The ultimate version of Roki Sasaki has returned! The Dodgers kicked off the second half with a victory thanks to Max Muncy's go-ahead homer.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' starting rotation is like a deck of cards. When fully healthy, they hold four aces. But beyond that, they also have a "wild card" — Roki Sasaki.

Inside the Dodgers' clubhouse, no one dares to claim they can precisely predict what kind of stuff Sasaki will bring to the mound on any given game day. However, when he's locked in, his teammates and coaching staff can sense that the ball leaves his fingertips with an undeniable sense of conviction. That intensity not only troubles opposing hitters but sometimes even challenges his own catcher.

"It took me about half the game to finally catch his splitter," Dalton Rushing said after the game. "I guess that's a pretty good sign."

Today in the Bronx, New York, Roki Sasaki brought the heat, and Max Muncy delivered the knockout blow. After suffering their first sweep at the end of the first half, the Dodgers enjoyed a much better start to the second half. Behind Sasaki's revived performance on the mound and Muncy's crucial go-ahead two-run homer, the Dodgers edged the Yankees 2-1.

Nothing tastes sweeter than the last time the Dodgers set foot in Yankee Stadium — Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, the start of their back-to-back championship dynasty. But this series-opening victory was exactly what they needed most as they tried to shake off a rough end to the first half.

In manager Dave Roberts' view, this game evoked memories of Yoshinobu Yamamoto's statement outing at Yankee Stadium two years ago, during his rookie MLB season. That start was considered a turning point for Yamamoto, and the Dodgers hope tonight might be a similar moment for Sasaki.

"I think there's a motivation behind it — he wanted to step on the right foot right out of the gate in the second half," Roberts said. "And he did exactly that."

Roki Sasaki pitched 5.2 innings, striking out five, walking one, and scattering five hits while allowing just one unearned run due to a teammate's error. His fastball velocity saw a significant spike, reaching a career-high 101.8 mph in the first inning. He threw 21 pitches at 100 mph or faster, the most by any Dodgers pitcher in a single game since pitch tracking began in 2008.

Sasaki's average fastball velocity for the game was 100.1 mph, a new personal best for a start in MLB. He had only thrown a faster average fastball in a relief appearance — 100.6 mph in Game 2 of last year's National League Wild Card Series.

"Even though the velocity was high, I didn't really feel particularly hyped today, but the speed was there," Sasaki said through an interpreter after the game. "I think that's a good sign."

The only run Sasaki allowed came from a chaotic sequence on defense in the fourth inning. With two outs, Jasson Domínguez hit a double, and center fielder Andy Pages committed a fielding error that allowed Domínguez to advance to third. He then scored on a passed ball by catcher Dalton Rushing.

The poor defense in the fourth inning, combined with the lineup's inability to solve Yankees ace right-hander Gerrit Cole through the first six frames, seemed to be an extension of the Dodgers' late-first-half struggles. In their final five games before the All-Star break, they made nine errors and were outscored 30-15.

But the Dodgers rewrote the script in the seventh. After Cole walked Mookie Betts, the entire Yankees team huddled around the mound. Amidst cheers from the crowd chanting Cole's name, he stayed in the game. However, Muncy's next swing silenced the stadium. On a 2-2 count, he launched a slider into the second deck in right field, a two-run blast that not only gave the Dodgers the lead but also knocked Cole out of the game.

In the eighth inning, the Dodgers pulled off a brilliant relay to preserve their one-run lead. Pages, Betts, and Rushing combined perfectly to tag out Trent Grisham at the plate as he tried to score.

This win was not only a much-needed turnaround for the Dodgers but also a validating performance for Roki Sasaki. The 24-year-old Japanese right-hander has had flashes of brilliance this season, looking like the super-prodigy who once dominated Nippon Professional Baseball. But he had hit rock bottom, surrendering 22 earned runs in his last 25 innings of the first half.

Although the Dodgers know that anything unexpected can happen whenever Sasaki takes the mound, they also understand that holding a "wild card" isn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Sometimes he gives up a few runs early and then settles down, or he pitches great for a few innings and then suddenly loses it at one point," Roberts said. "But today, he was perfect from start to finish."