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WASHINGTON –– It’s a pitch without a name.

A breakthrough development nobody quite knows how to label.

Since the start of spring training this year, Roki Sasaki has been working on a new third weapon to complement his fastball-splitter arsenal. It’s a crucial addition for the Dodgers’ second-year phenom, even if its identity is still being formed.

The pitch is part breaking ball, possessing right-to-left movement and late vertical drop.

But it’s also an off-speed offering, clocking in at the upper-80 mph range as an uncomfortable change of pace to his upper-90s heater.

When Sasaki debuted it in regular-season play for the first time last week, MLB’s Statcast system originally tagged it as a cutter.

But upon a check Saturday afternoon –– ahead of Sasaki’s next outing Sunday against the Nationals –– it’d been reclassified as a slider on the league’s official stats page.

“I think the name will change depending on how much it breaks,” Sasaki said in Japanese this spring. “Personally, I just want to be able to throw it comfortably without it affecting my current pitching motion.”

To that end, the Dodgers have given Sasaki mental cues, instructing him to think like he’s throwing a cutter even if the pitch has more slider-esque movement.

That doesn’t mean, however, people around the team have settled on exactly what to call it.

Sometimes it’s a slider. Sometimes it’s a cutter. And sometimes, it’s an unintentionally-NSFW mash-up of both. (Not a slurve, but…)

“I’m not sure,” manager Dave Roberts laughed when asked what the team’s official term for it is.

“We haven’t seen it enough to know how we’re gonna treat it,” echoed catcher Dalton Rushing.

“Honestly,” pitching coach Mark Prior added, “it depends on the day.”

Alas, Sasaki’s new pitch doesn’t need a specific name –– just as long as it serves a specific purpose.

The right-hander could’ve benefited from a more consistent third alternative last year, when his fastball velocity was down, his splitter command was wild, and he stumbled to a 4.72 ERA in eight rookie-season starts.

Some of that, of course, was due to a shoulder injury that eventually landed the 24-year-old on the injured list. When he returned for the playoffs in the bullpen, his primary two weapons were enough to navigate a relief role.

But now, Sasaki is back in the rotation despite a disastrous spring training, and again battling command issues in his continued transition to the majors.

Enter the new third pitch, which proved surprisingly effective in his first start of the campaign. 

“It was a big step forward,” said Rushing, who was behind the plate for the four-plus-inning, one-run performance against the Cleveland Guardians last Monday.

In that outing, Sasaki still lacked much control. His fastball was over the plate on less than half of 38 throws. Only one of his 18 splitters wouldn’t have been a called ball. And if not for an overly-aggressive Cleveland offense, he almost certainly would’ve finished with more than two walks.

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However, the cutter/slider/whatever helped give him balance. It clipped the zone 13 of the 22 times Sasaki used it. It also got four whiffs on 12 swings, only really getting squared up once when Steven Kwan hit a center-cut mistake for a double.

“He’s still gonna be meat-and-potatoes with four-seam and split,” Prior said. “But (the third pitch) has honestly been a pretty decent pitch for him, even in spring training  … He seems to have a good idea of where it’s going. He can throw it to get back into counts.”

That latter point is the most crucial one.

Whereas last year, Sasaki toyed around with a big-breaking sweeper that averaged almost a foot of horizontal break, his new pitch is more of a “gyro” or “bullet” slider, spiraling out of his hand almost like a quarterback throws a football.

It has less break, moving only a couple inches to his glove side. It has little spin, similar to his fork-ball splitter that practically knuckles to the plate. Yet, it appears to be easier to locate, giving him a more deceptive option with which to challenge hitters.

“The more he throws it in the zone,” Rushing said, “it makes his fastball much better.”

Last year, Sasaki and the Dodgers learned what happened when opposing hitters could sit on his fastball. Thanks in part to its flat shape, opponents slugged .500 against it.

The return of Sasaki’s velocity should help with that. Better command will also make his heater a more potent pitch.

But for now, the new third offering at least gives him something different –– even if it still lacks a designated name.

“We’ll see what the game ultimately tells us as we get more sample size, if there needs to be an adjustment in how we use it,” Prior said. “But right now, whether it’s (because it’s) limited on the opposing team’s radar, or actually comes out of the hand where it effectively gives him some separation and goes the other direction, it’s serving its purpose.”

It was another offensive explosion for the Dodgers (6-2) in Saturday’s 10-5 win over the Nationals (3-5). Freddie Freeman drove in four runs on two doubles in the first two innings of the game on Saturday afternoon in Washington D.C. Andy Pages continued to absolutely crush the ball with three hits including a three-run home run in the fifth inning.

The series win and offensive fireworks were a bit dulled by the early exit of Mookie Betts in the middle of the first inning with back pain.

In their eighth game of the season, the Dodgers scored in the first inning for the first time in 2026, punctuated by Freeman’s two-RBI double off the right-field wall.

Start it off, Freddie! pic.twitter.com/vhPYebWGvh

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 4, 2026

The Dodgers offense provided significant early support today, putting Glasnow in a strong position to secure the victory. Glasnow started the bottom of the first with two runs of support, already double the amount of runs the Dodgers offense gave him in his last start, a no-decision. Glasnow pitched well, holding the Nats lineup to two runs on four hits in six innings with nine strikeouts for his first win of the season.

Miguel Rojas replaced Betts at shortstop in the bottom of the first. Betts walked and scored on the Freeman double in the top half of the inning.

Shohei Ohtani barely missed hitting his second home run of the season in the first, but he roped a one-out single against Irvin in the top of the second to five the Dodgers runners at first and third.

Betts left the game with right low back pain which opened the door for Rojas to make another impact. Alex Freeland scored on a Miggy sac fly to make it 3-0 Dodgers.

Freeman made it 5-0 Dodgers with his second two-RBI double in as many innings against Irvin.

Freddie Freeman has 4 RBI through the first 2 innings 😮 pic.twitter.com/v0zxeIXRci

— MLB (@MLB) April 4, 2026

After reversing a strikeout on a challenge, Alex Call drove in Pages to make it 6-0 Dodgers. A pre-game scare didn’t affect his first start of the season for the Dodgers.

Alex Call got hit by a batted ball during stretch in his upper chest area.

Former teammate Brady House was in the cage taking BP.

Call said he is fine and is remaining in starting lineup. #Dodgers

— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) April 4, 2026

Speaking of ABS challenges, Will Smith went 2 for 2 on challenges in today’s game. Smith is 8 for 10 this season.

The Nationals got on the board against Glasnow in the bottom of the third on a Luis García Jr. RBI triple. The Nats scored a second run in the fourth on a Curtis Mead double.

Pages, the best hitter in baseball right now, crushed a three-run homer off Washington reliever Brad Lord. Pages collected three hits, a single in the third, a three-run bomb in the fifth, and a blooper single in the ninth. Pages also stole his first base of 2026. Beyond the power display, Pages is currently on a five-game multi-hit streak. 

CAN'T STOP ANDY. pic.twitter.com/1mAhWbAbDB

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 4, 2026

Pages currently leads baseball in batting average (.500) and hits (15).

Kyle Tucker went 2-for-2 with two walks, his Dodgers story starting off hot. He drove in the 10th run in the seventh with a RBI hit.

The Dodgers bullpen was not spectacular and gave up runs late in the game. CJ Abrams got a hold of a hanging Ben Casparius curveball in the bottom of the eighth to make it 10-4. Edgardo Henriquez allowed a run in the bottom of the ninth.

Saturday particulars

Home runs: Andy Pages (3), CJ Abrams (3)

WP — Tyler Glasnow (1-0): 6 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts (101 pitches)

LP — Jake Irvin (1-1): 4 IP, 8 hits, 6 runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts (85 pitches)

Up next

The Dodgers and Nationals wrap up the series on Easter Sunday (10:35 a.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Roki Sasaki (0-1, 2.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) makes his second start for the Dodgers. Left-hander Foster Griffin (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) takes the ball for Washington.

When one of the worst teams in the majors plays one of the best, it’s fair to expect that the mistakes will be made by the team that lost 102 games last year — not the one that was in the World Series.

Scratch that expectation.

For the second day in a row, it was the Blue Jays making the big mistakes and the White Sox taking advantage. Friday, it was emergency substitute catcher Tyler Heineman blowing a routine throw to first that would have ended the game in Toronto’s favor, and today it was … well, er uh … that same Tyler Heineman making a crucial baserunning mistake that kept Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from coming to the plate with two on and the Sox up 4-3 in the seventh. Then Heineman blew the game open with another terrible throw, trying to get Miguel Vargas out in a rundown that would have ended the eighth but instead extended the lead to three.

Not that the White Sox didn’t do good things without Toronto’s help. Grant Taylor had his second straight, nine-pitch, clean inning as an opener, after which a Lenyn Sosa single, Vargas double and Munetaka Murakami sac fly off bullpen-game opener Mason Fluharty gave the Sox a 1-0 lead. That 1-0 would hold up until the fifth, as bulk pitcher Anthony Kay kept the Jays off the board through his first four innings. The Sox went hitless for four innings against second-man-up Lazaro Estrada, while in the top of the fifth Guerrero hit a 431-foot blast to give the Jays a 2-1 lead.

But the White Sox came right back, as in the bottom half Vargas his his second double of the day off Brendon Little (who came into the game with an ERA of more than 18 and left with one 24-plus), and then Little decided the middle of the plate was a good a place as any to pitch Murakami.

Murakami’s blast was six feet shorter than Guerrero’s, so he’ll have to work on his homer swing.

The middle of the plate created such drama with Murakami that Little decided to try the same pitch to Colson Montgomery. Unlike the two big bruisers, Montgomery was only able to hit it 92.9 mph and 348 feet, but it was enough to clear the wall in right and put the Sox up, 4-3.

The insurance runs came in the eighth after Vargas walked and Austin Hays singled. With two outs, Luisangel Acuña hit an infield single, with Vargas getting caught in a rundown between third and home. To balance things out with his throw into right field yesterday, Heinneman threw the ball into left field this time. Two runs scored, to make it 6-3.

The Jays got two on in the ninth but Seranthony Domínguez got Nathan Lukes to ground out on a pitch around his eyes, and that was that.

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Five takeaways from Jesús Luzardo's dominant rebound in Colorado originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

DENVER — In his first start of the season last Sunday, Jesús Luzardo’s outing was hard to evaluate.

On the surface, it looked like he got hit around for six full innings. He allowed six earned runs over six innings. Dig a little deeper, though, and there were positives.

The first two frames were dominant. He gutted through six innings. He generated swings and misses. But when he took the mound Saturday against the Rockies, there was a lot more to like as the left-hander bounced back in the Phillies’ 2-1 win.

His final line? A dominant six and two-thirds innings, five hits, one earned run, no walks and 11 strikeouts under the lights at Coors Field.

Here’s what stood out.

LIMIT THE DAMAGE

Any time you pitch in Colorado, keeping the ball in the yard is easier said than done.

In his last outing, Luzardo got burned on two mistakes. He allowed a two-run homer to Brandon Nimmo and then a three-run shot to Andrew McCutchen. No matter how good parts of the outing looked, it’s hard to win when you give up the long ball.

Saturday, the Rockies rolled out an almost all-right-handed lineup. Luzardo didn’t flinch.

Keeping the ball in the yard was one of the biggest reasons he was so effective last year, when he allowed the fifth-fewest homers among left-handed starters with at least 30 starts.

After his last outing, in which he allowed six hard-hit balls out of 17 in play and an average exit velocity of 89.6 mph, Luzardo limited just about all loud contact. Of the 13 balls the Rockies put in play, only two were hard-hit (95-plus mph exit velocity), and both were outs.

Their average exit velocity against him was just 79.5 mph.

That was the biggest difference for Luzardo too.

“I felt good, just like last time,” he said. “I did a better job of limiting hard contact, keeping the ball in the field.”

LOTS OF SPIN?

That’s what made this outing even more interesting.

At Coors Field, with the altitude, pitch shape can flatten out in a hurry. Luzardo still found a way to make the ball move a great deal.

“They talk about how the stuff goes down here because of the altitude,” Thomson said. “It didn’t look like it to me. It’s as good as stuff as you’re gonna see.”

His sweeper averaged a whopping 2,389 rpm. That was up 126 spins from his last outing. The pitch also averaged 86.8 mph, more than a mile per hour harder than it came out in his first start. That jump helps explain why Rockies hitters looked off-balance all night.

His four-seam fastball saw a similar uptick, checking in at 2,282 rpm, also above where it sat in his last outing. Against the Rangers, Luzardo struggled to generate swing-and-miss with the fastball. On Saturday, he nearly doubled last season’s whiff rate on the pitch. It also played up to 98.2 mph.

The whole mix was sharper. More life and more chase. Colorado never looked comfortable against it.

EARLY AND OFTEN

When you’re missing bats the way Luzardo was on Saturday, getting ahead early can turn a good start into a dominant one.

That’s exactly what happened.

He started 64 percent of hitters with a first-pitch strike. On its own, that’s not a crazy number. His season average in 2025 was 67.4 percent. But compared to his first outing this year, it was a massive jump.

Last Sunday against Texas, that number sat at 44 percent.

That difference played a huge factor. It led directly into his 73 percent strike rate Saturday and helped him stay in control of at-bats all night. Luzardo was not pitching from behind nearly as often, and the Rockies never got many free looks at fastball counts.

Most importantly, Luzardo did not allow a single free pass.

He noticed the difference immediately.

“I got ahead a little bit better,” Luzardo said, “and put guys away later on.”

SLIDER NOT REINTRODUCED

Oddly enough, a number of Luzardo’s sweepers were read as sliders because of the lesser horizontal movement.

It’s not a pitch you saw at all from Luzardo last year, especially after he introduced the sweeper in his first season with the Phillies while working with pitching coach Caleb Cotham.

Of the nine sweepers that did appear as sliders, Rockies hitters offered at the pitch five times and whiffed on four of them. His overall whiff rate was already up in his first start, but Saturday’s outing pushed it to 40 percent. Last year, his overall whiff rate was 30.8 percent.

Luzardo made clear afterward that nothing new was actually added. It was still the sweeper.

“The sweeper, I know, picked up a lot of sliders, but it was all sweeper,” he said. “It is what it is.”

What stood out more to him was the changeup, which he felt had already started trending in the right direction in spring.

“The changeup, we knew, would be a weapon in spring,” Luzardo said. “Maybe not this much of a weapon, but it has been feeling really good. So I’m happy to have it in my back pocket as well.”

THE DEFENSE

To begin the season, the Phillies’ defense behind their pitchers has been shaky. They came into Saturday tied for the second-lowest mark in defensive runs saved at minus-7.

On this night, though, they flashed the leather.

In the first inning, it started with J.T. Realmuto’s arm. The veteran catcher threw out Ezequiel Tovar trying to steal second to end the frame.

In the bottom of the sixth, Trea Turner made a gorgeous sliding play behind second base, spun and threw out the speedy Tyler Freeman. It was one of those Turner plays that looks smoother than it should.

Luzardo also got help from Bryson Stott, Justin Crawford and Adolis García, who came charging in to record the final out of his dominant night.

There was certainly more to like on Saturday, and Luzardo looked much more like the version of him the Phillies expect.

The Braves try to make it (gasp!) four in a row, and three in a row against the Diamondbacks, as Bryce Elder and Michael Soroka square off in the desert.

A slightly unusual start time for a Saturday, rather than the typical 5:10 pm. That’s because today’s game is a Fox Sports national broadcast, so we must all bow to their commercial demands. More irritatingly, that means that, a mere eight games in, this will be the fourth different subscription-based service you need to have in order to watch the Diamondbacks. In addition to dbacks.tv, we have already had Netflix on Opening Day, and Apple TV last night. I know you’ll need to add Peacock to the list in June. I will not be engaging with this nonsense, and so will be following this game purely on Gameday, if at all.

After Eduardo Rodriguez proved his first start was no fluke, with an even better one last night, we turn to Michael Soroka to see if he can reproduce his sterling debut as a Diamondback. Right now, he has a FIP of -0.22. Yes: that’s a negative figure. It’s possible because FIP just goes off things like K-rate and BB-rate. Soroka fanned ten batters in only five innings last time on the mound, while walking one. The joys of small sample sizes. It’d be nice if he could keep anything in that solar-system up, though right now, I’m more concerned about the offense. The D-backs now have a collective OPS of a mere .648. Carroll is our only active player with 10+ PA and an OPS+ above a hundred.

To this end, things have been shaken up a bit this afternoon. Jose Fernandez replaces the woeful Carlos Santana at first, and Adrian Del Castillo makes his first start as the designated hitter. Santana’s .043 average is the lowest for any D-back through ten games (25 PA or more). The previous worst was Geraldo Perdomo’s 1-for-20 start in 2022, and he at least had the ability to draw seven walks. Santana’s much-praised plate discipline hasn’t really been seen, with just two walks and eight strikeouts. I know Torey doesn’t want to pull the plug hastily, but Santana has been such a black-hole on offense, he could be a literal black-hole on defense and he’d still be of questionable value.

As far as regular-season games go, this one is as big as it’s gotten so far for Ryan Weathers, personally. The newest member of the Yankee rotation will pitch for the first time in front of his new home crowd and will do so against none other than his former team, the Miami Marlins. This is not your traditional successful big leaguer who inevitably gets moved to a contender, as he doesn’t fit the timeline of his current team. Sure, the Marlins got younger by flipping Weathers to the Yankees, but they also had plenty of time to develop him into a more established starter and then trade him for a better package. He’ll face his former teammates with something to prove, looking to justify the trust the contending Yankees placed in him.

If all of that wasn’t enough, Weathers faces the pressure of maintaining this outstanding run of form that Yankee starters have showcased to begin the year. Through the first seven games of the year, Yankee starters have an ERA below 1.00—Cam Schlittler is validating all the exciting takes he generated after his first year, Max Fried is being his usual outstanding self, and Will Warren has delivered two productive starts. Out of these four, Weathers was the most unpredictable commodity, and if he can hold his own, this rotation will be in a terrific spot, only getting better as the season goes on and more veteran reinforcements arrive

A bit of interesting information about this game and one that ties into last night’s performance: Historically, Giancarlo Stanton hasn’t fared particularly well against his former team, in what’s obviously not that large of a sample size. Stanton has a .391 SLG in 79 PA against the Fish. Amidst the offensive outburst of an 8-2 win on Friday, Stanton was the only Yankee hitter not to reach base safely.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — New York, NY

First pitch: 7:10 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, Marlins.TV/CBS Miami

Radio broadcast: 560 WQAM, WAQI 710 (MIA), WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY)

Online stream: MLB.tv (out-of-market only), Gotham Sports App

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Saturday in The Boogie Down. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/SIxuxmb1Wf

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 4, 2026

Game 2 on deck.

📺: https://t.co/pMAEOPHNJ8
👂: @MarlinsRadio, @radiomambi710, 790 WAXY-AM
⏰: 7:05 PM ET #FightinFishpic.twitter.com/0lqxktR3in

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) April 4, 2026

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

They have only seen it twice this season, but according to this week’s Padres Reacts Survey on Gaslamp Ball, San Diego Padres fans would not be opposed to seeing Mason Miller and his new bullpen entrance more often.

The problem to this point in the year after the first six games over two series at Petco Park is that there have only been a couple of chances for Miller to job from the bullpen to the mound. Of course, there was at least one other opportunity where many Padres fans thought Miller should have been coming into the game, but San Diego manager Craig Stammen said he and pitching coach Ruben Niebla decided before the start of the game that Miller would not throw more than an inning in a save situation. Stammen cited the early time of year as the reason the right-handed flame thrower was unavailable.

With the team on the road, there is no chance Miller will be accompanied by his entrance music, “Blind” by Korn should he come into a game over the next two series. The Padres dropped the first game of their series against the Boston Red Sox but will look to get on a winning streak as San Diego completes the series in Boston and moves on to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates before returning home to face the Colorado Rockies, April 9.

FanDuel Sportsbook

Let’s play two! After the Brewers won what was ultimately a tense game in the first leg of today’s doubleheader, they’ll take on the Royals a second time after a couple hours off for, presumably, pancakes.

Tonight’s pitching matchup was originally scheduled as Milwaukee’s Brandon Sproat versus Kansas City’s Seth Lugo, a 2024 All-Star. But a surprise was announced before the second game of the doubleheader: tonight’s 27th man, Logan Henderson, will start the game, with Sproat following out of the bullpen.

Henderson will function more as an opener than a “bulk” guy today, as he’s still working his pitch count up after he was put slightly behind schedule during spring training by what was called “mild elbow discomfort.” While anything elbow-related is concerning, Henderson did start on Tuesday for Triple-A Nashville. In that game, he threw 45 pitches on his way to three sharp innings: no runs, one hit, one walk, five strikeouts. Henderson, of course, made five excellent starts for the Brewers in 2025 (a 1.78 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings) but spent most of last season in Nashville before a flexor strain prematurely ended his season. This will be Henderson’s sixth career appearance and start, but don’t expect him to throw more than 50-60 pitches.

Sproat was knocked around by the White Sox last Sunday in what was his fifth career start and first as a Brewer. He allowed seven runs on six hits, three of them homers, in just three innings, and Chicago looked almost like they knew what was coming. But if that rattled Sproat’s confidence in himself, his confidence in his teammates should be sky high: while Sproat left the game in a 7-2 hole, the Brewers’ offense scored seven runs late, six of them in the eighth inning, and came from behind for a 9-7 win.

Lugo has made one start this season, and it was quite a good one. Also last Sunday, Lugo blanked the Braves for 6 1/3 innings, in which he scattered five hits and didn’t walk anyone. Lugo isn’t a young man anymore at age 36, but he had his best season just two years ago when he had a 3.00 ERA in over 200 innings and finished second in Cy Young voting. Last season, Lugo was 8-7 with a 4.15 ERA — basically exactly league-average — but a concerning 5.09 FIP. He’s not a big strikeout pitcher, but generally does well keeping runners off base.

Lugo is right-handed, but the Brewers are rotating some players into the lineup for the night game. Gary Sánchez will be behind the plate, Blake Perkins takes over for Brandon Lockridge in left field, and Joey Ortiz is in at shortstop, with David Hamilton moving over to third and Luis Rengifo to the bench. Christian Yelich will remain the designated hitter for game two. Jonathan India and Carter Jensen are in the lineup for game two, with Salvador Perez moving from behind the plate to DH. Nick Loftin and Starling Marte (who is definitely on the Royals), who started this afternoon, are on the bench.

Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe, and Trevor Megill all pitched in the early game, so if there’s a save situation in game two, somebody who isn’t necessarily used to saving games will be out there. Ángel Zerpa and Jared Koenig are both available as lefties, but if the Brewers like a right-handed matchup better in the ninth inning, that basically just leaves Grant Anderson. Jake Woodford and DL Hall are also presumably available out of the bullpen. Speaking of bullpens, the Royals’ 27th man tonight will be righty reliever Eli Morgan.

First pitch for the nightcap is at 6:10 p.m., and the game can be seen on Brewers TV.

Logan Henderson has been selected as the 27th man for tonight's game AND will make his season debut as SP

📺: https://t.co/eycfmE2vgm
📻: WTMJ#ThisIsMyCrew x @NicoletLawpic.twitter.com/KonPn9zLlJ

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 4, 2026

Powder blue for Game 2. pic.twitter.com/Qyjea7oVOk

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) April 4, 2026