Dodgers move struggling Ohtani to No. 5 in lineup for NLDS Game 3 - ESPN

ATLANTA — Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani was dropped to the No. 5 spot in the order for their vital National League Division Series Game 3 against the Atlanta Braves, the lowest he has hit in a lineup since Sept. 23, 2020.

With All-Star left-hander Chris Sale starting for the Braves and Ohtani struggling at the plate since returning from lingering injuries that caused him to miss time toward the end of the regular season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts moved the four-time MVP to an unfamiliar spot.

«Sale's a different monster,» Roberts said.

The teams entered Tuesday tied at a game apiece and with their best postseason pitchers on the mound, with Sale facing Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the reigning World Series MVP.

Runs, Roberts said, would be at a premium, and spreading the left-handed hitters in his lineup against Sale was a priority. Roberts put Freddie Freeman in the No. 2 hole and Kyle Tucker eighth, with Ohtani — who is 3-for-15 with five strikeouts in his career against Sale — in the middle.

«We all understand that Sale's going to be tough,» Roberts said. «But the guys I feel at the top have a good chance to get on base, and I do think that there's going to be opportunities where the game, the situation, bleeds into Shohei's at-bat.»

When Roberts informed Ohtani of the planned change Monday night, Ohtani joked that in September he had considered telling Roberts to hit him seventh — a spot he last hit while with the Los Angeles Angels in 2020.

This season, Ohtani hit .275 with 30 homers and 81 RBIs. He had two hits and two strikeouts in eight at-bats in the first two games of the NLDS.

Ohtani played in the final five games of the regular season after coming off a two-week stint on the injured list with nagging right