Roki Sasaki lands on injured list with finger blister

The Los Angeles Dodgers will place right-hander Roki Sasaki on the 15-day injured list after he suffered a blister on his right middle finger during Wednesday’s 6-5 walk-off defeat by the Atlanta Braves.

Sasaki was removed in the fourth inning after allowing four runs on six hits over 3 1/3 innings.

The 24-year-old said the blister developed suddenly while facing the first batter of the inning.

“When I was facing the first hitter in the fourth inning, I actually didn't feel anything coming beforehand,” Sasaki said through an interpreter.

“My skin just ripped off, and then after that, it got worse. ... I thought I was able to manage at first because the skin was still there, but after that, it kept getting worse, and I think it affected my slider afterwards.”

The injury interrupts Sasaki’s strongest stretch of the season. He had entered Wednesday’s game with a 2-0 record, 2.31 ERA and 34 strikeouts across 35 innings in his previous six starts.

The setback comes as the Dodgers’ pitching staff had begun to regain key players. Left-hander Blake Snell has gone 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 18 innings since returning from an elbow injury.

Tyler Glasnow also made his return from back problems against Atlanta on Tuesday, while Shohei Ohtani could resume pitching as early as this weekend after recovering from a knee injury.

Left-hander Eric Lauer could replace Sasaki in the rotation. He is 7-1 with a 3.76 ERA in 12 games since joining the Dodgers from Toronto in May.

Sasaki is 5-5 with a 4.60 ERA in 23 starts this season.