​Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas voiced his frustration after two costly eighth-inning mistakes helped the Colorado Rockies pull away in a 4-3 win on Tuesday night. With two runners on and one out, Tyler Freeman lofted a hard grounder to the left of the second-base bag. Rojas hustled to field the ball, but it glanced off the heel of his glove and rolled into shallow left-center, allowing a run to score and trimming Los Angeles’ lead to 3-2.
Moments later, a sacrifice bunt tied the game, and Cole Carrigg tried to go from first to third as Rojas stood on second. The Dodgers shortstop charged to cover, but he overran the bag and misplayed Alex Freeland’s throw, which sailed into the camera bay. Freeman raced home, giving Colorado a 4-3 edge that they would not relinquish.
Colorado ended up taking the second game of the series, further denting the Dodgers’ hopes in a tight head-to-head slate. After the game, Rojas reflected on the misplays, distinguishing between physical and mental errors. “The ground ball was a physical error; I had the opportunity to make the play and end the inning there,” he said. “But I’m more disappointed by the other play, where I froze at second and should have been on third. I should have been on third and kept the tie. That’s the one I’m unhappy with.”
Rojas emphasized that while physical mistakes happen, he is more troubled by mental lapses. “I’m not perfect, and I’m going to make errors, and physical errors are okay. But mental errors are the ones that sting. I should have been on third, and I shouldn’t have put Alex Freeland in a tough throw while I was running. That’s the one I’m second-guessing myself over.”
The veteran shortstop is known for his defense, and his uneven sequence of errors in this game stands in stark contrast to his usual reliability. Rojas sits in the 89th percentile in MLB for outs above average, and his defensive run value sits at plus-2, numbers that reflect his generally strong glove and his limited, but impactful, time on the field for a Dodgers squad stacked with infield depth.
MLB credited Rojas with only one error in the game—the first grounder mishandled—leaving his total for the season at just four errors across more than 300 innings. In recent seasons, he’s been even steadier: only four errors last year and three the year before.
The Dodgers will try to rebound in a decisive rubber match against the Rockies, scheduled for Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. PT. They’ll be hoping Rojas can channel his usual defensive acumen and avoid repeating the two misplays that proved costly this time around. The performance remains a reminder of how a single costly miscue can shape a tightly contested game, but also of Rojas’s overall value as a dependable defender who can contribute both with the glove and, at times, with the bat.