The Los Angeles Dodgers might have just discovered a timely relief thrower. Rookie relief pitcher Roki Sasaki threw a perfect inning of relief Wednesday evening against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was activated from the 60-day injured list.

The 23-year-old right-hander made no delay in displaying his electric stuff, retiring all three batters he encountered. He blasted two, including Ildemaro Vargas on a scorching 99 mph fastball, and departed with the Dodgers enjoying a 3-1 advantage.

Testing Sasaki in a Bullpen Role

Roki Sasaki Fires 99 MPH Heat in Dodgers Return—Is He Roki Sasaki Fires 99 MPH Heat in Dodgers Return—Is He
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While Sasaki started the season as a starter, manager Dave Roberts confirmed the club will keep on utilizing him in relief for the remainder of the regular season, according to ESPN. The idea is to see how effective he is in shorter stints and if he can be of use during the playoff push.

"Giving everything he has for an inning or two at a time. "That's kind of what I see. Let the performance play out. Just go after guys and be on the attack."

Sasaki's appearance was particularly opportunistic, arriving as it did just one night after closer Tanner Scott had blown a save in a 5-4 loss to Arizona.

Rocky Rookie Season For the Japanese Righty

Signed in January as an international free agent from Japan's Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki arrived in Major League Baseball with monumental hype. The Dodgers shelled out a $6.5 million signing bonus under MLB's posting system to acquire him for Los Angeles.

But his transition has not been smooth. In nine games this year, eight of them starts, Sasaki has gone 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 35⅓ innings. He also worked in Triple-A Oklahoma City, where his problems persisted with a 6.10 ERA in seven appearances.

Although those statistics, at first glance, may seem daunting, the Dodgers are optimistic that his top-end velocity and strikeout ability can play in a relief role, particularly when every out matters in October.

Establishing Chemistry With Other Japanese Stars

Sasaki is one of three Japanese players on the Dodgers' roster at present, including two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani and righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He provides more depth and global flavor to a team that already features so much star power.

Sasaki's return also came at the time of roster reshuffling. Seasoned reliever Kirby Yates was put on the injured list for a nagging hamstring injury, backdated to Sept. 21, and Sasaki found the opportunity to fill in.

Ohtani is currently under Roberts' experiment. The LA manager is planning to use him in the bullpen. Shohei said that he is open to being a relief pitcher.

While Sasaki's rookie year has had its challenges, his clean inning on Wednesday showed a glimpse of the dominance the Dodgers hoped for when they signed him. If he can replicate that form over the coming games, he may carve out an important bullpen role in the postseason.

According to Sports Illustrated, Sasaki's fastball averaged 97.5 mph during their Sunday outing. Roberts is hopeful they could use the rookie effectively in the next matches.