He drew headlines for delivering an apology and candy to a batter he’d hit in the knee with ... come after for Sasaki; its echoes can be seen in his rise through the Japanese high school ranks ...

Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old pitching sensation ... one of those pitches coming in at 101.9 mph drilled him on the left knee. Escala hit the ground in blinding pain, but after writhing on the ...