Roki Sasaki opened eyes when he moved to the bullpen for last year's run to back-to-back championships. He'll reprise that role in the final days of this regular season -- and possibly be in the mix to close out games once again. Sasaki was activated from the 15-day injured list ahead of Tuesday night's series-opening 7-0 win over the Padres amid a flurry of moves that also saw Andy Pages return from the IL and Emmet Sheehan and Eliezer Alfonzo get optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Sasaki last pitched on Aug. 26, when a blister on his right middle finger brought his start against the Braves to a premature end. In his second Major League season, Sasaki was steadily growing closer to resembling the version of himself who was a phenom in Nippon Professional Baseball. He went 5-5 with a 4.60 ERA through 23 starts, but those numbers don't tell the full story. Working with an expanded pitch mix, including a new splitter, and increased fastball velocity, Sasaki put together his best sustained stretch as an MLB starter, recording a 2.63 ERA through seven starts before dealing with the blister. "Excited to see Roki back," manager Dave Roberts said. "He's looking forward to this role. I think he can be very impactful, as it was last year." In his return to the bullpen on Tuesday, Sasaki struck out two in a scoreless fourth inning, working around a pair of two-out singles. He generated four whiffs -- including two in as many swings at his splitter -- and averaged 98.7 mph on the eight fastballs he threw, a tick up from his season average of 97.8. The Dodgers improved to 97-60 after their bullpen game shutout, five games ahead of the Braves for the second-best record in the National League and one game behind the top-ranked Brewers, who hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
