Drake's taunt at Shohei Ohtani: Rojas says it boosted Dodgers' morale

Miguel Rojas, who delivered a clutch solo homer to tie the score in the seventh game of the World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers, disclosed that Canadian rapper Drake (Aubrey Graham) taunting Shohei Ohtani following Game 5 ended up motivating the Dodgers squad.

After the Blue Jays took a 3-2 lead in the first five games, Drake initially posted an old promotional photo of Ohtani on social media with the caption "One more win!"—mocking that his season was about to end and he would return to modeling. He then shared a photo of Ohtani kneeling on one knee, helmet slipping off, after striking out against Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage, commenting, "(Yesavage) confidently walks back to the dugout, this scene is hilarious."

In an interview with TMI, Rojas said, "I wanted to stay humble and not say much, but the whole team noticed these actions. Such disrespect towards the best player in the world today, ignoring his contributions to baseball, is truly unacceptable."

"After losing Game 3, we always respected Yesavage’s excellent performance," Rojas added. "Suddenly, this kind of talk appeared (though we don’t know who he is), but it really shouldn’t happen. Ohtani gives everything for baseball, and that’s exactly why Kike Hernandez was able to break out later. Although the team was upset about this, we stayed focused on the game itself."

Hernandez made a historic left-field walk-off double play in Game 6 of the World Series. Meanwhile, Rojas not only hit the game-tying solo homer in the ninth inning of Game 7 but also successfully completed a home plate relay throw to help prevent the Blue Jays’ walk-off run. Ultimately, the Dodgers won two straight games to complete a comeback, becoming the first team in the 21st century to repeat as champions.