{"id":53398,"date":"2025-06-04T07:56:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T07:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398"},"modified":"2025-06-04T07:56:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T07:56:49","slug":"kodai-senga-roki-sasaki-reunite-before-mets-dodgers-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398","title":{"rendered":"Kodai Senga, Roki Sasaki reunite before Mets-Dodgers showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"flex w-full max-w-[980px] flex-col px-4 pt-4 font-secondary lg:px-0\">\n<p class=\"dek prose mb-2.5 italic text-secondary\">Japanese stars R\u014dki Sasaki and Kodai Senga meet for the first time in MLB as the Dodgers and Mets clash in a thrilling NLCS rematch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full max-w-[980px] flex-row gap-5\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col lg:max-w-[660px]\">\n<div class=\"px-4 pb-5 lg:px-0\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap justify-between gap-4  font-secondary md:items-center \">\n<div class=\"flex-row flex-wrap items-center text-primary\">\n<div class=\"author-link mr-2.5 flex items-center text-sm md:text-nowrap \">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aspect-video w-full max-w-full object-contain object-center px-4 lg:px-0\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.clutchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roki-Sasaki-for-the-Los-Angeles-Dodgers.jpg?w=1200\" alt=\"Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.\" \/><\/figure>\n<article class=\"article-body prose max-w-none pb-7 pt-5 prose-figure:max-w-full prose-ol:pl-10 prose-img:max-w-full prose-video:max-w-full md:prose-ol:pl-6 [&amp;_iframe]:m-auto [&amp;_iframe]:block [&amp;_iframe]:max-w-full\">\n<p data-start=\"251\" data-end=\"666\">Los Angeles Dodgers\u00a0pitcher R\u014dki Sasaki and\u00a0New York Mets\u00a0All-Star\u00a0Kodai Senga\u00a0finally met again on the mound. The meetup came ahead of the\u00a0much-anticipated National League Championship Series rematch\u00a0at Dodger Stadium. The Mets had edged the Dodgers\u00a04\u20133 in extra innings\u00a0during their previous encounter, adding even more intrigue to this matchup. The two Japanese stars were seen\u00a0having a delightful conversation, and Senga appeared to give some tips to Sasaki.<\/p>\n<div class=\"aspect-video w-full\">\n<div class=\"not-prose flex aspect-video w-full items-center justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col items-center gap-5 px-5 pb-5\">\n<div class=\"relative w-full overflow-hidden h-auto\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1930075518944034855&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fmlb%2Fmlb-stories%2Fmlb-news-kodai-senga-roki-sasaki-reunite-mets-dodgers-game&amp;sessionId=14407e256c38f04de1700dd62122e7f1131f3d33&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=500px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1930075518944034855\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_1_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-sticky-container adthrive-content adthrive-content-1 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,120193976\/AdThrive_Content_1\/5e90daf19f500876e949a3d9_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-start=\"668\" data-end=\"1044\">Their last meeting came during the 2022 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season. Senga suited up for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, while Sasaki took the mound for the Chiba Lotte Marines. The Marines\u00a0cruised to an 8\u20131 victory, with Sasaki earning the win and Senga taking the loss. Later that year, Senga exercised his international free agent rights and made the jump to MLB.<\/p>\n<article class=\"article-body prose max-w-none pb-7 pt-5 prose-figure:max-w-full prose-ol:pl-10 prose-img:max-w-full prose-video:max-w-full md:prose-ol:pl-6 [&amp;_iframe]:m-auto [&amp;_iframe]:block [&amp;_iframe]:max-w-full\">\n<p data-start=\"1046\" data-end=\"1505\">In December 2022, Senga\u00a0signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the Mets. His SoftBank career was loaded with accolades. He won the Japanese Triple Crown in 2020, captured five Japan Series titles, and earned three NPB All-Star nods. He also led the Pacific League in strikeouts twice and received two Best Nine awards. Senga made his MLB debut on April 2, 2023, in a 5\u20131 win over the Miami Marlins. He later earned a spot in the 2023 MLB All-Star Game.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1507\" data-end=\"1923\">Sasaki, in contrast, had a shorter but electrifying career in Japan. Before his Dodgers career, he made global headlines with a\u00a0perfect game on April 10, 2022. In that match against the Orix Buffaloes, Sasaki struck out 19 batters to tie the NPB single-game record. He also fanned 13 consecutive hitters,\u00a0setting a new world record. Sasaki needed just 105 pitches to complete the game. It remains the 16th perfect game recorded in NPB history.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1925\" data-end=\"2296\">The Dodgers signed Sasaki on January 22, 2025. Baseball America named him the\u00a0No. 1 prospect ahead of the season. He made the Opening Day roster and debuted against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo. Sasaki recorded his first MLB strikeout against fellow Japanese star Seiya Suzuki. In May, the Dodgers placed him on the\u00a015-day injured list\u00a0due to a right shoulder impingement.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Japanese stars R\u014dki Sasaki and Kodai Senga meet for the first time in MLB as the Dodgers and Mets clash in a thrilling NLCS rematch. Los Angeles&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Kodai Senga, Roki Sasaki reunite before Mets-Dodgers showdown - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kodai Senga, Roki Sasaki reunite before Mets-Dodgers showdown - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Japanese stars R\u014dki Sasaki and Kodai Senga meet for the first time in MLB as the Dodgers and Mets clash in a thrilling NLCS rematch. Los Angeles...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-04T07:56:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roki-Sasaki-for-the-Los-Angeles-Dodgers.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"673\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398\",\"name\":\"Kodai Senga, Roki Sasaki reunite before Mets-Dodgers showdown - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roki-Sasaki-for-the-Los-Angeles-Dodgers.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-04T07:56:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-04T07:56:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roki-Sasaki-for-the-Los-Angeles-Dodgers.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roki-Sasaki-for-the-Los-Angeles-Dodgers.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":673},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kodai Senga, Roki Sasaki reunite before Mets-Dodgers showdown\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kodai Senga, Roki Sasaki reunite before Mets-Dodgers showdown - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kodai Senga, Roki Sasaki reunite before Mets-Dodgers showdown - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"Japanese stars R\u014dki Sasaki and Kodai Senga meet for the first time in MLB as the Dodgers and Mets clash in a thrilling NLCS rematch. Los Angeles...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-06-04T07:56:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":673,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roki-Sasaki-for-the-Los-Angeles-Dodgers.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398","name":"Kodai Senga, Roki Sasaki reunite before Mets-Dodgers showdown - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roki-Sasaki-for-the-Los-Angeles-Dodgers.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-04T07:56:49+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-04T07:56:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roki-Sasaki-for-the-Los-Angeles-Dodgers.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roki-Sasaki-for-the-Los-Angeles-Dodgers.jpg","width":1200,"height":673},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53398#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kodai Senga, Roki Sasaki reunite before Mets-Dodgers showdown"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53398"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53401,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53398\/revisions\/53401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}