Rojas enjoys heroic ride

Dodgers veteran looks back on life-changing Game 7 homer as he enters his final season.

- JACK VITA

MIGUEL ROJAS went on a whirlwind tour after his World Series homer.

(ERIC THAYER Los Angeles Times)

When asked to describe Game 7 of the World Series and his place in it more than three months later, veteran infielder Miguel Rojas did not hesitate with his answer.

“Game 7 of the World Series was unbelievable,” Rojas said at his locker inside the Dodgers’ clubhouse at Camelback Ranch last week. “Because nobody believed that I was able to hit a home run in the ninth inning with one out, and in that spot. No way.”

Rojas worked the count full, and on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman left a slider over the plate, which Rojas rocketed over the left field bullpen, leaving the 44,000 fans on hand at the Rogers Centre — and the 51 million viewers watching — completely stunned.

“That was one of the most shocking World Series home runs I've ever seen,” award-winning baseball writer and Fox Sports commentator Tom Verducci said. “Here I was thinking, ‘Well, Ohtani’s on deck, so he doesn’t want to walk him.' Never in my mind did I ever think that he was going to hit a home run. It was even more shocking to me than the Rajai Davis home run off [Aroldis] Chapman in 2016.”

Davis’ two-run blast in the 2016 World Series tied Game 7 at 6-6, capping a three-run comeback for the then-Cleveland Indians. However, it occurred in the eighth inning, and came in a loss, as the Cubs ended their 108-year championship drought in extra innings that night in Cleveland.

How does Rojas’ tying homer rank historically? Is it on par with Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit, walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series?