In a 10-1 victory, the Dodgers blasted four home runs, including Rojas’ first in over a year, Heyward’s first off a left-handed pitcher since May 2021, and Amed Rosario’s first since joining the team.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Miguel Rojas spent 401 days without hitting a home run in a major-league game, while appearing in 156 games and stepping to the plate 549 times.
The Oakland A’s then arrived to town.
The woebegone A’s goodwill tour of major-league ballparks included Rojas’ first home run since June 26 of last year. As part of the Dodgers’ 10-1 victory on Wednesday night, Jason Heyward blasted his first home run off a left-handed pitcher since May 2021.
In winning the first two games of this series, the Dodgers (61-45) outscored the A’s (17-39) – who were equally bad at their soon-to-be-vacated home (15-39) and on the road (15-40) – by a 17-4 ratio. Except for Max Muncy, who walked twice, every member in the Dodgers’ starting lineup had at least one of their 13 hits on Wednesday.
“We’re looking after business. “I believe that is a sign of a very good baseball team,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Because of the A’s pushover status this season, these are must-win games for any team, including the Dodgers, looking to accumulate enough victories to secure a playoff spot.
“Obviously, the answer is that every game is hard to win,” Roberts responded. “But I do believe that these are games we expect to win with a team that is rebuilding right now and players who don’t have a lot of major-league experience.” To be fair to that ballclub, when you’re running out the people that we’re running out there, trying to win the division, we have to win games like this at home.”
The Dodgers wasted no time Wednesday in putting the A’s out of their misery. In the bottom of the first inning, the first three batters reached base and all came around to score. Ten of the Dodgers’ first 14 batters reached base. Seven of them scored before the second inning ended with two outs. Amed Rosario’s first home run as a Dodger put the team up 7-0.
Mookie Betts hit a double and a home run in his first two at-bats before sitting out the rest of the game. The home run was a 436-foot drive, the longest Betts has hit with the Dodgers, and it was such a no-brainer that A’s left fielder Tony Kemp didn’t even move, not even turning around to watch its contrail.
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Freddie Freeman had hits in each of the first three innings, extending his hit streak to seven at-bats in a row. He also went to bed early.
This allowed Rojas and Heyward to flex their muscles.
Rojas’ home run was a 383-foot fly ball that landed just over the left-field wall. When he arrived to the bench, his teammates disregarded him, giving him the silent treatment as if it were his first game in the big leagues.
“It’s not my first one, but it feels like it,” quipped Rojas.
“I knew the boys were going to pull a joke on me and give me the silent treatment and everything, but I don’t care. When I arrived to the dugout, I told Dave that I’m going to dance by myself right here. I don’t care; I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time.”
Rojas, who was acquired for his defense rather than his bat, has had a Shohei Ohtani-like homestand, making his first pitching appearance of his career in a blowout defeat to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s definitely been disappointing for my own eyes because I expect a lot more from myself, at least to be more productive on a daily basis,” Rojas, who is hitting.217 with a.545 OPS, said. “But I can’t sit here and feel sorry for myself because I’m playing shortstop for a team that is 16 games over.500.” I’m going to keep doing whatever the team wants me to do to support them, whether it’s defense, running the bases, or being a voice on the field. But if I can get myself going for the next few months, that will be crucial for us.”
A year after the Chicago Cubs told him he was out, Heyward is filled with pride for what he’s accomplished this season.
His 11th home run of the season (his best since 2019) landed 406 feet away in the right field pavilion at 104.8 mph. In the sixth inning, he scored on the first pitch he saw from lefty reliever Kirby Snead. Heyward’s first home run off a lefty pitcher since May 17, 2021, when he took former Cubs teammate Jon Lester (then pitching for the Washington Nationals) deep.
“Don’t give up. “Just keep going,” Heyward said. “There are days, at-bats, and pitches that you would like to have back.” Then there are instances when you do your job, get ready, and get rewarded. It’s a great credit to the work I’ve been doing with the coaching staff, the guys I get to work with every day. There are numerous excellent instances.”
With everything going on, Tony Gonsolin chose the best day to pitch.
Gonsolin pitched five innings for the fourth time in a row, allowing six hits but only one run on Shea Langeliers’ single home run. Yency Almonte, Alex Vesia, and Ryan Brasier of the Los Angeles Dodgers combined for just one hit in the remaining four innings.