Dodgers mull World Series lineup change; Shohei Ohtani laughs off Toronto chants

After taking his normal round of infield grounders during the Dodgers’ off-day workout Sunday, Kiké Hernández jogged to center field and spent a noticeable amount of time fielding fly balls there.

On the eve of Game 3 of the World Series, it might not have been a coincidence.

After using the same nine players in their starting lineup in six straight games since the start of the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers have been considering a change for Monday — one that could drop struggling second-year slugger Andy Pages to the bench.

While the Dodgers’ overall offense has been inconsistent this postseason, Pages has endured the most glaring slump. He has collected just four hits in 43 at-bats, registering a .093 average. He has 11 strikeouts, no walks, and only one extra-base knock, providing little pop or spark from the No. 9 spot.

Manager Dave Roberts acknowledged before Game 2 that he was mulling whether to keep Pages in the lineup. And though the 24-year-old outfielder, who had 27 home runs and 86 RBIs in the regular season, had a hit and run scored on Saturday, Roberts reiterated Sunday that making a move with Pages was “still on the table” and “front of mind.”

“Just trying to figure out where he’s at mentally, physically,” Roberts said. “The performance hasn’t been there. So thinking of other options, yeah.”

One reason the Dodgers have stuck with Pages is because of their limited defensive alternatives — including, first and foremost, utilityman Tommy Edman being restricted to only second base this October because of a lingering ankle injury.

Edman, who split time last postseason between center field and shortstop, did say this weekend that his ankle was feeling better (even though he didn’t close the door on potentially needing surgery this offseason). But Roberts noted that Edman “hasn’t taken a fly ball out there in a month,” casting continued doubt over his ability to play anywhere else.

Without Edman, Hernández is the only other true center-field option for the Dodgers to use in their starting lineup, having also played there during the team’s World Series run last year. This postseason, Hernández has been a fixture in left (while also mixing in at third base). But if he were to slide to center field for Game 3, it could open left field for someone like Alex Call.

Call, a trade deadline acquisition who was a part-time player down the stretch in the regular season, does not represent as much of a power threat as Pages, but is a better contact hitter with more on-base ability.

Of course, the Dodgers’ offensive inconsistencies have gone beyond Pages.

They have not topped five runs in a game since the wild-card round. They have hit just .216 as a team since the start of the division series. Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman are still batting under .225 in the playoffs. Mookie Betts is batting .136 since the start of the NLCS.

During their Game 2 win, Roberts felt the club missed a lot of hittable pitches against Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman, before Will Smith and Max Muncy finally broke through with home runs in the seventh.

That, Roberts felt, was a sign his lineup was “a little bit in between” in its approach, squandering opportunities to do damage against fastballs over the plate while also trying to protect against breaking stuff out of the zone.

“They have made good pitches, but we have missed pitches as well,” Roberts said. “I do think that coming home, I feel that we’re back into a little bit of a rhythm offensively.”

Perhaps shaking up the lineup will help, as well.

Ohtani laughs off chants Blue Jays fans celebrate after Shohei Ohtani strikes out in the first inning of Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.

Blue Jays fans celebrate after Shohei Ohtani strikes out in the first inning of Game 1 of the World Series on Friday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Yes, Ohtani did hear chants of “We don’t need you!” from Blue Jays fans during Games 1 and 2 of the World Series at Rogers Centre, jokingly describing them as “wonderful.”

But, as he added with a laugh while speaking with reporters Sunday, he just wants to make sure he doesn’t hear it again at home.

Literally.

“My wife loves that chant, and she teased me,” he said in Japanese, before later adding: “I want to do enough around the house so that I won’t be subjected to the kinds of chants I received in Toronto.”

Ohtani, of course, should get large ovations at Dodger Stadium this week, including for what will be his first World Series game as a two-way player, with his next pitching start scheduled for Game 4 on Tuesday.

“You have to really have good stuff to be able to put up good results,” Ohtani said, while complimenting the talent of the Blue Jays’ offense. “So I’m just trying to put myself in the best position to be able to make sure that I can navigate and put up good results.”

A long trip home Dodgers manager Dave Roberts watches from the dugout in the eighth inning of Game 2 of the World Series.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts watches from the dugout in the eighth inning of Game 2 of the World Series against the Blue Jays on Saturday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

This season, the Dodgers have used two planes: One for only players, and another for coaches, support staff and family.

On their way back from Toronto, one landed in Los Angeles well before the other.

While the Dodgers’ player plane took off immediately after Game 2 on Saturday, the second aircraft wasn’t scheduled to depart until Sunday morning. That departure, however, was delayed until the afternoon while some members of the traveling party dealt with ticketing and customs-related issues at the airport.

Thus, when Dodgers players took the field for their 5 p.m. PDT workout Sunday, their coaches were still en route to Dodger Stadium.

“I just arrived about 30 minutes ago,” Roberts said at his 5:45 p.m. news conference, before joking: “There was some delays. I don’t know if there was intent or not.”

“The international stuff was a bear,” he continued. “But we made it. We made it.”

Indeed, the Dodgers’ workout proceeded without issue. The only noticeable difference: When pitching coaches arrived on the field shortly after the staff had begun catch play in the outfield, they were still decked out in their team-issued track suits.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Dodgers mull World Series lineup change; Shohei Ohtani laughs off Toronto chants

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