Roki Sasaki makes statement in electric Dodgers spring training debut

Roki Sasaki’s introduction to the Cactus League was a dominant one.The Dodgers phenom struck out five over three scoreless innings in his spring training debut on Tuesday night in a 4-2 win over the Reds at Camelback Ranch in Arizona.

Sasaki, 23, pitched behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto, entering in the fifth inning against the Reds.He did put two runners on with one out (single, hit by pitch) before shutting down the threat with consecutive strikeouts against TJ Friedl and Matt McClain.He worked out of a second-and-third jam in the sixth and punctuated his night in the seventh with two more strikeouts, ending things with a punchout of Carlos Jorge.The Japanese right-hander hit 98 mph or better on 14 occasions and topped out at 99.3.Sasaki led all pitchers in the contest with eight swings and misses — seven of which came on his splitter.Sasaki signed with the Dodgers this offseason after a ballyhooed free agency that included the Padres and Blue Jays as finalists.

The last few weeks have been pretty eventful, and not just for his MLB debut.At the end of February, Sasaki made a surprise announcement on Instagram that he had gotten married.Now, he’s just a few weeks away from trying to help the Dodgers win their second consecutive World Series ring....