In three games when facing a left-handed starting pitcher this season, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has elected to sit Joc Pederson and other left-handed batters not named Adrian Gonzalez.
It’s a practice Pederson grew accustomed to last season, when he began to slump leading up the All-Star Game, and continued to scuffle throughout the second half. Kiké Hernandez eventually replaced the then-rookie on a full-time basis.
With the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants meeting in the rubber match of the three-game series at Dodger Stadium, Pederson was back in center field and batting eighth in Sunday night’s nationally televised game.
Kenta Maeda’s scoreless streak was snapped in the third inning on a Joe Panik solo home run with two strikes and two outs. The Giants’ 1-0 lead remained intact entering the bottom of the fifth as Jeff Samardzija had only given up two hits through four innings of work.
Yasmani Grandal drew a one-out walk and was standing on first base with two outs. With the count at 2-2, Samardzija missed his location and it resulted in Pederson crushing a go-ahead home run:
The home run was Pederson’s second of the season, with both coming in games against the Giants. He’s batting .257/.316/.514 with three doubles, the aforementioned two home runs and seven RBIs in 12 games (nine starts).
