This Royals newcomer turned a long day of travel into heroic at-bat against Twins
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- Rojas was pulled in the fifth in Columbus before missing his initial flight.
- Rojas landed after the game started and joined the club around the seventh.
- Rojas hit a two-run ninth-inning single that gave KC an 8-6 lead they held.
Before his ninth-inning heroics on Thursday night at Target Field, Kansas City Royals infielder Josh Rojas was wearing another uniform.
Rojas, who was a non-roster invitee to KC’s big-league camp this spring, was in Columbus, Ohio, playing in a high-noon matinee with the Omaha Storm Chasers. Rojas led off for the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate and logged three at-bats.
In the fifth inning of the early Thursday game, he was pulled from the lineup. The Royals had let him know he was being called up ahead of their series opener against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday evening.
Rojas had minutes to pack his belongings, exit the Triple-A team’s hotel and make a mad dash to the airport.
He didn’t make it in time.
“They were like, hey, your flight is in an hour and 45 minutes — we’re going to try and rush you there,” Rojas recalled. “I ended up missing that one and didn’t get there in time. And then, my next flight left at eight o’clock. So I was there for about four hours waiting for my next flight.”
Rojas finally landed in Minneapolis — after Thursday night’s Royals-Twins game had started. He caught an Uber to the ballpark and was checking the box score as he made the trek from the Minneapolis airport.
In the midst of it all, the Royals had taken a 6-5 lead over the Twins. But the teams were stuck in a rain delay that lasted an hour, seven minutes.
It was at that moment Rojas thought to himself that he could actually play in this game, too.
“I texted my buddy that I might get into this game at 9:30,” Rojas said. “And I was on the way here. I’m guessing around 9:40-9:45 I got here.”
Rojas walked into the Royals’ clubhouse around the seventh inning. He got dressed, received a scouting report and hit in the cages. He joined his teammates around the eighth inning and delivered the go-ahead runs in the ninth.
The Royals sent in Rojas as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded. He stood in against Twins reliever Justin Lawrence. He saw five pitches before lacing a two-run single up the middle.
And then the Royals held onto that 8-6 lead to win the first contest of their four-game series against Minnesota.
“That was incredible,” Royals second baseman Michael Massey said. “I mean, I can’t imagine that kind of day and having a travel day like that. And then, having to come in and face a leverage reliever. So hats off to Josh.”
Rojas said he felt the adrenaline as he stepped to the plate. Royals manager Matt Quatraro utilized his entire bench in the ninth inning, playing matchups. Rojas drew the decisive at-bat and delivered.
“He’s a pro,” Quatraro said. “I mean, we saw the at-bats he took all spring. He’s got over five years in the big leagues. That’s still pretty different circumstances to show up in the middle of the game and get the game-winning hit, but we feel really good about it.”
The Royals improved to 25-38 and have won three of four since being swept in Texas to begin a 10-game road trip.
Rojas will remember Thursday’s series of events, and especially Thursday night’s game, for quite some time.
“The guys gave me some praise for coming right off the plane and getting a knock there,” Rojas said. “But I wasn’t here for the battle before that. So to get it tied and into the ninth inning, obviously, credit to the rest of the team. And yeah, I’m just glad I can get two ribbies right there and get us the win.”
