Miguel Rojas Cherishing His Final Ride With Dodgers Amid Season-opening Win

In a quiet infinitesimal earlier nan pomp and condition of opening day, Dodgers 2nd baseman Miguel Rojas learned he’d beryllium starting successful nan last play opener of his agelong career.

He was connected nan chair for nan Freeway Series finale astatine Dodger Stadium earlier this week, erstwhile head Dave Roberts came complete to cheque successful and springiness Rojas nan news.

“I didn’t cognize if, ‘Thank you’ was nan correct point to opportunity because it’s thing I earned,” Rojas recounted earlier nan Dodgers’ 8-2 win Thursday against nan Diamondbacks. “It’s not thing that I asked for arsenic a favor. So I was conscionable benignant of speechless.”

Rojas embraced Roberts.

“It was a gift to myself because of each nan difficult activity and nan mentation I put successful passim my full career,” Rojas said. “This measurement is nan champion measurement imaginable because I sewage up to nan large leagues arsenic a inferior protect replacement who tin play shortstop but couldn’t really deed much.”

Rojas, who intends to discontinue aft this year, wrapped up his last opening time arsenic a starter.

Opening time is simply a ceremony crossed baseball. But nan Dodgers made it a afloat production. The pregame programme Thursday included roster-introduction pyrotechnics, on pinch a shape and bluish carpet group up successful halfway field.

It was besides a clip to commemorate nan 2025 World Series, raising nan banner and revealing nan caller motion marking nan organization’s ninth title.

Rojas rode onto nan section perched atop a metallic bluish convertible, hoisting nan 2025 World Series trophy complete his head. To his near sat Freddie Freeman, holding nan 2024 trophy. Will Ferrell sat successful nan driver’s seat.

“It’s here,” Rojas said Thursday afternoon. “This is my past chance to play shot pinch an astonishing group of guys.”

A spot successful nan starting lineup hadn’t been guaranteed for nan 2025 World Series hero. The Diamondbacks started right-hander Zac Gallen. And passim nan year, Rojas will mostly play 2nd guidelines against left-handers, platooning pinch Alex Freeland to statesman nan twelvemonth and yet Tommy Edman erstwhile he returns from nan 10-day injured list.

“This intends a batch to him, his family and to nan Dodger fans,” Roberts said. “And also, astir importantly, I deliberation he’s a awesome action for today. All in, it was nan correct decision.”

Rojas’ last opening time — he’s lined up to modulation into a subordinate improvement domiciled pinch nan Dodgers adjacent twelvemonth — was a well-rounded crippled for nan Dodgers.

A marquee pitching matchup betwixt Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Gallen produced a scoreless first 3 innings. The Diamondbacks collapsed done first, pinch Geraldo Perdomo roping a two-run homer disconnected Yamamoto successful nan 4th inning.

The Dodgers hadn’t recorded a deed since Shohei Ohtani’s leadoff single. But successful nan fifth, they yet sewage to Gallen, and batted done nan order.

Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernández kicked disconnected nan rally pinch back-to-back groundball singles. Then Andy Pages launched a go-ahead location tally into nan left-field seats.

Rojas, dropping a azygous into shallow halfway field, and Ohtani, drafting a walk, held connected nan pressure. And nan Diamondbacks pulled Gallen for right-hander Juan Morillo.

How nan Dodgers celebrated their World Series title up of play opener.

The Dodgers tacked connected 1 much run, arsenic Rojas raced location connected Will Smith’s azygous up nan first-base line, earlier Morillo yet escaped a bases-loaded jam.

The adjacent inning, Yamamoto slammed nan doorway unopen against nan apical of nan bid pinch a brace of groundouts to Rojas and a strikeout, Yamamoto’s sixth. He retired 9 consecutive batters aft Perdomo’s homer.

That would extremity Yamamoto’s nighttime astatine six innings.

The Dodgers continued piling connected against nan Diamondbacks’ bullpen. A four-run rally successful nan seventh inning featured Kyle Tucker’s first deed arsenic a Dodger, an RBI double and a two-run changeable from Smith. The Dodgers’ bullpen held nan D-backs scoreless nan remainder of nan way.

After reliever Tanner Scott forced a alert retired to shortstop Mookie Betts to extremity nan game, Rojas pointed 2 fingers to nan entity and past joined his teammates successful nan handshake line.

Rojas held his emotions astatine bay done outpouring training, immersing himself successful nan regular work. But opening time made it much real.

“Baseball is what I retrieve maine doing my full life,” Rojas said. “I don’t retrieve myself doing thing else. I cognize I was a bully son, a bully brother, a bully student. I cognize that. But I don’t retrieve myself doing that. I retrieve myself playing baseball, preparing for a shot game, moving retired to beryllium a master shot player. Then erstwhile I was successful nan minors I retrieve myself moving really difficult to get to nan large leagues and past moving really difficult to beryllium an every-day player. It goes connected and on.”

Until it doesn’t.

Future Hall of famer Clayton Kershaw knows what that’s like. Venturing into status a twelvemonth up of Rojas, Kershaw was connected NBC’s broadcast Thursday, sporting a suit connected nan section earlier nan game.

He commented connected Rojas’ tan, and Rojas told Kershaw he’d stolen his look and had been going sleeveless.

“My woman and my kids telephone him Uncle Kersh because of nan joyousness he had passim nan year,” Rojas said. “He was really happy each year. He wasn’t really caught up successful numbers aliases stats. He was conscionable enjoying his time. I really wish I tin do a small spot of what he did past year. I dream I tin bask it arsenic overmuch arsenic he did past year.

“So I’m going to beryllium Uncle Miggy this year.”