Cardinals juggle lineup, subbing Martínez for Carpenter and moving Edman to third
WASHINGTON — After putting up just one run on four hits over the past two games, the St. Louis Cardinals made one lineup change for Game 3 of the NL Championship Series against the Washington Nationals on Monday night.
José Martínez will take Matt Carpenter's spot in the starting lineup. He'll play right field and Tommy Edman will shift to third base to replace Carpenter as the Cardinals try to keep Washington from taking a commanding 3-0 series lead.
"José has just had good at-bats, putting good swings on the baseball," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. "Just looking to mix it up a bit, nothing too crazy, obviously. But José's earned the opportunity to get in there and create some length in the lineup and in a spot where guys are doing their part in front of him and he can do some damage."
For the Nationals, Victor Robles is back in the lineup after missing the past five games with a hamstring injury.
Robles will start in center field and bat eighth. Michael A. Taylor, who hit a solo home run in Game 2 on Saturday at St. Louis, had been in that spot.
Robles took some swings in the batting cage Sunday and looked strong enough working out for manager Dave Martinez to plug the 22-year-old back in. Martinez didn't hesitate to say that Robles would "get a chance to play" over Taylor when he was 100%.
"He ran the bases (Sunday) and ran them at full tilt. He looked really good," Martinez said. "He's raring to go and excited to get back on the field."
Robles hit .255 with 17 home runs and 65 RBIs and had 28 stolen bases during his first full season in the majors. He last played in Game 2 of the NLDS against Los Angeles.
