LOS ANGELES — The World Series is now at Dodger Stadium for three games in a row, and for the first of them on Monday night the Dodgers are using the same starting nine players as they used in each of their
last seven games.
There’s a slightly different batting order in Game 3 than the first two games in Toronto, with Max Muncy moving up a spot to fifth, and Teoscar Hernández hitting sixth. Also, Tommy Edman moved up from eighth to seventh on Monday, swapping spots with Kiké Hernández.
Counting the Game 3 lineup, these nine players have accounted for 109 of 117 starts through 13 postseason games, and half of the eight other starts were by Ben Rortvedt at catcher as Will Smith was eased back in after returning from a hairline fracture in his right hand. Smith has a six-game hit streak, including a home run and three RBI in Saturday’s Game 2 win in Toronto.
Andy Pages singled in the two-run eighth inning that provided insurance in Game 2, but has just four hits in 43 at-bats this postseason with a .250 OPS. With Tommy Edman’s ankle keeping him out of center field, the Dodgers are light on options, and the Dodgers have preferred defense at the position with Pages, who will have now batted ninth eight games in a row. Manager Dave Roberts has been asked multiple times in recent days whether Pages might be benched.
“It’s front of mind, just trying to figure out where he’s at mentally, physically,” Roberts said during Sunday’s workout at Dodger Stadium. “Certainly the performance hasn’t been there. Thinking of other options. So, yeah, it’s certainly on the table.”
Max Scherzer is 41 years old and his current version isn’t the same pitcher who won three Cy Young Awards, but he’s still been effective for the Blue Jays, including allowing two runs in six innings at Dodger Stadium on August 8 this season.
Scherzer has allowed two or fewer runs in each of his last 11 starts against the Dodgers, dating back over nine years, with a 1.46 ERA with 84 strikeouts and 25 walks in 68 innings The last time Scherzer allowed more to the Dodgers was Game 1 of the 2016 National League Division Series, taking the loss in Washington D.C. by allowing four runs in six innings.
The Dodgers are 19-10 all-time in World Series games at Dodger Stadium, including 5-4 in this current stretch of consecutive playoff berths
