The Dodgers have settled into a fairly regular lineup, especially with no more opposing left-handed starters to face. Their lineup in Game 1 of the World Series against the Blue Jays on Friday night at Rogers Centre in Toronto features the same starting nine players for a fifth straight game.
Shohei Ohtani leads off, which is to be expected, and he continued his taking batting practice on the field — a rarity for him that he reintroduced during the NLCS off day between Games 2 and 3, before hitting a triple in Game 3 then three home runs in Game 4 — on Thursday during the workout day in Toronto.
Ohtani’s three home runs vaulted his slugging percentage from .368 to .634 this postseason, and raised his OPS by 326 points as well.
Advertisement
This nonet has accounted for 93 percent of the plate appearances thus far this postseason.
Kiké Hernández is batting seventh and in left field, his 11th start in 11 postseason games this season. It’s his 86th postseason game with the Dodgers, tying Justin Turner for most in franchise history.
While not having to face the vaunted Phillies southpaws anymore would seem to create more opportunities for Dodgers lefties Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, Blue Jays rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage has been stingy against left-handed hitters in his brief major league experience to date. In six major league starts — three in the regular season and three in the postseason — Yesavage has held lefties to just .167/.247/.227 with a 34.2-percent strikeout rate in 73 plate appearances, compared to righties hitting .286/.400/.381 with a 26-percent strikeout rate in 50 PA.
Andy Pages hits ninth for a sixth straight game, with only two singles and a double in 35 at-bats with nine strikeouts and two times hit by a pitch this postseason.
Advertisement
“I just see him getting some big hits for us and trying to continue to look forward and free him up mentally,” manager Dave Roberts said Thursday during his media availability in Toronto of a recent conversation with Pages. “With young players, confidence is something that you’ve always got to — you got to keep an eye on, and it can go awry pretty quickly if they’re not having success. So I just wanted to make sure that — to keep him in a good head space.”
For the Blue Jays, they have Bo Bichette back after missing nearly seven weeks with a left ankle sprain. He’s batting cleanup and playing second base in Game 1, a new position for him in the major leagues. His first 722 games in the field, dating back to 2019, were at shortstop.