Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians

For about three minutes in the Royals’ 8-3 win over the Guardians on Saturday at Progressive Field, Josh Rojas waited.  After Rojas had his name announced as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt bounded out of Cleveland’s dugout to bring in left-handed reliever Erik Sabrowski against a fellow lefty. So, as Sabrowski took his warm-up pitches, Rojas stood adjacent to home plate and waited. As he took his practice swings, the stadium jumbotron cycled through various shots of fans before eventually settling on rapper Don Toliver, who was relaxing in a suite before his performance at the adjacent Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.    Throughout the wait, Rojas was trying to figure out whether he wanted to isolate on Sabrowski’s sinker or slider. By the time he dug into the batter’s box, there was some extra energy among the 31,509 gathered at Progressive Field who were ready to watch Rojas and Sabrowski battle with the bases loaded.  It ended up being a quick battle.   Even if Vogt made the right move on paper (Rojas entered with an OPS of just .302 against left-handed pitchers this season), Rojas countered on his side by dropping a two-run, check-swing single into left field that had an exit velocity of just 74.9 mph. It came on a first-pitch slider. “I decided to focus on the slider at the last minute,” Rojas said. “I tried to lay off late, but I touched it late. It was nice to see that one land.”  He brought in two more runs two innings later with a more conventional, Statcast-projected 360-foot home run that was the final cherry on top of a Royals victory that guaranteed them a series win.   Rojas’ electric day at the plate marked his second career four-RBI day, with the first coming on May 20, 2022, when he was a member of the Diamondbacks.