Diamondbacks Showing Desperation With Dramatic Game 3 Lineup Shakeup

It usually isn't a good sign when a manager decides to shake up his starting lineup in the middle of a playoff series, but that's what Torey Lovullo is doing for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks' lineup for Game 3 of the NLCS was released on Thursday afternoon, and it looks pretty different than their Game 1 and 2 editions.

Diamondbacks Lineup Game 3

The biggest change is moving up catcher Gabriel Moreno from seventh to third. That's a huge jump for any hitter, as there's way less pressure on the bottom third of the lineup to produce. The three-hole is often reserved for a team's best hitter, however, as that spot is counted on to drive in runs.

Moreno is good, but it's hard to see the logic here. He's just 1-for-7 so far in the series with a walk and a pair of strikeouts. That sounds more like a No. 7 hitter than a No. 3 hitter to me.

Moreno played well against the Los Angeles Dodgers with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs in the NLDS, but his bat seems to have gone cold. He's also only 23, so perhaps the playoff pressure is getting to him a bit.

Lovullo did some other juggling as well, inserting Emmanuel Rivera at third base for his first start of the postseason. Rivera pinch-hit (unsuccessfully) in Game 1 for his first and only at-bat of the playoffs, as he's been used exclusively as a defensive replacement in the postseason. He hasn't started a game in nearly three weeks, so his bat should be nice and rusty!

Rivera starting at the hot corner bumps Evan Longoria to DH, which pushes Tommy Pham to right field. Pham has been dealing with turf toe, and this will be his first time playing the field in these playoffs.

None of these moves seems likely to give Arizona much of a boost, so Lovullo is clearly grasping at straws. It doesn't seem like there are going to be many Diamondbacks fans there today, but the ones who are might be a bit confused by his unusual lineup.

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