ATLANTA — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wasn’t bluffing.
As he had hinted during the team’s off day on Monday, the Dodgers made significant lineup changes for Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday, reconfiguring their batting order and inserting a couple extra right-handed bats into their lineup ahead of a daunting matchup with Braves left-handed ace Chris Sale at Truist Park.
The biggest change: Two-way star Shohei Ohtani being dropped from the two-hole down to the No. 5 spot — the lowest he has hit since the 2020 season with the Angels.
That move wasn’t unexpected, after the physically diminished slugger opened this series with just two singles in a two-game split back in Los Angeles.
By moving Ohtani down, the Dodgers were trying to limit the number of times he potentially faces Sale (who has held him to a 3-for-15 mark in their previous head-to-head matchups). The club is also hoping to see a better approach from the four-time MVP, after he struck out twice on Sunday while repeatedly chasing pitches outside the strike zone.
“Trying to chase slug tomorrow night might not be the right plan, given the starter,” Roberts said of Ohtani on Monday.
The Dodgers took other measures to combat their showdown with Sale — who topped even his 2024 Cy Young Award-winning performance this season by going 14-9 with a 2.16 ERA, including a five-hit shutout of the Dodgers when he last faced them in August at Truist Park.
At third base, the left-handed-hitting Max Muncy was replaced for a second straight game by veteran Miguel Rojas, who was batting sixth.
At second base, slumping switch-hitter Tommy Edman was swapped out for veteran playoff performer Kiké Hernández, who will get his first start of this year’s postseason as the No. 9 hitter.
“Today, we know we’re in for a battle,” Rojas said. “We know what he’s going to feature. We know his stuff. It comes down to execution on the day … We are going to have to fight every pitch, every out. And that’s what we’re in for.”
