Dodgers drop All-Star to seventh in lineup in hint of NLCS Game 3 desperation

The Dodgers-Mets NLCS is tied at one game apiece, with the Dodgers getting off to a commanding start on Sunday with a nine-run shoutout and then staging a pretty disastrous bullpen game the next day to make things even heading to Citi Field.

In Game 2, batters 1-5 in LA's lineup — Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, and Will Smith — went 0-19 against Sean Manaea and the Mets bullpen, continuing an ugly stretch for Ohtani and Smith in particular and hinting at a worrying decline (again) for Betts after a few hot games.

There's almost no way that the top three are going to shift (though the Dodgers might consider moving Betts above Ohtani, given Ohtani's struggles streak with the bases empty), but for Game 3, the Dodgers do seem to be admitting that they've made a mistake in their previous two lineups. Smith, who's batting .087 through the postseason so far, was moved down to seventh in the lineup.

Dodgers move Will Smith down to seventh for NLCS Game 3 due to depressing hitting struggles

Hernández was dropped down to the No. 5 spot and Max Muncy, who hit a home run in Game 2, moved to cleanup. Muncy has also struggled a bit this postseason, but his performance has been much more consistent than Smith's, whose numbers currently sit at an ugly .087/.250/.217 through seven games. He's gone hitless in all but two and has failed to get on base at all since Game 5 of the LDS.

Walker Buehler will get the ball for Game 3 against Luis Severino, who had two decent but not great starts in both the Wild Card against the Brewers and the NLDS against the Phillies (he pitched six innings and gave up three earned runs in both). Buehler, for his part, is hoping to avoid a repeat of his 2024 postseason debut against the Padres.