After consecutive losses at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers now are on the brink of elimination against the Arizona Diamondbacks as the National League Division Series shifts to Chase Field.
With the struggles of the Dodgers offense, Kiké Hernández was inserted into the lineup batting seventh and playing center field over James Outman. In addition, J.D. Martinez and Will Smith were swapped in the lineup.
Smith has dealt with a slump at the plate during the second half of the season, but Roberts expressed his confidence in the catcher to come through with a big hit. He did drive in their only runs of the game in the series opening loss.
Lance Lynn is looking to reverse a troubling trend for Dodgers starting pitchers. Clayton Kershaw and Bobby Miller combined for just six outs in the first two games, and now it’s on Lynn to prevent the Diamondbacks from jumping out to an early lead.
Lynn was long the presumed Game 3 starter, which was officially announced this week. Overall in 2023, Lynn went 13-11 with a 5.73 ERA and 1.39 WHIP.
As a member of the Dodgers, he was 7-2 with a 4.36 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. Lynn’s 100 ERA+ with the Dodgers placed him exactly as a league average.
The Diamondbacks counter with rookie Brandon Pfaadt. The right-hander went 3-9 with a 5.72 ERA and 1.40 WHIP over multiple stints at the Major League level this year. He pitched 2.2 innings in the Wild Card Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, giving up three runs on seven hits.
Pfaadt faced the Dodgers twice in 2023, giving up a combined 10 runs (nine earned) in 8.2 innings. One could say the Dodgers have hit him well and enter Game 3 with an advantage, but their lineup as a whole has struggled in the playoffs.
The regular-season Dodgers had also regularly found success against Merrill Kelly, but he blanked them in 6.1 innings in Game 1.
The Dodgers offense has mustered only four runs in two games. Manager Dave Roberts has hinted at a lineup shakeup for Game 3, but ultimately it is up to the players in the lineup to hit.
The Diamondbacks meanwhile have found their stride. They have scored 15 runs in two games against the Dodgers and do not look like the team who went 5-8 against the Dodgers, being outscored 72-47. The general wisdom about the playoffs is that the hot team wins, not always the better one.
Whatever the case may be for the Dodgers, they are one loss away from another long offseason.
Dodgers lineup
2B: Mookie Betts
1B: Freddie Freeman
DH: J.D Martinez
3B: Max Muncy
C: Will Smith
RF: Jason Heyward
CF: Kiké Hernández
LF: David Peralta
SS: Miguel Rojas
Diamondbacks lineup
RF: Corbin Carroll
2B: Ketel Marte
DH: Tommy Pham
1B: Christian Walker
C: Gabriel Moreno
LF: Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
CF: Alek Thomas
3B: Evan Longoria
SS: Geraldo Perdomo
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