Corey Seager not only starts for Dodgers in opener, he also bats third

Surprised? Come on, just a little?

The Dodgers have announced their lineup for Friday’s Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium, and if there’s nothing exactly shocking about it, there are minor surprises:

Carl Crawford, left field
Howie Kendrick, second base
Corey Seager, shortstop
Adrian Gonzalez, first base
Justin Turner, third base
Andre Ethier, right field
A.J. Ellis, catcher
Joc Pederson, center field
Clayton Kershaw, pitcher

So Ellis is starting ahead of struggling Yasmani Grandal, which as it should be. It’s somewhat of a surprise that Pederson is starting ahead of Enrique Hernandez in center. And as expected, Seager is at short ahead of Jimmy Rollins.

The bigger surprise is that the rookie Seager is batting third.

Third is traditionally where a team’s best hitter is placed in the lineup, and after Seager put up a .337/.425/.561 slash line in his last 27 games, it could be argued that he is that best hitter.

Seager started 25 times for the Dodgers and batted in the No. 3 spot twice, getting one hit in eight at-bats.

Apparently the Dodgers figure either the 21-year-old responds to the pressure of playing in the postseason or he doesn’t, and batting third isn’t going to make any kind of dramatic difference.

Follow Steve Dilbeck on Twitter @SteveDilbeck