佐々木朗希、再び完全試合寸前！NPB最速162km/hにMLBスカウト熱視線 (Roki Sasaki Flirts with Another Perfect Game! MLB Scouts Fixated on NPB’s 101-mph Ace)

Roki Sasaki’s rookie campaign has gone from eagerly anticipated curiosity to full-blown October phenomenon, and the Los Angeles Dodgers suddenly look brilliant for fast-tracking the 23-year-old fireballer out of Japan. When the Chiba Lotte Marines officially posted their ace last winter, industry analysts expected a gradual minor-league apprenticeship. Instead, the Dodgers signed Sasaki on Jan. 22 and pivoted mid-season, shifting him from pain-shortened rotation work into a late-inning relief role built for his triple-digit fastball and wipe-out splitter. The gamble has paid off in historic fashion this postseason. In NLDS Game 4, Sasaki dialed up 101 mph and spun three perfect innings, becoming the first rookie in MLB playoff history to retire nine straight batters on fewer than 30 pitches while striking out at least five. Overall, he has tossed 5⅓ scoreless frames, allowing just one hit and no walks while fanning nine. That microscopic 0.00 ERA is the lowest by any Dodger reliever with at least five postseason innings since Eric Gagné in 2003. Beyond the numbers, Sasaki’s presence has reshaped manager Dave Roberts’ bullpen blueprint. With veteran closer Evan Phillips sidelined, Roberts now preserves Sasaki for the game’s highest-leverage pockets—often the eighth and ninth—confident the rookie’s splitter can neutralize right- and left-handed sluggers alike. Hitters are 0-for-11 against the pitch this postseason, routinely waving over a diving offering that averages 91 mph. The transition was hardly guaranteed. Sasaki missed six weeks in July with shoulder inflammation, fueling whispers that his 165-km/h fastball might not translate to a six-month grind. A mechanical tweak—shifting his landing foot an inch toward first base—unlocked cleaner direction to the plate and, according to the Dodgers’ Rapsodo data, added 240 rpm of vertical break to his four-seamer. Since returning on Aug. 24, he owns a staggering 45.3% strikeout rate across all appearances. Now the conversation has accelerated from “future rotation anchor” to “potential Mariano-like weapon” for a club chasing its second title in three years. Scouts from rival NLCS opponent Atlanta privately admit that their advance plans have shifted: “You game-plan six innings,” one scout said, “because the last three belong to Sasaki.” Long-term, the Dodgers still project the right-hander atop their 2026 rotation, but every zero he hangs this October raises his bargaining power in next winter’s pre-arb negotiations and bolsters the broader reputation of NPB phenoms thriving immediately under MLB’s posting system. For Japanese fans, each appearance airs at breakfast, and social media explodes with “Reiwa no Kaibutsu” (“Monster of the Reiwa Era”) hashtags. In Los Angeles, his replica jerseys are already the club’s top seller since Shohei Ohtani’s arrival. With the NLCS knotted and Game 6 looming at Chavez Ravine, one storyline dominates: if the Dodgers hold a late lead, the final six outs are likely in Sasaki’s electrifying hands. Baseball’s newest October legend might just be writing his next chapter in real time.