Teoscar Hernández moves to third in Dodgers' NLCS Game 2 lineup vs. Brewers

What happened

Dave Roberts has adjusted the Los Angeles Dodgers' batting order for NLCS Game 2 against the Milwaukee Brewers, per Yahoo Sports. Teoscar Hernández moves up to bat third, a reward for his two-hit performance in Game 1. Will Smith, meanwhile, drops from his previous spot to fifth in the order. At second base, Tommy Edman draws the start over Kiké Hernández, who moves to the bench.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto takes the ball for the Dodgers on Monday at American Family Field, opposed by Logan Henderson for Milwaukee.

Why it matters

Roberts is threading a familiar needle: the Brewers are sending a second consecutive right-handed starter to the mound, and the Dodgers' manager is maintaining his righty-lefty construction throughout the lineup while making targeted adjustments based on what Game 1 showed him. The move for Hernández is straightforward — two hits earn you a promotion. The move for Smith is more layered.

Per Yahoo Sports, Smith has been the least productive Dodgers hitter of this postseason. That framing has been consistent throughout the series, and Roberts is not hiding from it by dropping him a spot. What the report does note, with something approaching cautious optimism, is that Smith's Game 1 at-bats offered a degree of encouragement: he produced more hard-hit balls than any other player in the game. The catch, as the report dryly acknowledges, is that every one of them found a glove. Hard contact that produces outs is the most aesthetically frustrating category in baseball — the numbers say one thing, the box score says another, and the manager has to decide which one he believes heading into Game 2.

Roberts, for now, appears to believe both: Smith stays in the lineup, but the lineup reflects where things stand.

The numbers

The Dodgers finished the regular season at 100-62 (.617), first in the NL West. They enter Game 2 on a three-game winning streak.

Where the club stands

### Is the series tied heading into Game 2?

Yes. Per Yahoo Sports, the Dodgers dropped Game 1 by a score of 2-1, leaving the NLCS level at one game apiece heading into Monday's contest at American Family Field.

Los Angeles finished the regular season 100-62 (.617), sitting first in the NL West. They carry a three-game winning streak into Game 2, though that streak predates the Game 1 loss — the postseason, as always, runs on its own ledger.

After Monday's game in Milwaukee, the series shifts to UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium, where the Dodgers are scheduled to host the Brewers on Wednesday, October 14, with Robert Gasser as Milwaukee's probable starter. Thursday, October 15 is also scheduled at Dodger Stadium, with pitching assignments still to be determined.

The Edman question

### Why is Edman starting now after three games off the bench?

Per Yahoo Sports, Edman's last start came in Game 2 of the NLDS. He appeared off the bench in each of the Dodgers' three most recent games before earning the start here. The report frames his return to the lineup as a direct response to Milwaukee's right-handed starter — Edman gets the nod at second base, with Kiké Hernández sliding to a bench role.

That bench role is not without purpose. Yahoo Sports notes that Roberts is expected to deploy either Josue De Paula or Kiké Hernández as a late-game option against Milwaukee's bullpen, with the choice depending on which reliever is on the mound. De Paula, the report notes, has drawn attention in this postseason for delivering key walks — a skill that tends to be underappreciated until October, when every baserunner is a small negotiation with fate.

The broader roster picture

The Dodgers are navigating this NLCS with a roster that has required some management. A week removed from the Division Series, Shohei Ohtani entered the NLCS described as banged up, dealing with knee inflammation and biceps discomfort that has limited him to designated hitter duties, with no pitching expected from him in the 2026 postseason, per earlier reporting. Ohtani went 2-for-13 with four strikeouts in the NLDS and was dropped to fifth in the lineup during that series — a sequence that adds context to the current order construction, where Smith now occupies that same fifth spot.

Miguel Rojas, who experienced a back flare-up during the Division Series and received a cortisone injection for a back injury suffered in NLDS Game 3, was unavailable in Game 4 of that series but is expected to be on the NLCS roster, per earlier reporting. Dalton Rushing, meanwhile, has remained sidelined through the NLDS with a partial UCL tear in his throwing elbow that has prevented him from catching.

The cumulative effect is a roster that Roberts is managing with some care — which makes the bench deployment strategy for De Paula and Kiké Hernández feel less like a luxury and more like a necessity. When your depth chart has gaps, the pieces you do have need to be in the right place at the right time.

What we don't know yet

The report does not specify where Kiké Hernández or other regulars are slotted in the full batting order beyond the changes noted. It also does not indicate whether the Smith demotion to fifth is a one-game adjustment or a signal of a longer-term reconfiguration. Roberts described his approach as sticking with the righty-lefty construction, which suggests the architecture is stable — but postseason lineups have a way of evolving with each game's results.

Whether De Paula or Kiké Hernández ultimately sees action against Milwaukee's bullpen will depend entirely on how the game develops, and that decision tree won't be visible until the late innings.

What to watch

The most immediate question is whether Smith's hard contact from Game 1 translates into results in Game 2. Roberts has kept him in the lineup and moved him one spot rather than removing him from a prominent role — that's a vote of confidence with an asterisk, and the at-bats will be watched closely.

Edman's return to the starting lineup at second base is also worth tracking. His last start came in the NLDS, and how he performs against Henderson could influence how Roberts constructs the lineup when the series moves back to Los Angeles.

And then there is Yamamoto, taking the mound for the Dodgers against Logan Henderson in a game the Dodgers need to avoid falling behind in the series. The 2-1 Game 1 loss was close, the offense was quieter than Roberts would have preferred, and the lineup card he submitted Monday reflects a manager making deliberate, if modest, corrections. Whether they're the right ones is what October is for.