Sasaki got through two scoreless innings before giving up a two-run homer to Kyle Higashioka in the third. The 23-year-old right-hander settled in for three more scoreless innings, going six for the first time in his young career. The bullpen couldn’t hold on for his first win. His velocity was curiously lower at 93 mph to start the game, but settled in at 95-96 mph through the rest of his start. Sasaki is in line for a matchup against the Pirates in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Sauer will be capable of working multiple innings, but the 26-year-old won’t be able to go deep enough to qualify for a victory unless the Athletics are incredibly aggressive against the right-hander. He won’t be a quality streaming option for Thursday’s bullpen game against the Athletics.

Ohtani hit a no-doubter to lead off the game for the Dodgers and it bumps his homer total to 13. He’s been remarkably — and surprisingly — good in the month of May, and he’s now slashing .341/.442/.818 over those 48 at-bats in that timeframe. There’s a long way to go, but a back-to-back MVP season is well within reason, even if he doesn’t return to the mound in 2025.