NEW YORK — When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked about dropping Shohei Ohtani in the lineup before Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, he called the idea “comical.”
But Roberts did make some changes to the Dodgers’ lineup for Wednesday’s game.
One change was motivated by New York Mets starter Luis Severino’s splits. Severino was tougher on right-handed hitters (a .216 average and .615 OPS) this season than left-handers (.269 and .774) with 16 of the 23 home runs he allowed. So Roberts switched Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernandez in the lineup, moving the left-handed Muncy up to fourth and dropping the right-handed Hernandez a spot to fifth.
“Just to give some lefties more cracks at him,” Roberts said. “That’s kind of the impetus behind that. I like the way Max is taking at-bats, and I feel good with him moving up a rung.”
There was more to the other significant change for Game 3. Roberts moved Will Smith down to seventh in the order.
“I don’t think he’s swinging the bat great,” Roberts said. “So just to kind of let the game get to him a little bit later.”
Smith had the worst offensive season of his career in 2024, finishing with career-lows across the board in batting average (.248), on-base percentage (.327) and slugging percentage (.433).
Both Smith and Roberts, however, were encouraged by his at-bats down the stretch. He hit .265 in September with two home runs in his final eight games.
That momentum did not carry into the postseason. Smith was 2 for 16 in the NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres (though one of the hits was a homer) and 0 for 7 in the first two games of the NLCS.
“He’s missing some good pitches,” Roberts said. “You can look back at the last couple of weeks where he had the big Musgrove homer (during the regular-season series with the Padres). He had the big homer in San Diego. But outside of that, there’s a lot of balls that he’s missing. I think we all see that.
“Will’s working hard. So I don’t know if it’s the mechanical thing. I know it’s not a moment-type thing. I do feel that these guys – these guys (the Mets) in particular, maybe the Padres as well – they’re trying to crowd him a little bit. I can see that.
“I just trust Will in big spots. So he’s always performed in the postseason. And hopefully we have a long way to go. And I just trust his at-bat. … I just still feel if he can kind of leave that ball alone, that ball in – and then he’s going to get some sliders. I just feel he’s due for another big hit or two.”
PLAYOFF PUMPKIN
The Mets are pushing the envelope with the number of good-luck gimmicks they have accumulated this year. There are the “OMG” signs – a tribute to the song by Candelita (the pop persona of infielder Jose Iglesias) – and of course, Grimace. The McDonald’s character threw out the first pitch at Citi Field before the Mets’ game on June 12 and the team went on a winning tear.
There is also the “playoff pumpkin” – a mini-squash that first baseman Pete Alonso says he and his wife picked up at a Wisconsin farm during the Mets’ Wild Card Series with the Milwaukee Brewers. Alonso takes the pumpkin everywhere now.
“It’s in my locker right now,” said Alonso, who was photographed arriving at Citi Field before Game 3 carrying the pumpkin. “What I do, I always take it with me. On the road, I’ve taken it back to the hotel because I don’t want any clubbies (clubhouse staff) or anybody messing with it. It’s kept safe every day.”
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Alonso (who wore a custom “Playoff Pumpkin” sweatshirt to his pregame press conference) said he doesn’t dare pack the pumpkin away when traveling, either.
“Oh, no, like, I carry it with me,” he said, while wearing an “OMG” knit cap in a nod to Iglesias’ hit pop song. “Because it could be destroyed in my luggage.”
DAY TO DAY
The Dodgers will play games on three consecutive days for the first time since the end of the regular season. That will be particularly challenging for first baseman Freddie Freeman, who has not played on three consecutive days since he suffered a sprained right ankle on Sept. 26.
“You’re just trying to get through this day and then kind of see how the next days look for Freddie,” Roberts said when asked if Freeman will be in the lineup for all three games at Citi Field. “I don’t want to get into the thought of him playing three days or not playing. That gets a little daunting, I think, in everyone’s head. My message to him is let’s just focus on today.”