The Dodgers can’t afford to keep waiting for Andy Pages to snap out of it.
After Atlanta held Los Angeles down again in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, the Dodgers head into Game 3 with their offense looking flat and the Braves lined up to attack with Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle at home. Atlanta already quieted LA with six pitchers in a second straight bullpen game, and now the pressure is squarely on Dave Roberts to shake things up before the series gets away from him.
Pages is the obvious place to start. He has been a breakout story this season, earning his first career All-Star nod after carrying the Dodgers at times in the first half.
But the postseason has once again turned into a problem. Last year, he hit just 4-for-51 and was eventually benched in the World Series before returning as a defensive replacement to help save Game 7.
This October has started in a similar way: he’s 0-for-7 through two games with four strikeouts.
Roberts acknowledged there was "a little bit" of concern with his center fielder.
"He's in a much better spot than he was last year," Roberts said before Game 2, in which Pages went 0-for-3. "I just want to see him check down a little bit more, chase hits instead of slug. ...
I just want to see him kind of slow down a little bit because, again, he came into this postseason really good, had a good week. This past week was great work.
Just want to make sure he kind of just checks down a little bit."
That’s fair, but the Dodgers don’t need patience right now. They need production. And the cleanest way to get it is to put Enrique Hernandez in the lineup for Game 3.
Hernandez gives Roberts options. He can handle center field, or he can slide in at second base and let Tommy Edman move to the outfield. Even if the move only lasts one game, it sends a clear message: the Dodgers are not going to keep running the same lineup out there and hope for a different result.
It also puts one of the most reliable playoff bats on the field. Hernandez has played in 104 career postseason games and hit .272 with 16 home runs and an .826 OPS. That kind of track record matters when a series is teetering.
The Dodgers still have time, but not much. If the offense stumbles again against Sale, they could be staring at elimination before Game 4 in Atlanta.
In Other News...
Braves Just Made A Desperate Lineup Bet In A Must Win Game
With their season hanging over every pitch, the Braves unveiled a playoff lineup that signals both urgency and a willingness to mix things up. Michael Harris II is at the top, Ronald Acua Jr. is back in right field, and Atlanta is clearly trying to squeeze as much energy as possible out of a game that carries the weight of a must-win night.
The Dodgers answered with their own tweaks, putting Mookie Betts in the leadoff spot and sliding Shohei Ohtani into cleanup, a reminder of just how dangerous the other dugout can be when October chess pieces start moving around. The broadcast will have a different voice as well, with Brandon Gaudin filling in for Joe Davis, but for Atlanta the louder storyline is whether these lineup choices can give them enough edge to stay alive. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Season Ended With The Breakdown Fans Feared Most
The Braves postseason ended in the kind of flat, frustrating fashion that always feels worse because it was familiar. In Game 4 of the NLDS, the Dodgers beat Atlanta 4-1 and sent the Braves home, with Michael Harris II providing the lone notable spark on offense while the rest of the lineup never quite found a rhythm.
Los Angeles did plenty of its damage by taking advantage of defensive mistakes and coming through with timely hits, the sort of efficiency Atlanta could not match on a night when the margin for error disappeared quickly. The Dodgers move on to the NLCS, while the Braves are left with the lingering feeling that the breakdown fans had been bracing for arrived at exactly the wrong time. [Read more 🡒]
Freddie Freeman Just Reopened An Uncomfortable Debate For Braves Fans
Freddie Freemans return to Atlanta brought the kind of reminder Braves fans expected and probably did not want. In Game 3, the former Braves first baseman went deep in the fourth inning to help the Dodgers move ahead in the series, and the home crowd met him with boos. Freeman, who spent 12 years in Atlanta before leaving for Los Angeles, said afterward he was unfazed by the reaction and still appreciative of his old team.
For Braves fans, the moment reopened a familiar debate about how to process one of the franchises modern icons wearing a different uniform in October. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged the crowds response, but also pointed to the respect that remains for Freeman, even in a building where emotions clearly have not faded. It was the sort of postseason scene that leaves the baseball part of the story settled for the night, while the personal part hangs around a little longer. [Read more 🡒]