Miguel Rojas etched his name into Los Angeles Dodgers postseason lore with a game-tying home run in Game 7 of the World Series, but it was a moment that nearly never came to pass.
Not just because the Dodgers trailed for all of Game 7 at Rogers Centre until Rojas’ homer, but due to the veteran suffering an injury after a dramatic ending the night before.
“I had a little rib thing after the game [Friday] night when I was celebrating with the guys in the middle of the field,” Rojas revealed during a postgame interview with DodgerBlue.com.
“So I was playing through a lot of pain today, a lot of meds, injections and all that, to get me through 11 innings. Obviously, I had to come out of the game. When Will hit that homer, I talked to them and said, ‘Put someone that is completely healthy out there.’
“Just in case something happened and my arm couldn’t react. We couldn’t lose that game after we hit the homer.”
Hyeseong Kim took over at second base for the bottom of the 11th inning in what was his World Series debut.
There weren’t any overt signs of Rojas dealing with an injury during Game 7, though he did hunch over after throwing home to get a force out with the bases loaded in the ninth inning. In the moment that appeared to be — and may have been — due to the enormity of the situation.
Rojas initially stumbled after fielding the chopper and threw slightly wide to home plate. Will Smith snagged the throw and managed to get his foot back down just in time to help the Dodgers avoid a walk-off loss.
Rojas did not reveal specific details of his injury nor a timeline for recovery into the winter.
Miguel Rojas wants to re-sign with Dodgers
Now a two-time World Series champion with the Dodgers, Rojas is among their free agents this offseason. Rojas has made it clear his preference is to re-sign with the Dodgers and then retire.
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