Andy Pages (hand) takes part in simulated game

The slumping slugger battled cleanup in each of the first two games of the series and was dropped down to sixth against a southpaw in Game 3 on Wednesday. Perhaps the move back to the top of the lineup will provide the offensive jolt that the Dodgers need to stave off elimination and keep their dreams of a three-peat alive. Here’s the full lineup that they will trot out against Brewers’ southpaw Shane Drohan on Thursday: Ohtani (DH), Mookie Betts (SS), Freddie Freeman (1B), Will Smith (C), Kyle Tucker (RF), Teoscar Hernandez (LF), Miguel Rojas (2B), Andy Pages (CF) and Enrique Hernandez (3B).

In the top of the second, Pages poked an opposite-field single to score Shohei Ohtani to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead. It would be the last run of the game as Jacob Misiorowski and in particular the Brewers’ bullpen was excellent and kept Los Angeles from many scoring opportunities. Pages has driven in three runs thus far in the postseason in five games, and hit .278 in the process.

Pages delievered the metaphorical knockout punch for Los Angeles, coming through with a two-run single on a full-count fastball from Atlanta veteran reliever Robert Suarez to put the Dodgers ahead and send their star-studded juggernaut back to the NLCS for the third consecutive season. His heroics were set up by two-out walks to Josue De Paula and Kyle Tucker that loaded the bases. Pages has been much maligned for his postseason struggles over the last two years, but he came through with four hits over the final two games of the series to send Atlanta packing.

Pages had a sac fly that accounted for the Dodgers’ only run over the first nine innings. He had a chance to break the game open with two on in the eighth, but he instead grounded into an inning-ending double play. He got another chance in the 10th after an Alex Call double gave the Dodgers the lead and essentially put the game away with his 23rd homer of the year. It was his second in six games since he returned from a fractured hand. He ends up at .274/.343/.468 with 85 RBI in 134 games.

He also stole a base, which gives him 13. Pages doubled the lead for the Dodgers with his 22nd homer of the season. It was also the 81st run driven in for the 25-year-old, who has shown flashes of potentially becoming a fantasy stalwart in the future.

It doesn’t qualify as a significant surprise to see Pages hitting towards the bottom of the order in his return from the injured list since he skipped a minor league rehab assignment on his way back from surgery to repair a left hand fracture. It’ll probably take him a couple games to knock off some of the rust, but Pages is probably worth rolling out there in deeper mixed leagues for the final week of the season.

Pages returns to Los Angeles’ lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Padres following a one-month absence recovering from surgery to address a left hand fracture. The 25-year-old fantasy standout was hitting .272/.338/.458 with 72 runs scored, 21 homers, 80 RBI and 12 steals in 550 plate appearances prior to the injury. He’s clearly worth rolling out there in most fantasy leagues based on his raw talent alone, but the Dodgers are presumably going to manage his workload closely during the final week of the regular season since he skipped a minor league rehab assignment altogether.

Pages will have missed a month with a fractured hand suffered on a HBP. His return will push Tommy Edman back to second base and Alex Freeland to the bench.

The Dodgers are home from Friday through next Wednesday, so Pages could be activated at any time during that stretch. The season ends for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, so if Pages is coming back without playing in rehab games, our best guess is that he returns early next week. Considering the 25-year-old fractured his hand on August 21st and will not have any rehab games before returning, it’s going to be tough to trust him in fantasy leagues for the final week of the season.

Pages is close to taking live batting practice, which would be the final step before getting back into game action again. The 25-year-old center fielder should make it back to Los Angeles for the start of the postseason after having surgery to repair a left hand fracture back in late August.