- Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
- Dodgers could bench Andy Pages for Game 3 of the World Series and move Kiké Hernández to center field.
- Pages isn’t the only one struggling at the plate, with Ohtani and Freddie Freeman batting under .225 in the playoffs.
- Ohtani reveals that his wife loves the “We don’t need you!” chants Toronto fans shouted at him during the first two games.
1
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.”
George Springer, who was a part of the sign-stealing Astros, says he will “focus on the game” when the World Series shifts to hostile Dodger Stadium.
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.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has often shared his admiration of Clayton Kershaw, but it’s clear he doesn’t see him as just a mentor. He sees him as a benchmark by which should measure himself.
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.
2
Ohtani laughs off chants
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Yes, Ohtani did hear chants of “We don’t need you!” from Blue Jays fans during Games 1 and 2 of the World Series at Rogers Centre, jokingly describing them as “wonderful.”
But, as he added with a laugh while speaking with reporters Sunday, he just wants to make sure he doesn’t hear it again at home.
Literally.
Game 7 of the World Series will be played on Saturday at 5 p.m. PDT as the Dodgers try to secure their second straight title.
“My wife loves that chant, and she teased me,” he said in Japanese, before later adding: “I want to do enough around the house so that I won’t be subjected to the kinds of chants I received in Toronto.”
Ohtani, of course, should get large ovations at Dodger Stadium this week, including for what will be his first World Series game as a two-way player, with his next pitching start scheduled for Game 4 on Tuesday.
“You have to really have good stuff to be able to put up good results,” Ohtani said, while complimenting the talent of the Blue Jays’ offense. “So I’m just trying to put myself in the best position to be able to make sure that I can navigate and put up good results.”
3
A long trip home
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts watches from the dugout in the eighth inning of Game 2 of the World Series against the Blue Jays on Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
This season, the Dodgers have used two planes: One for only players, and another for coaches, support staff and family.
On their way back from Toronto, one landed in Los Angeles well before the other.
While the Dodgers’ player plane took off immediately after Game 2 on Saturday, the second aircraft wasn’t scheduled to depart until Sunday morning. That departure, however, was delayed until the afternoon while some members of the traveling party dealt with ticketing and customs-related issues at the airport.
Thus, when Dodgers players took the field for their 5 p.m. PDT workout Sunday, their coaches were still en route to Dodger Stadium.
“I just arrived about 30 minutes ago,” Roberts said at his 5:45 p.m. news conference, before joking: “There was some delays. I don’t know if there was intent or not.”
That last comment, though delivered in jest with a smirk, caught the attention of Blue Jays fans online — who took Roberts’ “intent” line as a literal complaint about clearing customs in Canada.
Prior to Monday’s game, however, Roberts clarified he was not indeed being serious.
“I love Canada,” he said. “I made the mistake of saying intent. It was a long day, a long trip.”
