The Los Angeles Dodgers left Max Muncy out of the starting lineup Sunday for Game 2 of the National League Division Series, starting Miguel Rojas at third base against the Atlanta Braves.
The switch was announced hours before the 5 p.m. PDT first pitch at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles leads the best-of-five series 1-0 after Saturday’s 5-3 win.
Muncy played third base and batted eighth in the opener. He finished 1-for-4 and hit a solo home run in the sixth inning off AJ Smith-Shawver.
That shot was his 17th career postseason home run with the Dodgers, a franchise record.
Rojas, who bats right-handed, takes the eighth spot in Sunday’s order. The rest of the lineup is otherwise unchanged against left-hander Ray Kerr.
Mookie Betts leads off at shortstop. Shohei Ohtani follows as the designated hitter, Will Smith bats third at catcher, and Freddie Freeman is cleanup at first base.
Teoscar Hernández hits fifth in left field, Kyle Tucker sixth in right field, and Andy Pages seventh in center field. Tommy Edman bats ninth at second base.
Blake Snell gets the ball for the Dodgers. The 33-year-old left-hander went 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP this season, striking out 55 batters in 42 2/3 innings over nine starts.
Kerr, 32, posted a 1.47 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 18 1/3 regular-season innings. He opened Game 3 of the Wild Card Series and threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Muncy hit .252 with a .348 on-base percentage, a .490 slugging percentage and a .838 OPS in 149 games. He finished with 29 home runs and 76 RBIs.
Across 11 major league seasons he has 243 home runs and 680 RBIs with an .830 OPS.
Atlanta won five of the six regular-season meetings, but the Dodgers took the series opener behind three home runs.
Tarik Skubal worked six dominant innings Saturday in triple-digit heat. Hernández and Tucker also homered before the bullpen closed out the 5-3 victory.
A win Sunday would give the two-time defending World Series champions a 2-0 lead and push Atlanta to the brink.
Game 3 is set for Tuesday night in Atlanta, with the series shifting back to Dodger Stadium if a fifth game is needed.
