Miguel

Rojas

Rojas was scratched from the lineup on Tuesday and then later posted on Instagram that his father had suddenly passed away. He will be back in the lineup on Wednesday, in what is sure to be an emotional game for him.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Rojas was scratched to tend to a family matter. Hyeseong Kim takes over at shortstop and will bat eighth in his place.

Kim draws his first start at shortstop in place of an injured Mookie Betts (oblique) after being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City over the weekend. It was Miguel Rojas at shortstop during Sunday’s series finale against the Nationals. The 27-year-old’s speed makes him an intriguing pickup in deeper mixed leagues since he should receive plenty of opportunities over the next few weeks with both Betts and Tommy Edman (ankle) on the shelf.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called the injury more “moderate than significant” but it sounds like Betts will miss at least the next couple of days. Whether or not this will require a stint on the injured list will largely be determined by the results of the imaging. Miguel Rojas will likely get the starts at short as long as Betts is out.

Betts must have experienced pain while crossing home plate on a run-scoring double by Freddie Freeman. The 33-year-old will miss the rest of Saturday’s contest with Miguel Rojas taking over at shortstop. Betts likely won’t be in the lineup Sunday, either, but his status is one that should be updated prior to that contest.

Miguel Rojas took over at shortstop in the bottom of the first frame after Betts scored a run on a Freddie Freeman double. There should be an update on why Betts needed to leave the game in the coming innings, but logic suggests there was some sort of injury for the 33-year-old while rounding the bases.

Freeland makes just his second start of the season with Miguel Rojas getting the night off. The 24-year-old infielder is serving as Los Angeles’ de-facto utility specialist while Tommy Edman (ankle) continues recovering from offseason surgery.

Muncy will sit again with southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez getting the nod for the D-backs Saturday evening. Santiago Espinal will draw the start at the hot corner and hit seventh. Alex Freeland is also out of the lineup, with Miguel Rojas hitting ninth and lined up at the keystone.

Freeland figures to start against most righties, but Rojas got the Opening Day assignment versus Zac Gallen to start off what’s slated to be his final season in the majors. Both Freeland and Rojas are expected to bat ninth when they’re in the lineup, and that is the case for Freeland tonight.

Throughout the spring, the second base position had been framed as a platoon situation between Santiago Espinal and Alex Freeland, so naturally it’s Rojas who gets the start there on Opening Day. It’s likely just manager Dave Roberts respecting and giving the nod to the 37-year-old veteran for Opening Day. Here’s the full lineup against Zac Gallen on Opening Day: Shohei Ohtani (DH), Kyle Tucker (RF), Mookie Betts (SS), Freddie Freeman (1B), Will Smith (C), Max Muncy (3B), Teoscar Hernandez (LF), Andy Pages (CF) and Miguel Rojas (2B).