Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed Tuesday that he was close to making an unprecedented move during Monday’s marathon Game 3 of the World Series.
Roberts said infielder Miguel Rojas would’ve been the next pitching option in the 19th inning if Yoshinobu Yamamoto was unable to go after throwing a complete game in Saturday’s victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. The Japanese right-hander was seen warming up in the bullpen Monday before Freddie Freeman hit an 18th-inning walk-off homer.
“If Yamamoto couldn’t have taken the ball in the 19th, it would’ve been Miguel Rojas. … It would’ve been Yamamoto or Miguel Rojas in a World Series game,” Roberts said, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
A position player has never thrown a pitch in the World Series. However, the Dodgers used every single reliever in their bullpen. Right-hander Will Klein picked up the win after allowing one hit with two walks and five strikeouts over four innings on a career-high 72 pitches.
Monday’s contest was the second-longest game in World Series history at 6 hours and 39 minutes. Game 3 of the 2018 Fall Classic between the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox also went 18 innings but took 7 hours and 20 minutes to complete.
Los Angeles is up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 goes Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. ET.
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