Roki Sasaki once again pitched in relief and struck out the MLB home run leader, Raleigh; Dodgers defeated the Mariners.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Japanese rookie Roki Sasaki pitched in relief again today against the Seattle Mariners, throwing one scoreless inning. The Dodgers won 3-2 away, achieving their third straight win and ensuring the Mariners cannot claim the AL’s best record.

Sasaki came in during the bottom of the 7th inning with the Dodgers ahead 3-1, first getting J.P. Crawford to ground out to third base, then striking out Cole Young on four pitches. Although his fastest pitch today, a 100.1 mph (161.10 km/h) fastball, was hit for a double by Randy Arozarena, Sasaki finished strong by striking out Cal Raleigh, the season’s home run leader with 60 homers, on three pitches—including two consecutive swinging strikes on split-finger fastballs—successfully completing his assignment.

Overall, Sasaki threw 12 pitches (11 strikes), pitched one inning in relief, struck out two batters, issued no walks, allowed one hit, and gave up no runs. Since his return, he has appeared in two games as a reliever, totaling two innings with four strikeouts, no walks, just one hit allowed, and zero runs surrendered.

After clinching the division title, the Dodgers rested some key players. In the top of the 3rd inning, Enrique Hernandez hit a two-run homer to take the lead, and in the top of the 6th, the Dodgers added an insurance run off two hits and a walk. The team scored all three runs on just six hits throughout the game.

On the pitching side, the Dodgers employed a bullpen approach, using seven pitchers in total. Emmet Sheehan gave up one hit and allowed one unearned run due to an error in the first inning; Blake Treinen gave up one run in the bottom of the 8th; Tanner Scott, despite allowing a double to Raleigh and facing a bases-loaded threat, held on to preserve the one-run victory for the Dodgers.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani did not rest today, continuing as the starting leadoff designated hitter, but went hitless in three at-bats, recording one strikeout and one walk.

Cal Raleigh, the Mariners catcher and the seventh player in MLB history to hit 60 homers in a single season, went 2-for-2 with two hits in this game but struck out three other times. After the Mariners’ loss, they secured the AL’s second-best record and the division championship spot.