Dodgers make changes; Ohtani offers bullpen help

LOS ANGELES -- With his offense struggling through the first four games of this World Series -- not to mention the better part of these entire playoffs -- Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made relatively drastic changes to his lineup ahead of Wednesday's Game 5.

Will Smith moved into the No. 2 spot, prompting Mookie Betts to hit third for the first time in four years, and Alex Call replaced the struggling Andy Pages at the bottom of the batting order. Those moves, Roberts hopes, will provide Ohtani with more RBI opportunities and more protection if the Toronto Blue Jays continue to pitch around him.

"In the postseason, you've got to be a little more reactive than in the regular season," Roberts said. "When I netted out the value of what I feel gives us the best chance to win today, that was a decision I made."

Roberts made the lineup changes ahead of a critical swing game at home, with the series tied 2-2. The Dodgers will have to win at least one game in Toronto to repeat as champions. And in that setting, Ohtani might be available out of the bullpen.

He told the Japanese media after taking the loss in Tuesday's Game 4 that he wants to stay ready to help out of the bullpen in Games 6 or 7 if needed. Roberts said he has not spoken to Ohtani about that possibility, but he sounded open to it.

"If he can go, if it makes sense, certainly, he would be an option," Roberts said.

More pressing now, though, is how Ohtani can help spark a sluggish lineup. The Dodgers are slashing just .220/.314/.369 since the wild-card round, during which they've averaged 3.8 runs per game after averaging 5.1 runs during the regular season. With runners in scoring position, they're just 6-for-29.

Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage, who features a devastating splitter, has held opposing left-handed hitters to only a .479 OPS this season, much lower than he has held right-handed hitters (.769). That prompted two of the Dodgers' left-handed hitters, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, to slide into the Nos. 4 and 7 spots, respectively.

Smith, who has a .348 on-base percentage dating to when he returned to the lineup in Game 3 of the National League Division Series, will now hit directly behind Ohtani, becoming the first catcher to hit second or higher in a World Series game since Mickey Cochrane in 1935, according to ESPN Research. Betts, 3-for-19 in the World Series, will move back a spot.

"I feel that that's the best way to win the game tonight," Roberts said. "Both players were alerted, and both players are all on board."

Call, a right-handed hitter with a reputation for grinding out at-bats, will start in left field, prompting Enrique Hernandez to make only his fourth start this season in center. Pages has started every game at that position in these playoffs, but he is just 4-for-50 with 11 strikeouts and no walks while hitting ninth -- a crucial spot, given the need to supply the top of the Dodgers' order with runners on base.

Pages had a breakthrough regular season in 2025, batting .272 with 27 homers and 14 steals, but his .215 OPS in the playoffs is the lowest ever for a player with at least 50 plate appearances in a single postseason.

Really, though, the entire offense has struggled.

Freeman, one of the Dodgers' best performers in this series, stressed the importance of not chasing down in the zone against Yesavage in Game 5 and generally getting back to working counts and building innings. The stakes might be impacting that.

"I think it's just human nature," Freeman said. "It's the World Series. Sometimes you want to do a lot. That's just kind of how it is. I think we've got a few games in, and you recognize what's going on, and then you can reel it back in.

"We're all human, we all want to hit home runs in the biggest of stages. It's just kind of what happens. We're four games in, we have seen the patterns, and now it's on us to stop that pattern and get back to being who we are."