After a gritty 4-3 Game Two win for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Philadelphia Phillies to take a commanding 2-0 NLDS Series lead, all eyes yet again were on the heroics of 23-year-old rookie reliever Roki Sasaki.
Until the bottom of the ninth inning, the Phils were scraping the barrel to find any sort of offense, all in part because Dodgers' Game Two starter Blake Snell tossed six scoreless innings and struck out nine Phillies and giving up only a measly hit. Emmet Sheehan tossed a scoreless seventh and gave up one run in the eighth inning, but in the eyes of the Philadelphia faithful, all hope seemed lost.
It wasn't until Los Angeles skipper Dave Roberts made a questionable call to the bullpen, turning to the likes of Blake Treinen to close out the ninth, that it turned out to be the difference maker for the Phillies, as they tagged on two runs, and all of a sudden, there were runners in scoring position with two outs.
Roberts turned once more to Sasaki to face Trea Turner in hopes of sealing the deal in a crucial spot, and once more, Sasaki proved he doesn't fold under the Postseason lights. He induced a quick groundout to Turner, and after a lofty throw by Tommy Edman to Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers secured a 2-0 series lead.
With Sasaki's second save of not only his postseason career, but his entire career, Sasaki becomes the first pitcher in MLB history to get his first two career saves in the Postseason.
Record after record seems to be on the itinerary for Sasaki every time he steps on the mound in the ninth inning.