Dodgers drop Ohtani to fifth for NLDS Game 3 against Chris Sale

The Dodgers dropped Shohei Ohtani to fifth in their batting order for Tuesday’s Game 3 of the National League Division Series against Atlanta, making several changes before facing left-hander Chris Sale. Los Angeles announced the lineup with the series tied at one game apiece.

Mookie Betts leads off, followed by Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández and Will Smith. Ohtani is the designated hitter in the fifth spot. Miguel Rojas, Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker and Kiké Hernández complete the order.

MLB’s Sonja Chen reported from Atlanta that Ohtani had not started fifth or lower since September 23, 2020, when he played for the Angels. The Dodgers also chose Rojas at second base over Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández at third over Max Muncy, putting more right-handed hitters toward the top against Sale.

Ohtani went 2-for-8 in the first two games of this series.

Manager Dave Roberts addressed Ohtani’s swing decisions Tuesday. He said trying to do too much was part of the difficulty and emphasized the importance of staying within the strike zone. The lineup change follows a September in which Ohtani appeared in eight games while managing lingering right biceps and left knee injuries, according to MLB’s account.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto starts for Los Angeles opposite Sale at Truist Park. The pitchers also faced each other in the teams’ final regular-season meeting on August 27. Yamamoto allowed a leadoff home run and then no further scoring across six and a third innings; Sale threw a shutout on 109 pitches.

Game 3 is scheduled for 6 p.m. Eastern on FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX One. The winner takes a 2-1 series lead, while the loser faces elimination in Wednesday’s Game 4.

The new order is the confirmed change ahead of first pitch. It gives Ohtani a different place in the offense while Los Angeles tries to take the series lead on the road.