World Series Game 5 lineups: Dodgers' Cody Bellinger back in CF

Dodgers vs. Rays World Series Game 5 lineups: Cody Bellinger returns to center field

Cody Bellinger follows through on a swing that brought him a home run.

Staff Writer

Oct. 25, 2020 1:35 PM PT

ARLINGTON, Texas — Cody Bellinger will be back in center field for Game 5 of the World Series on Sunday after back tightness limited him to the designated hitter role in Game 4.

Bellinger woke up Saturday morning with back tightness. He received treatment and was in the Dodgers’ original lineup as the center fielder, but the back was an issue when he threw and moved around. As a result, the Dodgers changed their lineup, moving Bellinger to designated hitter and AJ Pollock from DH to center field.

The switch led to a what-if scenario hours later, when a comedy of errors cost the Dodgers in the ninth inning: What if Bellinger, not Chris Taylor, was in center field for Brett Phillips’ single?

Taylor was in center field after Joc Pederson pinch-hit for Pollock and stayed in the game as the left fielder. Taylor, consequently, shifted over. Phillips’ ball bounced off his glove to set off one of the wildest finishes in World Series history.

The rest of the Dodgers’ Game 5 lineup against Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow doesn’t contain surprises. Austin Barnes will catch Clayton Kershaw, moving Will Smith to DH. Pederson will start in left field. Taylor will start at second base.

The pitching matchup will be a repeat of Game 1. Kershaw allowed one run and two hits in six innings in the Dodgers’ win. Glasnow gave up six runs, walked six, and struck out eight in 4 1/3 innings.