Forget the score for a second. The number that should worry the rest of baseball is the one next to Roki Sasaki's name.
The Dodgers beat the Mariners 6-2 Thursday night at Dodger Stadium, closing out the series behind a three-run homer from Dalton Rushing and a solo shot from Teoscar Hernández. Those two swings did the damage on the scoreboard. But the real story going forward is Sasaki on the mound, looking like exactly the pitcher the Dodgers thought they were getting when they brought him over.
This wasn't a fluky offensive outburst against a tired bullpen. The lineup did just enough, and the starter made it look easy. Seattle had chances to make this uncomfortable and never really did.
One loss in late July doesn't undo a season, and Seattle has been competitive all year with enough pitching depth to punch back. But this series in Los Angeles was a chance to send a message before the stretch run, and instead the Dodgers sent one to them. Dropping the finale after already losing the middle game of the set is the kind of result that lingers in a tight division race, even if nobody wants to say so out loud in July.
Rushing and Hernández have already shown they can change a game with one swing, and Sasaki is trending in exactly the direction the Dodgers need as the calendar turns toward the stretch run. If this is the version of Sasaki who shows up in September, that's a real problem for anyone chasing Los Angeles.
The Mariners aren't broken. One series at Chavez Ravine doesn't change that. But if you want the moment the Dodgers reminded everyone who they still are, amid a summer full of noise about their pitching staff and roster moves, this game is it. Sasaki was the headline. Rushing and Hernández just made sure nobody could argue with it.
