Dodgers Notes April 8: Miguel Rojas Family Matter, Yoshinobu Yamamoto Sends Message, Mookie Betts Update

The Los Angeles Dodgers took down the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1, on Tuesday evening and improved to 9-2 on the year. They will look to sweep the defending American League champions during Wednesday afternoon's rubber match.

Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto dazzled on the mound with six punch outs across six innings of work, allowing one earned run and one walk. Rookie second baseman Alex Freeland went 3-for-3 with an RBI while Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker and Will Smith each brought in a run as well.

Ahead of the game, World Series hero Miguel Rojas was a late scratch from the contest as he dealt with a family matter. Infielder Hyeseong Kim got the start at shortstop in his place.

In other news, Yamamoto sent a message to Blue Jays fans ahead of the Fall Classic rematch. Although he certainly showed how he felt with the gem he tossed on Tuesday, here's what he had to say ahead of Monday's eventual win.

"I treat every game just like the same, no matter how important, how big the game is," Yamamoto said. "And then normal games, I just pretend that it's the biggest game as well."

Finally, superstar shortstop Mookie Betts spoke on the severity of his oblique injury earlier this week.

"I'm light years ahead of where I thought I was going to be," Betts said, "so we're in a good spot."

Betts was on the injured list for two weeks with an abdominal injury in June 2018, but upon his recovery, unleashed an MVP-caliber season. The eventual American League MVP led MLB in bWAR, batting average and slugging percentage that season en route to his first World Series ring.

Here’s all the latest Dodgers news and stories (click the headline for the full article):

Dodgers Scratch Miguel Rojas From Lineup vs Blue Jays, Insert Hyeseong Kim

Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto Sends Clear Message to Blue Jays Fans Ahead of Rematch

Dodgers' Mookie Betts Breaks Silence on Oblique Injury

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Calls for Dodgers to Make Move

Dodgers' Dave Roberts Doesn't Know How Much Shohei Ohtani Will Pitch This Season

John Schneider Ejected as Blue Jays Continue to Struggle vs Dodgers

Dodgers’ Dominance to Start 2026 Hasn’t Been Seen in MLB in 126 Years

Dodgers Lineup vs Blue Jays: Hyeseong Kim Out, Miguel Rojas Starting

Dodgers Tweets of the Day

What an unbelievable job by Alex Vesia.

The Blue Jays had the bases loaded and nobody out down 3-1.

Vesia got three outs — two fly outs and a strikeout — without allowing a run.

Absolutely incredible stuff from the Dodgers reliever.pic.twitter.com/GRr8AzeWok
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) April 8, 2026

A two-spot in the third! pic.twitter.com/6bliU34KJ6
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 7, 2026

This seems to be how things are going for the Blue Jays right now...pic.twitter.com/wImBqhPL54
— Dodgers On SI (@DodgersOnSI) April 8, 2026

Edwin gets the save in Toronto! pic.twitter.com/BKIhvU4HME
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 8, 2026