Dodgers fans can't help blaming unforgivable Miguel Rojas play for NLDS Game 3 loss

The Dodgers suffered another brutal postseason loss on Tuesday night to fall a game behind the Padres in the NLDS. There was a lot to unpack there; storylines that set themselves up early in the regular season are culminating on the big stage. Would the lineup finally be able to hit in the clutch? Would Walker Buehler finally be able to be the pitcher he used to be when the Dodgers needed him most?

Although there were a couple of exceptions, the Dodgers largely answered 'no' to both of those questions on Tuesday. Other than a grand slam from Teoscar Hernández to put the Dodgers within one during the third, the offense did nothing. Buehler pitched a nice first inning, but then everything exploded in the second.

But it wasn't all Buehler's fault. The leadoff Manny Machado single falls on his shoulders, but the next two plays weren't the righty's responsibility. Jackson Merrill hit a ball to Freddie Freeman, who came up with it and threw to second to try for a double play, but it never reached Miguel Rojas covering second, as Machado had run into the throwing lane and the ball nicked off the back of his helmet and bounced into the outfield. That's not a play you can challenge, and Freeman even admitted after the game that he would've done the same thing. Both runners were safe.

Xander Bogaerts was the next up. He hit a ball into the hole between second and third for what should've been an easy double play ball. Rojas scooped it, but instead of tossing it to Gavin Lux for the first out at second, he took it himself; speedy rookie Jackson Merrill beat him there on a slide. Rojas flung the ball to first, but by then it was too late.

Rojas said after the game that it was "a bad decision" (subscription required). Yeah, we'll say!

Miguel Rojas' failed attempt at heroics completely blew Dodgers-Padres Game 3 and might cost LA the series

That failed Rojas double play should've gotten Buehler his first two outs — if you factor in the first, he should've gotten out of the inning — but Rojas tried to play the hero and completely failed on all fronts.

It's absurd, and Dodgers fans have a right to be furious. Rojas had a better offensive season this year than he's had in a long time, but he's mostly on the field to be the elite defensive player he's been throughout his career. A guy in Baseball Savant's 90th percentile for Fielding Run Value and who batted .236 in both 2022 and 2023 isn't in the lineup for his bat.

Machado scored and no one was out, and then David Peralta cleared the bases with a double, Kyle Higashioka brought in another on a sac fly, and then Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run homer. Six runs, many of which could've been prevented if Rojas had just tossed the ball to Lux.

"It was a bad decision" doesn't cut it, dude.