Analysis: As in his first big-league start, Sasaki battled his control while running up his pitch count. On Saturday, the right-hander needed 61 pitches to retire five batters and threw just 32 of those offerings for strikes. He's now issued nine free passes over just 4.2 frames in his first two major-league starts, though he's gotten away with yielding a relatively modest three runs over that span. Sasaki averaged just 2.0 walks per nine innings during his four seasons in Japan, so there's reason to believe that his early control issues will be corrected in time. However, until he is able to throw strikes more consistently -- especially with his off-speed offerings -- Sasaki figures to struggle to go deep into games.

Analysis: The 23-year-old appeared to be battling some nerves as he threw just 25 of his 56 pitches for strikes, but he buckled down after issuing a bases-loaded walk during the third inning with two straight strikeouts to end the frame. The control issues aside, it was a good debut for Sasaki, who was able to limit the damage to a single run despite the significant traffic. The right-hander will now have some time before the Dodgers start their domestic schedule against the Tigers next Thursday. Sasaki will likely continue to have some pitch restrictions as he builds up his workload over his next few starts.