The Los Angeles Dodgers will make multiple lineup changes, one game after falling to the San Diego Padres on Oct. 12 to even the National League Division Series between Southern California rivals at a game each.
During Thursday’s only off day of the NLDS, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Austin Barnes will be at catcher for Game 3 on Friday at San Diego. Max Muncy will move from third base to second base and Will Smith will move from catcher to the designated-hitter spot.
Those changes are in addition to the plans Roberts revealed after the 5–3 Game 2 defeat to the Padres. Late Wednesday, Roberts said that struggling center fielder Cody Bellinger would not be in the Game 3 lineup, while Trayce Thompson will move from left field to center and Chris Taylor would take over in left.
The Dodgers will move away from the left-handed hitting Bellinger and Gavin Lux against Padres left-hander Blake Snell (0–0, 5.40 ERA postseason; 8–10, 3.38 ERA regular season) on Friday.
Bellinger has gone 1–for–6 with four strikeouts in the series so far.
The Dodgers have scored eight runs in the series so far, but have not delivered any of those runs against the Padres’ bullpen, which has gone 9 1/3 scoreless innings. Roberts was asked about the pressure on his team.
“I think that there’s been talk about it all year, expectations and whatever it might be, but when you’re in a baseball game, the only thing you’re thinking about is how to win that ballgame,” Roberts said Thursday. “All that stuff that people might talk about before has no bearing on the outcome of a Major League Baseball game.”
Roberts also announced late Wednesday that right-hander Tony Gonsolin (16–1, 2.14 ERA in the regular season) would make the Game 3 start. Gonsolin has pitched two innings since Sept. 24 because of a right forearm strain.
On Thursday, Roberts added that left-hander Tyler Anderson (15–5, 2.57) will start Game 4 at San Diego on Saturday.
The Dodgers won a franchise-record 111 games in the regular season, but now need to win two of the next three games against the Padres in order to advance to the NL Championship Series for the sixth time in seven seasons.
