LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers came home from a road trip that split them down the middle, still searching for a signature moment to reset the tone. They found it Monday night at Dodger Stadium, when Miguel Rojas walked off the bench in the seventh inning and drove a solo home run to left center, turning a 3-3 tie into a 4-3 lead the bullpen would not let go. It was the kind of swing that does more than change a scoreboard. It changes a night.
Down Early
The Rays did not come to Dodger Stadium to be polite. Tampa Bay jumped on Eric Lauer in the very first inning when Junior Caminero doubled to right and Ryan Vilade followed with a two-run home run, his fourth of the year. Just like that, the Dodgers were behind before they had thrown a punch.
Tampa Bay added a third run in the second, pushing across a sacrifice-bunt-driven run to extend the lead to 3-0. Lauer worked six innings in total, allowing three earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts, and while the line does not exactly sing, he kept the game from becoming something worse. The Dodgers needed him to give them a chance to come back. He did.
Tucker Ties It in One Swing
The comeback started quietly. Mookie Betts doubled to open the second, and Max Muncy followed with a single. Then Kyle Tucker stepped in and solved the situation the only way Tucker knows how. He drove a fly ball to right center for a three-run home run, his sixth of the season, and suddenly the Dodgers were tied at three. Just like that. One swing, three runs, and Dodger Stadium was back in it.
From there the game locked into a pitching standoff. The Dodgers loaded opportunities but could not convert, stranding runners in the fourth with Tucker and Ryan Ward on base and Dalton Rushing striking out to kill the inning. The fifth was quiet for both sides. So was the sixth, where a Freddie Freeman walk and a Max Muncy walk loaded the promise of a go-ahead run that never materialized when Tucker struck out and Alex Call fouled out on a pinch-hit appearance. The Rays and Dodgers stayed knotted at three heading into the seventh, each waiting for the other to blink.
Rojas Ends the Wait
Steven Matz came on in the seventh for Tampa Bay. Miguel Rojas came off the bench for Los Angeles. What happened next was simple, immediate, and decisive. Rojas connected for a solo home run to left center, his second of the year, and lifted the Dodgers in front 4-3. The stadium had been restless all night. That swing woke it up.
Rojas came to the plate with one mission and fulfilled it completely. It was the kind of pinch-hit moment that is easy to take for granted until you actually need it, and the Dodgers needed it Monday. Kyle Hurt earned the win after throwing a scoreless seventh, improving to 2-1 with a 4.03 ERA. Will Klein and Alex Vesia bridged the gap to Tanner Scott, who closed it out in the ninth for his eighth save of the season, working a clean inning and punching out one to seal it.
The Story Around the Story
Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and never really factored into the offense, which has become a quietly nagging theme on nights when the lineup needs everyone to show up. Freddie Freeman reached twice but scored zero times. The Dodgers finished with seven hits and left base runners stranded in ways that could have made this a very different story.
But they did not lose. On a night where the offense ran in fits and starts and their starter gave up three in the first two innings, they found exactly enough. Rojas provided the margin. The bullpen protected it. That is not always how it goes, but Monday it was enough, and after a 3-3 road trip that ended with a fifth-inning punchless exit on Sunday, enough is something the Dodgers will take.
Up Next
Los Angeles continues the three-game series against Tampa Bay on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. Justin Wrobleski takes the mound opposite the Rays’ Drew Rasmussen. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. PT. The series also brings a long-awaited milestone: Tommy Edman is set to be activated Tuesday, making his season debut after missing the entire first half recovering from offseason surgery.
