By james art LOS ANGELES — Nothing makes you feel better than a break from work.
“To be honest with you, I feel better now than when I was playing in September,” said Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas, who was left off the National League Championship Series roster with an adductor injury. “In September, my leg was really bothering me. I played it and I did everything I could, I did everything I could to get through September because I knew the team was really close to making the playoffs. And now I feel better.”
Rojas said it was “hard” to sit back and watch the NLCS continue without him.
“You want to be on the field. You want to contribute. You want to be in the lineup and help the team win on the field,” he said. “But I feel like in order to win games and be a championship team, you have to understand that you have to trust your teammates, you have to trust your team … because the moment I was injured, I wasn’t going to help so much for the team on the field.”
Rojas said he wasn’t sure until the Dodgers’ final workouts Wednesday and Thursday that he would be back on the roster for the World Series. But he was added to the roster and started as a pitcher in Game 2 against New York Yankees lefty Carlos Rodon.
“To be honest with you, it wasn’t easy. Until the last day, I wasn’t quite sure I was running the bases. I took ground balls at shortstop. I took my bats during the sim games we did,” Rojas said.
“Until that moment, I didn’t know if I would make it. Since this injury is a daily occurrence, sometimes I feel really good, sometimes it feels like I can’t walk. So that’s the balance I’ve been going through for the last month and a half.”
Rojas said he will undergo sports hernia surgery to address the injury as soon as possible after the Dodgers’ season ends. Rojas’ current contract includes a 2025 club option at a $5 million salary (or a $1 million buyout). Rojas said he has spoken with some players who have had similar surgeries — including teammate Quique Hernandez, Starling Marte of the New York Mets and former Yankee Derek Jeter, who is part of FOX’s World Series coverage team.
“I know I have to have it. The sooner the better because I’m going to have a normal offseason and I’m looking forward to playing for a few more years,” Rojas said.
“I heard you’re going back to baseball activities in a month, so three to four weeks or something. With the offseason we have, my goal is to be ready for next spring training, and I’m pretty sure I will be.”
PITCHING PLANS
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Walker Buehler will start Game 3 at Yankee Stadium. That makes a bullpen game most likely for Game 4.
By starting Buehler in Game 3, the right-hander would have the option to start a potential Game 7 after four days’ rest.
“We love Walker in the big games,” Roberts said. “The road won’t bother him. It also allows him to potentially be available for Game 7 as well.”
The Yankees will start right-hander Clark Schmidt in Game 3 and right-hander Louis Gill in Game 4.
INSTANT REPEAT
Roberts said he went home after the dramatic ending to Game 1 and — watched the dramatic ending to Game 1.
“I got home and then my wife, my son, my mother-in-law and I did something that you can do, but I don’t know how to do it,” Roberts said. “My son put it on and you can watch the quick highlights. So I saw all these things. It was pretty spectacular.”
Roberts said he reached out to his players before Game 2 to make sure there would be no hangover from the drama of Game 1.
“We celebrated the hell out of last night like I thought we should. But today is a new day and the guys are going back to work,” Roberts said.
“I really think there’s some momentum, some excitement, that will carry over into tonight’s game. But as far as last night’s game goes, that’s over.
DADDY GIRL
When Will Smith’s first daughter was born, it was the morning of Game 4 of the 2022 NL Division Series between the Dodgers and Padres. Smith went home to be with his wife Kara during the birth and was then flown by helicopter back to San Diego in time for the game.
His second daughter had a better time. Cara gave birth to another baby girl on Tuesday during the weekend before the start of the World Series.
“It was a week, a great week — we played in the World Series, we had our daughter,” Smith said Saturday. “She got it right when she came so I got to spend a few days at home just being a dad.”
ALSO
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Roberts said Game 1 starter Jack Flaherty dealt with some hamstring tightness during his 5⅓ innings, but “I don’t think it’s going to be a big deal” going forward.