LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) -- Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki showed progress Saturday in his strongest MLB start so far, but he was charged with a 16-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs after his team's offense and bullpen both struggled.

The former Lotte Marines ace pitched into the fifth inning for the first time since leaving Nippon Professional Baseball, allowing one run on four hits and two walks while striking out three over five full frames. He threw 50 strikes on 81 pitches, both MLB career highs.

For the 23-year-old Sasaki (0-1), it was a marked improvement on his previous outing against the Cubs, when he made it through just three innings in Game 2 of the season-opening Tokyo Series on March 19.

He gave up a leadoff home run to Michael Busch in the second inning at Dodger Stadium before settling in and finding success against the Chicago lineup with his splitter.

Relievers Ben Casparius and Luis Garcia both took a pummeling from the Cubs' batters, who continued to run up the score as utility infielder Miguel Rojas pitched the eighth and ninth innings.

Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-3 leading off as the Dodgers' designated hitter, while Cubs designated hitter Seiya Suzuki went 0-for-2 before making way for a pinch hitter in the fifth inning.

With the loss, the Dodgers saw their home winning streak snapped at 10 games.