Walk-off clinch extra special for Rojas with parents on hand

PHILADELPHIA -- Yaniris Rojas couldn’t believe her eyes.

She kept hugging her son on Tuesday night, then stepping back to look at him.

Hugging him, looking at him, hugging him, looking at him.

• Box score: Phillies 7, Pirates 6

“She was amazed that I was actually here,” Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas said Wednesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. “She was able to witness this whole thing with her own eyes.”

Rojas’ parents, Juan and Yaniris, traveled from the Dominican Republic to Philadelphia to watch their son play baseball in the United States for the first time, then watched him hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning on Tuesday to clinch the Phillies’ second consecutive postseason berth.

“Believe it,” Rojas said. “Very good timing.”

Rojas signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent for $10,000 in January 2018 and has played in the U.S. since '19. Juan and Yaniris Rojas first followed their son’s progress through a MiLB.TV subscription, which Rojas purchased for them.

Rojas made his big league debut July 15, and since then, he has established himself as the Phillies’ center fielder.

The Phillies invited Rojas’ family to Philadelphia this week because Rojas received the Paul Owens Award as the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year before Tuesday’s game. (The Phils helped them with visas, airfare and other travel expenses.) Rojas’ wife, son, brother, sister and a few friends from his old neighborhood in the D.R. also attended the game.

It just so happened the Phillies had an opportunity to clinch Tuesday night, too.

“It was a very emotional night for me and my family,” Rojas said. “[After the walk-off hit], I came in here and celebrated with my teammates. Then I went outside back to the field to see my parents, say hello to them, all of my family, take pictures with them. Then we went home and we talked about the path for me to get here. A moment or two we shed some tears, because it was very emotional. It’s something you don’t think is going to be that way.

“They weren’t expecting me to be the guy to hit this walk-off and send this team to the playoffs. It was just great timing.”

Stubbs keeps the party going
Garrett Stubbs partied deep into the night following Tuesday’s clincher, then started at catcher on Wednesday night. He hammered his first home run of the season in the fourth inning in a 7-6 victory over the Pirates. It was his 104th at-bat in his 39th game.

“It was fun. It was fun to get a win after all the celebrations last night," Stubbs said. "Hopefully we get to do a lot more of that here in October. I love popping champagne. I think the rest of the guys in the locker room do, too.”

Stubbs’ teammate Brandon Marsh rode a mechanical bull across the street from the ballpark on Tuesday night. Stubbs did not partake.

“If we win the World Series, you can find me on the bull,” Stubbs said.

Orion shines again
Orion Kerkering pitched a scoreless seventh inning, improving his already good chance of making the National League Wild Card Series roster. Kerkering struck out two, allowing one hit and one walk. His velocity was down from Sunday, but the Phillies said they weren’t concerned.

“The thing that I really thought was interesting was when he got the [pitch timer] violation,” manager Rob Thomson said. “It didn’t affect him whatsoever. He came back, threw two strikes and struck the guy out. That shows me something about his poise and focus.”

J.T.’s countdown continues
Last year, when the Phillies clinched the third NL Wild Card spot in Houston, Thomson told his players they needed to win 13 more games to be World Series champions. But after the Phils won the NL Wild Card Series, NL Division Series and NL Championship Series, Thomson asked catcher J.T. Realmuto how many more games they needed to win.

“11 more, Thomper,” Realmuto said after the NLWCS.

“Eight more, Thomper,” he said after the NLDS.

“Four more, Thomper,” he said after the NLCS.

Thomson continued the tradition Tuesday.

“He knew,” Thomson said. “I walked up to him before we went in [the clubhouse]. I said, ‘J.T. … ,” and he said, ‘Thirteen more to go.’”