Josh

Rojas

Rojas hit a solo homer off Jacob deGrom to give Seattle a 1-0 lead. That’s his first homer since August 18, and the eighth of the season. Hopefully managers realized his red-hot start over the first month wasn’t sustainable, because even with it he’s hitting .227/.307/.342.

The Mariners aren’t interested in trying anything new right now; the only variation in their starting lineup these last six games was a result of Victor Robles missing two days. Luis Urías last played third base over Rojas on Sept. 4, which was also the last time the Mariners faced a lefty. Urías had a homer, two doubles and four RBI that day. Rojas has one homer, three doubles and three RBI in his last 30 games combined. He’s hit .198/.276/.283 in his last 104 games.

The 30-year-old infielder also drew a walk in the contest, reaching base safely in three of his four plate appearances. Rojas led off the fifth inning with a single off of Sean Hjelle and scored the tying run as Julio Rodriguez grounded into a fielder’s choice. He then plated Justin Turner with a two-out RBI single in the sixth that increased the M’s lead to 4-2. With his two-hit attack, Rojas is now hitting .230/.309/.345 with seven homers, 26 RBI and seven stolen bases on the season.

Rojas took Bryan Bello deep for a solo homer in the fifth inning. He later knocked a base hit in the seventh for his second hit of the day. The 30-year-old infielder is up to six homers with 36 runs scored, 21 RBI, and six steals while slashing .241/.322/.366 across 341 plate appearances.

Rojas destroyed a Drew Thorpe offering in the first inning to make it 6-0. His roundtripper would be followed by homers by Dylan Moore and Victor Robles in a rare double-digit scoring game for the Seattle offense. Rojas got off to a fantastic start, but even with the dinger, his line has dropped to .234/.311/.352 with five homers and 20 RBI.

He also opened the door for the Angels’ five-run inning with two miscues in the fifth. Rojas is 4-for-39 with one RBI and two runs scored in his last 13 games, and he’s hitting just .193/.264/.261 since May 6. Luis Urías isn’t exactly tearing it up in Triple-A, but he can’t be any worse than this.

Rojas became the Mariners’ first baserunner in the game as he smacked a two-out single to center off of Grayson Rodriguez in the third inning. The 30-year-old infielder also led off the sixth inning with a single but was ultimately stranded at third base. Those two hits would wind up being the Mariners’ only hits in the ballgame. For the season, Rojas is slashing .260/.326/.383 with four homers, 16 RBI and six stolen bases.

With the Mariners facing left-hander Logan Allen, Locklear will play first base and Ty France will be at designated hitter with Luke Raley sliding to the bench. The Mariners kept Locklear on the roster with France being activated, so it appears Locklear will be in the starting lineup against left-handed pitchers moving forward. The Mariners will also start Victor Robles in left field and Ryan Bliss at second base with Dominic Canzone and Josh Rojas moving to the bench against a lefty.

On top of that damage, Rojas also drew two walks. The infielder has been scuffling as of late after a red-hot start to the season, but this was a big day from the 29-year-old. His homer was a solo shot to give Seattle a 5-1 lead, and he singled in two runs in the eighth. Rojas is hitting .263/.336/.395 thus far with four homers and 15 RBI.

It’s the first three-hit game for Rojas since May 5, when he raised his average to .360. He’s hit just .229/.275/.282 in 85 plate appearances since that date, but it’s been enough to keep him starting against righties for now. The Mariners could reevaluate that after Jorge Polanco returns.