Dodgers keep Andy Pages in Game 3 starting lineup; Shohei Ohtani laughs off Toronto chants
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In the days leading up to Game 3 of the World Series, the Dodgers had considered shaking up the bottom of their lineup, and potentially dropping struggling center fielder Andy Pages to the bench.
But when the team announced its starters for Monday’s resumption of the Fall Classic, the team listed the same nine-man group its has used since the start of the National League Championship Series — Pages included.
Pages has started every game of this postseason, but entered Monday betting just .093 in the playoffs with one extra-base hit, 11 strikeouts and no walks.
That slump had prompted manager Dave Roberts to acknowledge Sunday that moving Pages out of the lineup was “still on the table.”
During that night’s workout, Kiké Hernández also spent a noticeable amount of time fielding fly balls in center.
However, the Dodgers decided against the change for now, keeping Hernández in left, Pages in the No. 9 spot playing center, and their only other outfield alternative, Alex Call, on the bench.
“I think in totality the at-bats have been better,” Roberts said. “I think for me, I just want to see him continue to fight and compete … I want to keep betting on him. I’m not saying that it’s in perpetuity, but tonight I’m going to bet on him until I don’t.”
Without Edman, Hernández is the only other true center-field option for the Dodgers to use in their starting lineup, having also played there during the team’s World Series run last year. This postseason, Hernández has been a fixture in left (while also mixing in at third base). But if he were to slide to center field for Game 3, it could open left field for someone like Alex Call.
Of course, the Dodgers’ offensive inconsistencies have gone beyond Pages.
They have not topped five runs in a game since the wild-card round. They have hit just .216 as a team since the start of the division series. Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman are still batting under .225 in the playoffs. Mookie Betts is batting .136 since the start of the NLCS.
During their Game 2 win, Roberts felt the club missed a lot of hittable pitches against Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman, before Will Smith and Max Muncy finally broke through with home runs in the seventh.
That, Roberts felt, was a sign his lineup was “a little bit in between” in its approach, squandering opportunities to do damage against fastballs over the plate while also trying to protect against breaking stuff out of the zone.
“They have made good pitches, but we have missed pitches as well,” Roberts said. “I do think that coming home, I feel that we’re back into a little bit of a rhythm offensively.”
So much so, the Dodgers aren’t shaking up their lineup yet.
