Dodgers scratch Freddie Freeman in worrisome last-second lineup switch before Game 4

Los Angeles Dodgers leader Freddie Freeman tried his absolute hardest. He leapt to save an errant throw in NLDS Game 3 against the San Diego Padres, planting his ankle painfully on the first base bag on the way down. He remained in the game. He hung in the box against all-world left-hander Tanner Scott and laced a single to center field. He jogged to first with a pronounced limp, then checked out in favor of a pinch runner. As always, he'd done his job.

And, naturally, Freeman intended to give it a go, as long as he could, for Game 4. If the Dodgers do not take home a victory in the most hostile of environments, they'll go home for a long winter, dogged by payroll taunts and postseason question marks.

Freeman, unfortunately, will not be a part of the first unit.

Following a vague Dave Roberts quote about how his stalwart first baseman was "in there" unless something changed during warmups, Freeman was scratched about an hour and a half before first pitch, replaced by Max Muncy at first and Chris Taylor in the order. Muncy will shift from third, and Taylor will supplant Kiké Hernández in center (now a third baseman)l.

Dodgers lineup: Freddie Freeman scratched ahead of NLDS Game 4

The Dodgers entered Wednesday already intending to shake things up semi-significantly, starting Tommy Edman at shortstop in place of the injured Miguel Rojas, with Hernández heading to center field in Edman's stead. The Freeman injury further throws off the Dodgers' trajectory, and underscores an unpleasant reality: the Dodgers won't be bringing their nine best into Wednesday's potential season finale. They'll be bringing their healthiest, though, and they'll be giving themselves a fighting chance (while some of their primary fighters are laid up).

The injured Rojas didn't cover himself in roses during Tuesday's game-altering rally, but it was hard to find vitriol for Freeman, whose throw couldn't evade the darting Manny Machado as he heaved it from the grass. Hopefully, he'll get a shot at redemption at the plate later in this one. Clearly, based on the Scott at-bat, he can still swing a balanced bat, even without his lower half.