Can lineup tweaks help save the Dodgers' season?

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PHOENIX -- There’s no simple answer for the Dodgers in order to get their offense going in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Wednesday at Chase Field.

But if they want to keep their season alive, that’s exactly what needs to happen. Yes, the pitching staff hasn’t performed. They’ve gotten just two innings from their starters. But if they don’t hit, they’ll be going home.

The Dodgers’ offense put together more than 900 runs this season. They believed this lineup was better built for October than in previous seasons. Los Angeles was prioritizing batting average and working at-bats even if it meant a slight dip in slug.

Through two games, however, they haven’t seen any results. So how can they fix it before it’s too late? That’s the million-dollar question for the Dodgers.

The easy answer, and perhaps their best way to turn things around, is for Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to get going. Betts and Freeman are two of the best players in the Majors and will both finish in the top three in NL MVP voting. Through two games in the NLDS, though, the two superstars are a combined 1-for-13 with no extra-base hits.

“We had a couple opportunities, and we didn’t cash it in,” Betts said following Game 2. “For me and Freddie, that’s kind of our role and we’re not doing it. I take ownership in that. We just have to figure out a way, man. There are no excuses.”

For Betts, he hasn’t been able to find his August form in a few weeks. He’s chasing pitches out of the zone more frequently than he has all season and hasn’t been the sparkplug atop the lineup, which has been his role all season long. As for Freeman, the star first baseman has been open about not feeling as mechanically sound as he was all season long.

All it takes is one swing for Betts and Freeman to get going, of course, but time is ticking.

“I think the simple answer is getting Mookie and Freddie going,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But there’s still other guys in there that potentially bleed into Freddie and Mookie that could open some things up for them, too, some situational at-bats.”

While Betts and Freeman could ease a lot of the concerns with better play, the rest of the lineup also has to perform. And for Game 3, the Dodgers made a handful of changes to their starting lineup, shifting James Outman to the bench in favor of Kiké Hernández while flipping J.D. Martinez (third) and Will Smith (fifth).

Throughout the regular season, the Dodgers played the matchups. David Peralta, Outman and Jason Heyward were in there against right-handed pitching. We saw that again with Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen on the mound in Games 1 and 2.

The D-backs have another right-hander in Brandon Pfaadt ready to start Game 3, but the reality is the Dodgers’ season is on the line, which led Roberts to re-think some of those lineup decisions.

Hernández took the postseason by storm in 2021 as a member of the Red Sox and had one of the biggest hits in the ‘20 World Series run. Available off the bench is Chris Taylor, who has also been clutch in the past and might be able to fill in at left field behind Peralta.

Maybe it really is as simple as getting Betts and Freeman going. Regardless, the Dodgers need to make sure their Game 3 lineup comes through, or their season will come to an end.

“I’ve thought about it today,” Roberts said Tuesday of the lineup. "There is that balance of looking at it, it’s only two games, but the other part of it is that sense of urgency because this is do or die now.”