{"id":33661,"date":"2025-11-01T17:42:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T17:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/33661\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T17:42:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T17:42:17","slug":"how-miguel-rojas-energy-infusion-sparked-dodgers-in-world-series-game-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/33661\/","title":{"rendered":"How Miguel Rojas’ ‘energy infusion’ sparked Dodgers in World Series Game 6"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TORONTO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Miguel Rojas<\/a> knows his role.<\/p>\n

\u201cA utility guy who can play different positions, who can really play defense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Turns out that was exactly what the Dodgers<\/a> needed Friday in Game 6 of the World Series. And Rojas was up to the task, making four splendid plays in the field to preserve a 3-1 win<\/a> that sent the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays to a deciding Game 7 on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiggy played the heck out of second base and made some huge plays,\u201d manager Dave Roberts<\/a> said. \u201cWe were hoping for that kind of energy infusion. We got that from Miggy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest play was the last one. With one out in the ninth and Toronto\u2019s Addison Barger at second base, representing the tying run, Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez sliced a broken-ball liner to left field. The Dodgers\u2019 Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> got a great jump on the ball and made a running catch, followed by a poor throw to second in an attempt to double off Barger.<\/p>\n

The ball took a tricky hop but Rojas stuck with it, catching the ball behind his left knee and hanging on as the retreating Barger knocked him to the ground. Rojas rolled on his back and pumped him right arm three times in celebration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was coming in full speed so I didn\u2019t want to really throw hard, because I was probably going to throw it over his head,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cUnbelievable pick by Miggy. I didn\u2019t give him the best of throws.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, pretty epic ending there,\u201d Rojas added with a smile.<\/p>\n

Without that play, the Dodgers\u2019 season could have come to an end Friday \u2014 and with it, Rojas\u2019 time in a Dodger uniform. He\u2019ll be a free agent after the World Series and, at 37 next season, there\u2019s no guarantee he\u2019ll be back in L.A.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

A look at what happened in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 6 of the World Series.<\/p>\n

So he said he went into Game 6 determined to extend his time as a Dodger one more day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started my career here. This is special because they gave me an opportunity when nobody really did in back in 2013 when I was a minor league free agent,\u201d he said. \u201cI will never forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, Rojas has gone from the Dodgers to the Miami Marlins and back again. He\u2019s gone from being a utility player to being an everyday shortstop and back again. But what hasn\u2019t changed is the preparation and grit he brings to the game when he does play.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s start was his first since Game 2 of the National League Division Series and just his second appearance in 23 days. Yet with the season on the line, Roberts wrote Rojas\u2019 name in the lineup in the most important game of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just really wanted Miggy in there,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s been a really glue guy for our club this year, and I just feel that having him in the lineup infuses some extra intensity. On the defensive side, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted him to be in the lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rojas didn\u2019t disappoint. In the third, he saved a run when he slid to his right to backhand a Gim\u00e9nez shot up the middle. An inning later he made a quick turn on a chopper from Daulton Varsho to start one of three double plays he was involved with. And then in the seventh he took a hit away from Barger when he bare-handed a high hopper and threw to first, beating the runner by half a step.<\/p>\n

That also saved a run since Ernie Clement followed with a double to the wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn these kinds of games, you always have to do your part,\u201d he said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what you do. It can be on the defensive side. Can be on the offensive side. It can be on the bases.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlay the game one pitch at a time and don\u2019t take any pitches off. That\u2019s the reason why we were able to make really good plays, big plays when we needed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s also the reason Rojas and the Dodgers will get to do it one more time on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cGame 7. Amazing,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cThis is what we dream of ever since we were little kids. We always put ourselves in the backyard in Game 7 of the World Series.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaseball deserves a Game 7. This has been a great, great World Series. Both teams have played their butts off. Tomorrow is just going to be a one-game series and see who plays better tomorrow to win a World Series.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Miguel Rojas knows his role. \u201cA utility guy who can play different positions, who can really play defense,\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[18623,23850,4472,24251,426,2424,423,6128,48,52,51,6131,47,50,49,24250,23848,2668,278,315,17887],"class_list":["post-33661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-addison-barger","tag-andres-gimenez","tag-ball","tag-big-play","tag-dodgers","tag-friday","tag-game","tag-kike-hernandez","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-lineup","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-miggy","tag-miguel-rojas","tag-run","tag-season","tag-time","tag-world-series-game"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}