The Los Angeles Dodgers handed Justin Verlander his first loss with the Houston Astros on Tuesday in Game 6 of the World Series, forcing a deciding seventh contest at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
With a one-run lead in the seventh inning, Joc Pederson provided some insurance with an opposite-field home run to extend the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1. Pederson, after an up-and-down regular season, was noticeably emotional while rounding the bases and crossing home plate.
“Emotions run high,” he said after the game. “You kind of black out in a situation like that.”
Thus far in the World Series, Pederson is hitting .357/.438/1.143 with two doubles, three homers and five RBI. After a disappointing first two months of the regular season, Pederson turned the corner as the calendar changed to June.
He batted .304/.435/.714 with five doubles, six home runs and 13 RBI in 69 plate appearances. His success at the dish continued in July, where he posted an .878 on-base plus slugging with eight extra-base hits in 60 triples to the plate.
In August, however, Pederson’s bat cooled off considerably. He recorded a mere two hits in 37 at-bats — a pair of doubles — and managed to draw just four walks during the month.
Pederson’s struggles played a role in the Dodgers acquiring Curtis Granderson from the New York Mets in a mid-August waiver deal. In the wake of the trade, Pederson was demoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he appeared in 17 games before rejoining to the big league squad in September.
“The league showed me a lot, the stuff I needed to work on,” Pederson said of being sent to the Minors. “So, yeah, it was very humbling, and I needed to go learn how to hit, basically. So I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but it’s encouraging to see some of the process and all the hard work turn into some results in the game.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently praised Pederson and believes time spent with Oklahoma City matured him as a baseball player.
