The Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas reacts during the first inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani acknowledges fans as he steps to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Dodgers at Guaranteed Rate Field on June 24, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, left, looks toward teammate Freddie Freeman during the first inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman breaks his bat during the first inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers starting pitcher James Paxton throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. Paxton pitched five scoreless innings in a 3-0 win. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
The Dodgers’ Kike Hernández at bat during the second inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Chicago White Sox starter Garrett Crochet delivers a pitch during the first inning of a game against the Dodgers on Monday night in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani swings at a pitch during the third inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers starter James Paxton delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Dodgers infielder Chris Taylor can’t catch a pop fly during the third inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers starting pitcher James Paxton throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. Paxton pitched five scoreless innings in a 3-0 win. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
The Chicago White Sox’s Paul DeJong bats during the third inning of their game against the Dodgers on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages, right, catches a fly ball as left fielder Miguel Vargas watches during the fifth inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani bats during the fifth inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani reacts after striking out during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Monday, June 24, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Grounds crew members cover the field during a rain delay during the seventh inning of a game between the Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers relief pitcher Yohan Ramírez throws to the plate during the seventh inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
The Chicago White Sox’s Lenyn Sosa reacts after striking out during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Dodgers on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Chicago. Los Angeles won 3-0. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
The Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas, left, is tagged out by Chicago White Sox catcher Korey Lee back, during the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, June 24, 2024, in Chicago. Los Angeles won 3-0. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas throws the ball to first base during the eighth inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages catches a fly ball during the eighth inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani watches his RBI sacrifice fly during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, June 24, 2024, in Chicago. Los Angeles won 3-0. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, left, celebrates with teammate Chris Taylor in the dugout after Taylor scored on an Ohtani sacrifice fly during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, June 24, 2024, in Chicago. Los Angeles won 3-0. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia throws to the plate during the ninth inning of their game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia celebrates after defeating the Chicago White Sox in a baseball game Monday, June 24, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia, right, celebrates with catcher Will Smith after defeating the Chicago White Sox in a baseball game Monday, June 24, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, left, celebrates with teammate Chris Taylor after defeating the Chicago White Sox in a baseball game Monday, June 24, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
CHICAGO — Baseball can be quantified. But it can’t always be explained.
That’s why the Dodgers are now 23-0 in games when Miguel Rojas has a hit. He had two Monday night, including a double to start the game-winning rally in the seventh inning of a 3-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
“Numbers don’t lie. When he gets a hit, we win,” teammate Kiké Hernandez said.
It was Hernandez’s double that drove Rojas in with the first run of the night. But he made no attempt to explain the eerie power of a base hit off Rojas’ bat.
“I can’t explain that (expletive),” Hernandez said. “I cannot explain that. I don’t know.”
Rojas has stepped in at shortstop, starting six of the first seven games there since Mookie Betts’ injury, and stabilized the infield defense. But he is also having his best offensive season since 2020 with a .284 average.
“Miggy has been tremendous for us on both sides of the baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I talk a lot about his energy that he brings, the edge that he brings every single night. With the hits, now 23-0 – I don’t think there’s any rationale behind it. I guess you just got to keep betting on it. Right? It’s one of those things where if it keeps hitting red, you got to keep hitting red.”
The Chicago White Sox might have no more valuable asset than left-hander Garrett Crochet – whether they make the 25-year-old likely All-Star a central piece of their future infrastructure or trade him in the next month for rebuilding supplies.
So they are naturally protective of Crochet (who missed the 2022 season recovering from – of course – Tommy John surgery). He has pitched beyond the sixth inning just twice in 17 starts this season and thrown as many as 95 pitches just three times.
They didn’t let him get there against the Dodgers either. Crochet came out after holding the Dodgers scoreless for 5⅔ innings (and 91 pitches). With Crochet gone, the Dodgers stitched together just enough offense to beat the team with the worst record in baseball.
“He’s really good,” Hernandez said of Crochet. “He’s got a good mix. He was mainly a two-pitch pitcher throughout the night, mixed in some changeups. But he’s really good. Throws really fast.”
The Dodgers managed a pair of infield hits off of Crochet in the first inning but stranded them. A hit batter and a single put two runners on again in the third but nothing came of that either.
At the same time, Dodgers starter James Paxton had his usual assortment of traffic thanks to three walks in his five innings, to go with three hits allowed. But he struck out Paul DeJong with two on to end the first inning then struck out Eloy Jimenez and DeJong again to strand two more in the third.
Paxton’s lack of swing-and-miss has been troublesome for much of his season, but he had a season-high 15 swings-and-misses in seven innings against the Colorado Rockies last week and topped that with 18 in his five scoreless innings against the White Sox.
Paxton was basically a two-pitch pitcher as well, streamlining his pitch mix against the White Sox. He relied almost exclusively on his four-seam fastball and curveball, mixing in only four changeups.
“Just executing the curveball better, getting it down in the zone, bouncing it when I want to,” Paxton said of the difference in his past two starts. “I feel like before I was leaving it in zone and I wasn’t bouncing it. That doesn’t get you swing-and-miss.
“We threw a few changeups. … I just wasn’t landing it for a strike so it was more of a show pitch. We’re still working on that, trying to find a release point on it to get it in the strike zone and make it usable. But really the curveball was working so well tonight we didn’t really need another offspeed pitch.”
The Dodgers’ breakthrough came in the seventh against reliever Steven Wilson.
“Yeah, I mean, we had to do it against somebody. We didn’t do it against Crochet,” Hernandez said of being glad to see Crochet leave the game.
Rojas led off with his double (his second hit in the game), went to third on a ground out then scored on Hernandez’s double. Hernandez scored on a throwing error by DeJong at shortstop.
After a two-out walk to Shohei Ohtani, a sudden downpour interrupted play but only for 30 minutes.
The Dodgers left the bases loaded when play resumed but the brief two-run shower was enough. Ohtani added a sacrifice fly in the ninth, extending his RBI streak to eight games (though his concurrent extra-base hit and run scored streaks ended at seven).
Daniel Hudson, Yohan Ramirez, Evan Phillips and Alex Vesia completed the five-hit shutout.
But it was Andy Pages who earned the save. The rookie center fielder made an outstanding sliding catch in the seventh inning, scooping Nicky Lopez’s shallow fly ball off the turf, then ran down DeJong’s drive to the warning track with a runner on to end the eighth.
