Dodgers consider NLDS Game 3 lineup changes with Shohei Ohtani, Kik Hernndez included

ATLANTA –– The Dodgers don’t want to overreact to a two-game sample size.But, with elimination all of a sudden just two games away, they don’t want to wait too long to make changes either.That’s what dynamic manager Dave Roberts was grappling with on Monday, as the Dodgers gathered at Truist Park in Atlanta ahead of Game 3 of their National League Division Series against the Braves.A daunting challenge awaits on Tuesday night, when the club will face Braves ace Chris Sale for the first time since he threw a complete-game shutout against them in August.Thus, even though the team’s quest for a World Series three-peat just began, potential lineup changes were already under consideration.And even superstar Shohei Ohtani might not be immune.“I am considering [changes],” Roberts said.“I think that’s a very fair question.”That didn’t mean Roberts was ready to commit to any significant alterations ahead of a pivotal Game 3, with the best-of-five series tied one game apiece.

He noted the danger of reading too far into small playoff sample sizes this early in the postseason.Still, he said there were things he was “thinking through” and “possibly kind of some changes” that could be enacted on Tuesday.One possibility: Inserting Miguel Rojas and/or Kiké Hernández into lineup, perhaps in place of Max Muncy and/or Tommy Edman, to give the Dodgers extra right-handed bats against a dominant left-hander in Sale. Another, more notable potential option: Moving Ohtani even further down the order from his current No.2 spot, after he went just 2-for-8 in the first two games of the NLDS while continuing to battle right arm and left knee injuries.“[We already moved] him from 1 to 2 –– but going further than that? I’m open to it,” Roberts said.

“It’s something that, if I do, I would obviously have the conversation with Shohei to explain why.”The explanation, of course, wouldn’t be too complicated.In Ohtani’s currently diminished physic...