"That’s on me; I need to be better” - Miguel Rojas puts his hand up as defensive frailties cost Dodgers against Phillies

Miguel Rojas and the Los Angeles Dodgers' losing streak extended to three games after a narrow 4-3 defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. The Dodgers' four-game series against the Phillies was touted as the clash of the two best teams in the league. But Philadelphia has an early advantage after winning the opening two games.

Following an impressive 10-1 win in the series opener, the Phillies started the second game confidently, taking a 2-0 lead after Kyle Schwarber's leadoff home run and Whit Merrifield's RBI groundout.

However, the Dodgers pulled back via Miguel Rojas and Shohei Ohtani's RBI singles. Just when it looked like the visitors had made a comeback, the Phillies regained their lead after Dodger shortstop Rojas failed to gather Trea Turner's ground ball in the middle, surrendering an RBI single.

"That’s on me. I need to be better,” Rojas said about his initial mistake.

“I make that play nine times out of 10,” Rojas said. “I feel that’s on me. Not just that play (with Turner), but the next play, when Stott hit the ball towards second base. I think it’s an easier play for me than for CT at that moment. I should have made both of those plays and kept the lead that inning."

Philadelphia doubled its lead after Dodgers second baseman Chris Taylor was slow to react to a grounder by Bryson Stott in the same inning.

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Miguel Rojas rues scoring opportunity after close call

Miguel Rojas was also involved in a controversial incident in the eighth inning with the game on a knife's edge at 4-3 in favor of the Phillies.

The Dodgers shortstop's attempt to convert an RBI single into a double failed agonizingly short, as Rojas' foot came off the bag after being tangled with Stott's mitts. However, the umpires deemed it as fair, and Rojas was tagged out.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was frustrated with the narrow loss, as the team had opportunities to get back into the game with runners in scoring positions. He said:

“I see the fight. But unfortunately, we needed that hit. There were some opportunities that we had guys in scoring position, and we just didn’t capitalize.”

The Phillies are the first team to win 60 games this season, courtesy of Wednesday's triumph over the Dodgers. Meanwhile, Roberts' team have dropped five of their last seven games and will need to rally again with the series on the line on Thursday.