The Los Angeles Dodgers will look to seize full control of the National League Division Series on Monday afternoon, but they’ll do it shorthanded on the infield. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed that both Will Smith and Max Muncy will remain out of the starting lineup for Game 2 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
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Dodgers Won’t Start Will Smith, Max Muncy vs. the Phillies
Vote For Your Favorite Duo: Ohtani – Yamamoto, Betts – Freeman, Hernandez – Hernandez
Smith continues to recover from a hairline fracture in his throwing hand and hasn’t started a game in nearly a month. He did pinch-hit and catch late in the Dodgers’ 5-3 comeback win in Game 1, and Roberts hinted that a similar plan could be in play again.
“To have him catch four innings and then to potentially run that same playbook, certainly there’s value to that,” Roberts said Sunday. “But if he says that he feels great, there’s no remnants of Game 1, it might be hard for me not to kind of pencil him in.”
For now, Ben Rortvedt will once again handle the catching duties and bat ninth. Muncy, meanwhile, is sidelined with what the team described as general soreness. Miguel Rojas will start at third base in his place.
On the mound, left-hander Blake Snell gets the ball for Los Angeles, opposing Philadelphia’s Jesús Luzardo. Snell, who struck out nine in seven strong innings during his Wild Card start last week, went 5-4 with a 2.35 ERA this season. Luzardo countered with a 15-7 record and 216 strikeouts over 183.2 innings.
The Dodgers lineup remains potent with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández, and Freddie Freeman anchoring the top four spots. Hernández, who has homered in three straight postseason games, will look to quiet a raucous Citizens Bank Park crowd once again.
First pitch for Game 2 is set for 3:08 p.m. PT on TBS.