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Chase Utley gets the first crack at designated hitter for the Dodgers in 2017, leading off in the series opener against the Indians on Tuesday night at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
Starting lineup
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Indians |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Indians |
| DH | Utley (L) | 2B | Kipnis (L) |
| SS | Seager (L) | SS | Lindor (S) |
| 3B | Turner | LF | Brantley (L) |
| 1B | Bellinger (L) | 1B | Santana (S) |
| C | Grandal (S) | DH | Encarnacion |
| LF | Taylor | 3B | Ramirez (S) |
| 2B | Forsythe | CF | Jackson |
| CF | Pederson (L) | C | Perez |
| RF | Puig | RF | Robertson |
Utley has been scorching for over a month, hitting .337/.442/.605 over his last 30 games, with four home runs, five doubles, three triples, 17 RBI and 14 runs scored during that span.
With the return of Joc Pederson in center field, that moves Chris Taylor to left field. Taylor went from no major league games in the outfield to regular in center with Pederson out, playing 16 games at the position. Now, Taylor makes his debut in left, his first time as a professional at the position.
With Adrian Gonzalez now on the disabled list for a second time, first base is Cody Bellinger’s for a little while. Tuesday is Bellinger’s 10th start at first base in the majors, compared to 33 starts in left field.
With no pitcher batting, Yasiel Puig slides down to ninth in the batting order, his first career start batting ninth. He has made at least 28 career starts at every other batting position.