Dodgers fans will get their wish in Game 4 of the NLCS Tuesday as Austin Barnes will return to the lineup at catcher, pushing struggling Yasmani Grandal back to the bench.
But not before Grandal's teammates had a word with L.A. fans who chanted "We want Austin! We want Austin!" and booed Grandal during Monday's 4-0 Game 3 loss at Chavez Ravine.
"It sucks that they got loud to show up Yasmani," outfielder Enrique Hernandez told reporters (via the Los Angeles Times). "He's trying his best. Catchers have a lot going on. The game revolves around them. They're involved in every situation of the game. Playoffs, it's the big leagues.
"If they think they can do it, put on your gear and go catch 99 mile per hour fastballs and breaking balls with a lot of movement. He's been one of the best catchers in the game for a while now. He's having a little bit of a rough patch. It's just bad timing."
The fact is, Grandal is struggling. He allowed his third passed ball in two starts in the series and couldn't block Walker Buehler's sixth-inning breaking ball in the dirt (scored a wild pitch) that allowed the Brewers' Travis Shaw to score and stretch Milwaukee's lead to 2-0.
It wasn't any better at the plate: Grandal went 0-for-3 on three strikeouts, the last coming with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning.
“I think it’s driving you guys more nuts than it’s driving me,” Grandal told reporters when questioned after the game (via the Orange County Register).
Still, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has decided to make a change for Game 4, the same change he made between Games 1 and 2 in Milwaukee.
"We'll play Austin (on Tuesday). Austin will catch," Roberts said after the game. "Yaz will be ready to go off the bench. He's been good for us all year. So he'll be ready off the bench tomorrow. He had a tough night and obviously the fans voiced their opinion. And they're passionate. They want to win. They want the best out of all of us, especially in the postseason."
It has to be seen as a move to shore up defense behind the plate, since Barnes was 0-for-3 in Game 2, though he did have an RBI in a 4-3 win. In the regular season he slashed .205/.329/.290 to Grandal's .241/.349/.466. Grandal had eight errors to Barnes' two, but in more than twice as many chances.
Responded Grandal when asked about the change: “They’re losing confidence in me? Is that what you think? Not really. At any point, one swing can change the game."
And in fairness to Grandal, 3-for-22 in the playoffs, when you lose 4-0, no one got the one swing. Still, the Dodgers, down 1-2 in the series after a pivotal first game in Los Angeles, aren't happy with things — on the field or in the stands.
"We had no energy, the stadium had no energy, the fans had no energy," Hernandez said. "Overall, it was a pretty bad game for everybody that calls themselves Dodgers."
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