phenom

Only one kept him around for consecutive seasons: the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by a young phenom named LeBron James.

"An outstanding performance from him and he's just a phenom at the moment."

But here, it’s directed at the young phenom Sasaki to bedevil hitters when he comes out in relief.

And he delivered the kind of game the baseball world dreamed about when the two-way phenom first arrived from Japan, fulfilling the prophecy that accompanied him as a near-mythical prospect eight years earlier.

Practically overnight, the 23-year-old Sasaki has transformed from a fading phenom into the burgeoning ace the Dodgers envisioned when they signed him in January.