ATLANTA — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed right-hander Roki Sasaki on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on his right middle finger, a sudden setback that cuts short one of the best stretches of his season.

The injury surfaced during Wednesday night's 6-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves, when Sasaki exited in the fourth inning after 3⅓ innings, having allowed four runs on six hits and two walks. He'd opened the inning by walking Ozzie Albies, who scored on an Austin Riley sacrifice fly, before Mike Yastrzemski and Sean Murphy added hits and a trainer came out to check on him, according to the Associated Press' account of the fourth inning.

"When I was facing the first hitter in the fourth inning, I actually didn't feel anything coming beforehand. My skin just ripped off, and then after that, it started getting worse," Sasaki said through an interpreter after the game. He added that he's dealt with blister issues before in Japan, but usually with warning signs: "This time it's kind of a different case. I thought I was able to manage at first because the skin was still there, but after that skin was getting worse, I think it affected my slider."

A rotation scramble down the stretch

Sasaki, 24, is 5-5 with a 4.60 ERA on the season but had been dealing since the All-Star break, going 2-0 with a 3.05 ERA over seven starts, per MLB.com's rundown of his second-half surge. Manager Dave Roberts called the IL stint unavoidable and was noncommittal on what role Sasaki returns to: "That, I think, is truly to say. I would hope so, but not sure. I think that's more contingent on when he comes back. If it's the short end, yes. If it's a long run, then I think it's a different discussion."

"MY SKIN JUST RIPPED OFF, AND THEN AFTER THAT, IT STARTED GETTING WORSE."

The Dodgers recalled reliever Seth Halvorsen from Triple-A Oklahoma City to fill the roster spot, while left-hander Eric Lauer is expected to step into the rotation in Sasaki's place, though Roberts said he wasn't yet sure when Lauer would get the ball. Sasaki flew back to Los Angeles Thursday morning for further evaluation ahead of a weekend series against the Tigers.

With the Dodgers managing workload deep into a playoff push, the next update on Sasaki's healing timeline will determine whether he slots back in as a traditional starter or in a hybrid role built around off-days the rest of the way.