Dodgers' Miguel Rojas upset by 'inappropriate' Wrigley Field conditions after rain-soaked loss to the Cubs

CHICAGO — The raindrops falling on the field Sunday afternoon did not reach Lake Michigan levels at Wrigley Field, but they nonetheless drenched the Los Angeles Dodgers in an 8-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs. By the time the tarp finally made it onto the field midway through the fourth inning, Miguel Rojas' frustrations had boiled over.

The veteran infielder, who fouled out just before the stoppage and exited the batter's box earlier, went straight to a crowd of umpires once the stoppage was reached, expressing his displeasure at how long it had taken and what he said were safety risks from “inadequate” field conditions during the early innings. Full of rain.

“I'm playing in a puddle,” Rojas said. “Everyone can see it. These are not the best conditions. I slid into home plate. Something could have happened, not just to me, but to anyone on the team. Not just on our team. We're talking about players. We have to take care of each other, And sometimes I feel like just getting in the game, five rounds, is not the right way to do it.

The Dodgers' defense looked like a sloppy mess before the stop. Ian Happ's home run led off the bottom of the first inning with a wicked jumper and hit Freddie Freeman at first base. Nico Horner's ground ball stayed right and rolled under Mookie Betts' glove two short innings later. After stopping midway through the inning to apply a Quick Dry solution (which was undone due to rain continuing to rain throughout), Rojas missed a throw that bounced into a puddle near first base and allowed a run to come home and make it 6-0, Chicago.

Rojas, who was making his first start at third base since 2020, did not blame the wet conditions for the error. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts brushed off the idea that the wet pitch caused the club's three errors in four innings.

But Rojas remained angry anyway, venting his frustration hours later once all nine innings had been completed (and after a delay of 2 hours and 51 minutes).

The veteran said he was talking throughout the first innings with third base umpire Mike Estabrook about the state of play. Rain had been falling since the start of Sunday's rubber match, and the upcoming schedules for both clubs offered only a few opportunities and shared rest days for a makeup game if they couldn't complete nine innings. Rojas said Estabrook told him they were “trying to get into the game,” as they were able to get the bout at least five rounds so it would be official and not have to be suspended until a later date.

“We all understand,” Rojas said. “We've played baseball a long time and we understand the business side of it. We're trying to get in a game, because we're going to get out of here and never play another game here in Chicago. “We're not just trying to get in a game. “We're trying to play 162 games, get through the season, and be strong later in the year.”

Several Dodgers echoed concerns about the condition of the stadium, saying it was “not good” and pointing to puddles throughout the stadium. They were upset that, midway through the inning, they paused play for nearly 10 minutes without delay to apply a drying agent to the infield, interrupting Gus Farland's outing after two strikes and forcing the right-hander to keep warming up. -Throws to stay loose. That angered Roberts in the inning after they suspended Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga between innings to work on the mound.

“I think everyone agreed that we wanted to try to get it down to five, knowing that the conditions were not going to be ideal,” Roberts said. “I didn't like in the fourth inning that the game was stopped right away, once we actually had some hits. And then it became clear that the pitch was unplayable.

Rojas said the delay should have started much earlier.

“No one wants to sit here for two hours and delay the rain for that long anyway, but this is our job,” Rojas said. “We have nowhere to go. We were going to be here until 7 p.m. anyway and we're going to get to Minnesota tomorrow and play another baseball game. It would have been the same thing. Just call the game early so they can work on the field later.”

The field seemed to be in much better shape after the delay, and the Cubs and Dodgers were able to get through the rest of the game without issue. As the Dodgers' bus was loading for their flight to Minneapolis, it began to rain again.

“Today was just one of those games we just want to wash away,” Roberts said.

They don't have to look far to find water.

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(Photo: Michael Reeves/Getty Images)