Shocking! Roberts' deceptive tactics tricked everyone. There's Pazs, and there's no Kim Hye-sung
Oct 28, 2025
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LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts put Andy Pazs in the starting lineup as the ninth center fielder again in Game 3 of the World Series (best of seven) against the Toronto Blue Jays. This is the result of reversing what he said a day ago. In addition, Kim Hye-sung was not listed in the starting lineup again this time.
The Los Angeles Dodgers will play Game 3 of the 2025 World Series against Toronto at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on the morning of the 28th (Korea time). The Dodgers returned home with one win and one loss in the first and second games away from Toronto. Although he was defeated (4-10) in the first game on the 25th, he balanced the game by winning 5-1 thanks to starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto's fantastic complete game with one run in nine innings in the second game.
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The key was the change in the way Pazs, who is suffering from an extreme batting slump this postseason, was used. Roberts said in an interview with local media during the team's training session at Dodger Stadium on the 27th, `I was thinking of resting Pahes, but now I'm going to. I'm mentally and physically figuring out the state of Pazs, but the performance is not normal. be thinking of another option."
It was an inevitable choice for Roberts. This is because Pazs was showing a sense of stability on the defensive side this postseason, but he was experiencing an extreme slump on the batting side. Pazs has played in all 12 postseason games this year, but has a batting average of only 0.093 (4 hits in 43 at-bats). While he did not get a single walk, he struck out as many as 11.
In the World Series, he only had one hit in his third at-bat in the top of the seventh inning in Game 2 after going hitless in Game 1. Even if No. 9 batting order is in a position to receive less aggressive expectations, this slump is too serious. Even ahead of the second game, Roberts said "Pahes continues to struggle this postseason. I'm thinking about how to exclude him from the selection."
For this reason, the expectation was that Pazs would be excluded from the starting lineup in Game 3. This is because once you let them rest on the bench, there is a possibility that they will create an opportunity to relieve the burden and restore the sense of hitting. In addition, it was predicted that Kiké Hernández would move from the left field position to take over the center field position.
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Kim already played 17 games (nine starts) as center fielder in this year's regular season. Processed 25 outs, no errors in recording 1 bodhisattva. He also played center field in Triple-A during his rehabilitation. At the time, Roberts praised Kim Hye-sung's outfield defense.
But all of these predictions are wrong. Roberts also put Pazs in the starting lineup as a ninth-center fielder in Game 3. The lineup was almost the same as the winning second game.
Compared to the second game, Max Muncy (third baseman) and Teoscar Hernandez (left fielder) changed their order in the fifth and sixth batting order, and Tommy Edman (second baseman) and Kike (left fielder) changed their order in the seventh and eighth batting order. The order of batting first to fourth is the same as Shohei Ohtani (designated hitter), Mookie Betts (striker), Freddie Freeman (first baseman), and Will Smith (catcher).
It may be Roberts' high-level psychological battle that this lineup came out beyond everyone's expectations. Toronto manager John Schneider caught the line-up off guard while keeping it the same after making Pazs expect to be absent. In the short term, it can have unexpected effects. Attention is focusing on what the outcome of Roberts' decision will lead to.
Reporter Lee Won-man wman@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
