the regular season, suggesting they were prone to volatility. Left-hander Tanner Scott, Los Angeles' primary save earner, has not yet appeared during the NLDS.