Shohei Ohtani is batting fifth in NLDS Game 3 against the Atlanta Braves, marking his lowest spot in any starting lineup since way back in 2020 when he was still with the Angels. This isn’t just a tweak, folks, this is a seismic shift in how Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is trying to spark some life into his struggling offense.
Ohtani’s Slide and the Chris Sale Nightmare
Roberts has been openly considering moving Ohtani down in the order for a while now, citing a slump that started before and continued after Ohtani’s September stint on the injured list. The manager said Monday he was “open to it” if it meant going further than just moving him from first to second, and clearly, he pulled the trigger. He mentioned he’d “obviously have the conversation with Shohei to explain why,” which tells you this isn’t a light decision. The Dodgers face a massive uphill battle in this game, going up against a rested Chris Sale on the mound for the Braves. This isn’t just any pitcher, either. During the regular season, the Dodgers managed a measly three runs in 16 innings against the ace left-hander. You can bet that stat is sitting heavy in Roberts’ mind as he shuffles the deck.
Shuffling the Lineup and the RISP Riddle
Beyond Ohtani’s new spot, the Dodgers are rolling out some changes in the hopes of finding some offense. Miguel Rojas is starting at second base, batting sixth, and he’s replacing Tommy Edman. Rojas has been a force against lefties this season, hitting an impressive .293/.340/.469 with a 121 wRC+. He even doubled in his lone at-bat against lefty opener Ray Kerr in Game 2 before getting pinch-hit for by Max Muncy in the fourth. Rojas has also picked up two singles in 13 career at-bats against Sale, including one of the five hits the Dodgers mustered in Sale’s shutout win back on August 27. Kiké Hernández is also getting the nod, starting at third base in place of Muncy and batting ninth.
The biggest problem, though? The Dodgers are still looking for their first hit with a runner in scoring position (RISP) this entire series. They’ve only had ten plate appearances in those situations through two games, which is just brutal. Scoring has been incredibly tough for both sides, frankly. The Braves aren’t exactly lighting it up either, with just one single in ten at-bats with RISP from their 14 plate appearances. It seems like the only way anyone is scoring in this series is by hitting the ball over the wall, and none of those homers have come with more than a runner on first base. Roberts acknowledged the options, saying, “You’ve got Kiké, you’ve got Miggy Ro, you’ve got Muncy. We’ve got good options… At the end of the day, our guys are our guys. And, yeah, I can tweak a lineup. I can kind of insert, take out a player or two. But at the end of the day we still have got to go out there and play and execute and take good at-bats.” He’s right, they need to execute.
This is NLDS Game 3, and the Dodgers desperately need to find a way to get the bats going, especially with runners on base. They’ve got to execute against Sale, or this Ohtani shift might just be too little, too late.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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