LOS ANGELES -- Miguel Rojas saw only one pitch all night, but that was all he needed.
Pinch-hitting in the bottom of the seventh inning, Rojas pulled a first-pitch sinker from Rays reliever Steven Matz into the left-field seats for a solo shot that held as the game-winning run in Monday night's 4-3 Dodgers victory at Dodger Stadium.
"You never expect a home run," manager Dave Roberts said. "But I just knew that I liked the matchup and I felt he was going to put up a good at-bat. He's really embraced this role, one of our team leaders, and it's good to keep him active and part of things."
It was the Dodgers' first pinch-hit home run of the season, and the second of Rojas' career.
"It's pretty cool that you're coming off the bench and you're doing your job," Rojas said. "I've been working really hard on trying to get better at that, because I've never been a really good pinch-hit hitter, but I've been talking to a lot of people that helped me with experience and getting to understand a little bit more -- what do I need to do when I get my pinch-hit at-bats?"
Before Rojas' blast, the game had been tied at 3 since the second inning.
Against Dodgers starter Eric Lauer, the Rays jumped out to a 3-0 lead through the top of the second. L.A. responded quickly in the bottom half of the frame. Mookie Betts led off with a double. Max Muncy hustled down the first-base line to beat out an infield single. Kyle Tucker followed by working an eight-pitch at-bat and driving a full-count changeup into the right-field seats for a three-run blast, erasing the early deficit.
In the top of the third, Tucker put his arm to work to help preserve the tie. When Jonathan Aranda tried to score from second base on a Ben Williamson single, Tucker fired a perfect throw home to cut down would-be go-ahead run Aranda at the plate for his fifth outfield assist, matching his total from last season. At 92.5 mph, it was Tucker's hardest throw of the season and the fourth-hardest assist of his career.
That was one of several plays that helped Lauer settle down to record a quality start. The Rays' pitching staff was able to hold the Dodgers at bay until Rojas came off the bench, providing a spark with a single swing of the bat.
"I wanted to throw a fastball in and go from there, and he beat me to the spot and put a good swing on it. Tip my cap," Matz said. "He's a good ballplayer. He wasn't necessarily the guy I was trying to be careful with. I wanted to stay in the strike zone and attack, and he put a good swing on it."
Two and a half months into Rojas' 13th, and likely final, big league season, the veteran infielder has already taken 20 pinch-hit plate appearances, two more than in any other year of his career. That is because he has been the right-handed-hitting part of platoons at second base and shortstop this season, primarily facing left-handed pitching.
Rojas entered Monday with a .572 career OPS as a pinch-hitter, but he has worked to improve. That has involved talking with players who have found some success as pinch-hitters, such as the recently retired Jason Heyward, who joined the Dodgers' front office as a special assistant and was with the team for the previous series in Chicago.
Throughout his career, Rojas has taken pride in working quality at-bats. He's learned that there are times when he needs to trust his instincts and be more aggressive than he might otherwise be early in an at-bat.
"Sometimes," Rojas said, "the first pitch was the best pitch to hit."
Just like on Monday.
Adapting to a bench role can be difficult for a veteran player like Rojas, who hit one of the most significant home runs in franchise history in Game 7 of last year's World Series. His buy-in is one of the many ways he leads by example for the Dodgers, who believe that if they're going to pull off a three-peat this year, it will be because of more than just their stars.
"The mentality for us bench players is to be the best that we can be and be the best players off the bench in the league," Rojas said, "so we can have the kind of team that we're going to have."