The Dodgers are facing their backs against the wall Thursday night, and Dave Roberts is going with a lineup that puts Shohei Ohtani back where he usually lives: at the top.
After dropping the first three games of the NLCS to the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles is staring at elimination and making another round of changes for Game 4. Ohtani had been moved out of the leadoff spot, but he’s back there now after showing a little more life at the plate on Wednesday.
He went 1-2 with a single and a hit-by-pitch, and his two balls in play came with some authority - a flyout against left-hander Robert Gasser that left the bat at 90.3 miles per hour, followed by a hard single up the middle against DL Hall that came off at 113.5 miles per hour. That was the hardest-hit ball by a Dodger this postseason.
Even with the shuffle, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman stay near the top, just in different slots. Betts moves to No. 2 after struggling in the leadoff role this postseason, where he’s hit .231/.355/.231 with no extra-base hits and no RBI. Freeman follows at No. 3, trying to rediscover the form that carried him through the NLDS; since then, he’s gone ice cold, hitting .091/.083/.091 with one RBI across 12 plate appearances.
Will Smith, who supplied the lone offense for the Dodgers in Game 3, moves up from seventh to cleanup. Kyle Tucker stays in the middle of the order and shifts down one spot to fifth.
Tucker has been one of the steadier hitters for Los Angeles this October, batting .250 with an .830 OPS after a strong showing against Atlanta. Teoscar Hernández drops to sixth after back-to-back hitless games.
There’s also a notable start for Miguel Rojas, who gets the nod at second base and bats seventh. In what could be the final big league game of his career, Rojas has been the Dodgers’ best hitter over the last seven games, going 3-for-9 with a double and a .929 OPS over just seven plate appearances. He’s starting again against a lefty, this time Shane Drohan, instead of Max Muncy.
Andy Pages slides to eighth, and Kiké Hernández starts at third base and bats ninth over Tommy Edman. Tyler Glasnow will be on the mound trying to keep the Dodgers alive for at least one more game.
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