Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Tag: Joc Pederson (Page 5 of 11)

The mindblowing Corey Seager sets Los Angeles Dodger on-base record

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By Jon Weisman

Corey Seager walked, singled twice, hit his fifth double and his first Major League home run in tonight’s 9-5 Dodger victory, extending his streak of consecutive plate appearances on base to nine — a Los Angeles Dodger rookie record.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Seager has surpassed Pedro Guerrero (1980) and Jerry Sands (2011), who each reached base in eight consecutive trips as rookies.

Seager’s homer in the fifth was one of four in the game by the Dodgers, who burst out to a 7-0 lead by the third inning and maintained their 7 1/2-game lead over the Giants in the National League West. The 21-year-old, who drove in runs in his first three at-bats tonight, has an astonishing .568 on-base percentage and .733 slugging percentage in his first 37 MLB plate appearances.

Joc Pederson went 3 for 5 with his 25th homer of the season, tying him with Del Bissonette (1928) and Joe Ferguson (1973) for second in Dodger history for homers by a rookie behind Mike Piazza, who had 33 in 1993. (I’m not convinced Ferguson was a rookie in 1973, but according to Baseball-Reference.com he was.)

It wasn’t a free night of bliss for the Dodgers, who saw Carl Crawford become the latest to leave a game with hamstring issues. He is listed as day to day. Crawford hit a leadoff homer for the Dodgers — their third in their last four games, and fourth straight game with a homer from their leadoff batter.

Corey Seager’s first two hits

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Corey Seager not only doubled in his second big-league at-bat tonight, scoring on a Joc Pederson single, but Seager also singled in the tying and go-ahead runs for the Dodgers in his third at-bat — getting the green light on a 3-0 pitch.

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I am older than Corey Seager and Joc Pederson combined. That is all.

— Jon Weisman

Update: After the Dodgers rallied from a 4-0 deficit to take a 7-5 lead, a controversial call seemed to open the door for the Padres to rally back, which they did, for a 10-7 win — the most runs ever allowed by the Dodgers at Petco Park. With San Francisco losing to Colorado, the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West remained 6 1/2 games.

Joc Pederson’s homer off Bumgarner a reward for hard work

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By Jon Weisman

No, it hasn’t been an easy time for Joc Pederson, and no, he probably wouldn’t have started Tuesday against Madison Bumgarner if Kiké Hernandez and/or Yasiel Puig had been healthy.

But Pederson has been putting in the effort toward a difficult midseason adjustment, and tonight he saw some payoff, making solid contact in all three at-bats against Bumgarner …

… culminating in his huge seventh-inning home run, punctuated by a sprint around the bases.

JPed“I thought he had good swings all night tonight,” Don Mattingly said. “Hopefully this continues to build. … He’s tried to make some changes. We’ve talked about how hard that is during the season. You’ve just got to stay with it and keep going. That has to be a confidence booster for him off Madison — obviously a tough, tough matchup.

“You feel good when you see success with a guy that’s been struggling, especially when a guy’s been working on something. When that starts to take hold, when you have a little success, it breeds confidence in what you’re doing. I think the fact that he’s starting to see some results, … that has a chance to put a true belief in what he’s doing.”

Update: Pederson spoke to Steve Bourbon of MLB.com about his progress. An excerpt:

“I’m just trying to have some more rhythm and stay calm. Just nice and relaxed. See the ball and hit the ball. It sounds so simple but it’s not,” Pederson said. “The adjustment this offseason was to make the barrel more upright to be consistent. At the start of the year it was good. But you lose things, go down some wrong roads, struggle a bit and you adjust. Like I said, it’s a learning process.”

Update: Hernandez to DL, Barnes activated, Bolsinger, Thomas, Peralta to join roster Tuesday

Austin Barnes (Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Austin Barnes (Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Giants at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Chase Utley, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Justin Turner, 3B
Andre Ethier, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Joc Pederson, CF
Brett Anderson, P

By Jon Weisman

Austin Barnes, Mike Bolsinger, Ian Thomas and Joel Peralta are set to be the first additions the Dodgers make Tuesday when the active roster limit expands to 40 players, Don Mattingly confirmed to reporters today.

Barnes today was named to the all-Pacific Coast League team at catcher, honoring a season in which he has a .389 on-base percentage and .479 slugging percentage for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Barnes has nine homers, 12 steals (in 14 attempts), 35 walks and 36 strikeouts. As a Dodger this year, he is 4 for 15 with two walks.

Bolsinger is coming off seven innings of shutout ball with 11 strikeouts Saturday against El Paso. In 46 2/3 innings with Oklahoma City this season, he has a 2.31 ERA with 61 strikeouts, complimenting his 2.83 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 89 innings for the Dodgers.

Thomas finishes his minor-league season with a 4.19 ERA for three different teams, with 58 strikeouts in 58 innings. In the Majors this year, his ERA is 4.11 with Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Peralta, who went on the disabled list with a right neck strain August 11 for the second time this year, made three rehab appearances in the past week for Double-A Tulsa, retiring all nine batters he faced. He has a 5.40 ERA in 25 innings this season for the Dodgers.

Julio Urias, Corey Seager and Jharel Cotton, who are all in Triple-A tonight, will not join the Dodgers on Tuesday, and no statement has been made about if/when they might be added to the 40-man roster.

Update: Kiké Hernandez has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring, joining Howie Kendrick and Yasiel Puig. Barnes has been activated to take his roster spot.

Dodgers hope everything’s jake against Arrieta

Chicago Cubs vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Cubs at Dodgers, 5:08 p.m.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Chase Utley, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Joc Pederson, CF
Kiké Hernandez, 3B
Alex Wood, P

By Jon Weisman

Jake Arrieta might be the top National League Cy Young Award contender outside of Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw. But if the Dodgers can top him tonight, they’ll have a 4 1/2-game lead in the NL West, which would be their biggest since July 12.

San Francisco, which lost to St. Louis today for the second consecutive time this weekend, arrives in Los Angeles on Monday for a highly anticipated three-game series.

Arrieta has a 2.22 ERA, putting him in second place in the NL between Greinke (1.61) and Kershaw (2.24). The 29-year-old righty is fourth in the NL in wins above replacement (4.9), behind Kershaw (6.6), Greinke (5.1) and the slumping Max Scherzer (4.9). In xFIP, Arrieta is in second place behind Kershaw.

Like Kershaw, Arrieta has heated up with the heat. He has a 1.17 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 92 innings since June 21, and in fact, enters tonight’s game as the frontrunner for NL Pitcher of the Month honors (33 1/3 innings, two earned runs, 0.54 ERA, 31 strikeouts).

The Dodgers counter with Alex Wood, who has allowed 27 hits with 14 walks in 29 innings as a Dodger. Wood allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings in his last start.

A win tonight would also tie the Dodgers with the Cubs for the third-best record in the NL: 73-56.

* * *

Kiké Hernandez is getting his first official start for the Dodgers at third base tonight. Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. beat me to the punch on this, so I’ll just crib from him: Hernandez is the first Dodger to start at second, short, third and all three outfield positions in the same year since Bobby Valentine in 1972.

Hernandez’s experience at third has been limited to 14 2/3 Major League innings and 25 minor-league games, but he has taken grounders there during the season and played there in winter ball, according to Don Mattingly.

Since July 24, Hernandez has a .397 batting average, .443 on-base percentage and .589 slugging percentage.

Hernandez will be batting behind Joc Pederson, whom as ESPN’s Buster Olney pointed out, is on the verge of a unique month in baseball history. No player with at least 20 walks in any calendar month has had fewer than the seven hits by Roger Maris in August 1959, but with two games to go in August 2015, Pederson is at 21 walks and five hits.

Maris went 7 for 79 with 20 walks in August 1959, at age 24. That winter, he would be traded to the Yankees, for whom he would win American League Most Valuable Player awards in 1960 and 1961, hitting 100 home runs.

Inside the Dodger offense, good and bad

Washington Nationals vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Why does the Dodger offense, talented as it is, seem to be underperforming? Jeff Sullivan offers a sound analysis at Fox Sports’ Just a Bit Outside. The conclusion might seem mundane unless you go through his process, so I recommend you read the entire story.

Update: Cincinnati slugger Joey Votto has given some words of encouragement to Dodger rookie Joc Pederson when the two have met at first base, writes Pedro Moura in this nice piece for the Register.

— Jon Weisman

 

Hernandez getting more playing time in center over Pederson

https://twitter.com/kikehndez/status/634472849575555072

Dodgers at Astros, 11:10 a.m.
Kershaw CCXXXIV: Kershaw Little Romance
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Chase Utley, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, RF
Carl Crawford, DH
A.J. Ellis, C
Kiké Hernandez, CF
(Clayton Kershaw, P)

By Jon Weisman

Kiké Hernandez is looking like the Dodgers’ starting center fielder for the time being, supplanting Joc Pederson today even with a right-hander, Lance McCullers, on the mound for Houston.

Don Mattingly told reporters today that Pederson “is going to be a good player for a long time,” praising his work ethic and willingness to make adjustments, but feels Hernandez is swinging the bat better now and doesn’t cost them significantly on defense.

Pederson has started 110 of the Dodgers’ 122 games this season, and this is the second time all year he has begun the game on the bench two games in a row. Pederson didn’t start July 31-August 1 against the Angels, in a weekend that was overtly designated for him to regroup, but those games were against lefties.

The 23-year-old actually has a .413 on-base percentage this month, thanks to 20 walks, but it has been dragged down by a .122 batting average (.130 on balls in play). He has two singles, a double and two homers in 41 at-bats.

With five walks in the Dodgers’ four games this past week, Pederson has reached base as much as any other Dodger despite going 0 for 7. In his only game, A.J. Ellis homered and had four walks.

Pederson pinch-hit in the ninth inning of Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Astros and hit a 105 mph lineout to center field.

This is Hernandez’s 12th consecutive start for the Dodgers (three in center field, eight at second base and one at shortstop). He has a .349 on-base percentage and .425 slugging percentage in that time, with a .379 batting average on balls in play, though he is 0 for 5 in the Houston series.

Hernandez has a .624 OPS against righties in 106 plate appearances this season, after a .796 OPS in 99 plate appearances against righties last season.

Chase Utley, whose arrival Friday is one of the dominoes contributing to Pederson’s current status, went 0 for 4 Friday but looked fit Saturday, with a double and good athleticism on defense and running the bases.

Live-blog: Farhan Zaidi speaks about Chase Utley trade and state of the Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

In the wake of tonight’s acquisition of Chase Utley, Dodger general manager Farhan Zaidi spoke on a conference call with reporters. Here are some selected quotes …

Read More

Joc Pederson fulfills the prophecy

Dodgers at A’s, 7:05 p.m.
Kershaw CCXXXIII: Kershaw Me a Hero
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Kiké Hernandez, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Alex Guerrero, DH
A.J. Ellis, C
Joc Pederson, CF
(Clayton Kershaw, P)

By Jon Weisman

It took a bit less than five months for my Spring Training prediction to come true.

With the Dodgers using the designated hitter tonight at Oakland, Joc Pederson is batting ninth — the seventh different batting slot he has started at in 2015.

Chronologically, here’s when he’s made his first appearance at each …

  • 1 – April 29
  • 2 – June 19
  • 3 –
  • 4 –
  • 5 – July 12
  • 6 – July 8
  • 7 – April 6
  • 8 – April 7
  • 9 – August 18

The chances of Pederson batting third or fourth this year seem pretty slim as long as Adrian Gonzalez is playing, because Gonzalez bats nowhere but third and fourth, and Don Mattingly isn’t likely to bat lefties Pederson and Gonzalez back-to-back, even once Pederson regains his form from earlier this year. However, it’s certainly possible, especially if the Dodgers were to clinch a division title before the end of the season.

In case I missed it: Notes from a three-game winning streak

Jill Weisleder/LA Dodgers

Jill Weisleder/LA Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

LOS ANGELES DODGERS V CINCINNATI REDSWell, that worked. Three games away, three victories in the books. And a nice opportunity to celebrate them, with an off day today and Clayton Kershaw on the mound at Oakland on Tuesday.

Let me take this opportunity to tie a bunch of loose ends together …

  • With 13 innings of one-run ball last week (14 baserunners, 14 strikeouts), Zack Greinke managed to reassert control in the National League Cy Young Award race, even as Kershaw threw eight shutout innings of his own.
  • Could Greinke, whose adjusted ERA (in an MLB-leading 165 1/3 innings) is the best in baseball since Pedro Martinez in 2000, follow Kershaw as a Most Valuable Player? The award remains Bryce Harper’s to lose, and though the Nationals have slumped terribly, Harper (.415 on-base percentage in August) isn’t to blame. I don’t believe that MVP contention should be tied to a team’s record, but for those voters who do, Greinke’s top competition if the Nationals disappear would probably be San Francisco’s Buster Posey.
  • Would most people be surprised to find that the Dodgers are on pace for a record number of home victories? Los Angeles is playing .677 ball at Dodger Stadium, which would yield a 55-26 home record if that plays out over their final 19 games here. That would match the 1980 Dodgers in victories, but that team unfortunately lost home game No. 82, the one-game NL West playoff against the Astros.
  • Looking for the next test? The Dodgers’ next two home series will be against NL playoff contenders Chicago (August 28-30) and San Francisco (August 31-September 2). The Dodgers have lost three home series all season, to the Cardinals, Giants and Mets.
  • Since sitting out two of the three games against the Angels, Joc Pederson is hitting .167/.447/.400. In 47 plate appearances, he has two singles, a double, two homers, a hit-by-pitch, a sacrifice fly and 15 walks. There are worse things in the world from a No. 8 hitter than that, plus great defensive range.
  • Yasiel Puig’s 10th homer of the year Saturday gave the Dodgers eight players with double-digit homers, their most since a team-record nine players in 2004. The Dodgers will need one more homer from Howie Kendrick when he comes off the disabled list to tie the record, but what about breaking it? Four more homers from Kiké Hernandez in the final 44 games of the season no longer seems like crazy talk.
  • Carl Crawford’s OBP in August as a Dodger: .353 in 2013, .360 in 2014, .538 in 2015 (27 plate appearances).
  • Dad-for-the-second-time Kenley Jansen’s four-out save Sunday was his first of 2015 and eighth of his career. He has never had a longer outing for a save. But in 34 outings of more than one inning in his career, Jansen’s ERA is 0.50 with 23 hits, 18 walks and 80 strikeouts in 54 innings.
  • Jansen has entered 29 games with a lead this year, and the Dodgers have won them all. After his only blown save of 2015, when Arizona’s A.J. Pollock hit a ninth-inning solo homer June 10, Kendrick had a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth.

Juan Nicasio placed on disabled list, Chris Hatcher activated

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Reds at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Kiké Hernandez, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Joc Pederson, CF
Alex Wood, P

By Jon Weisman

Juan Nicasio has been placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 10) with a left abdominal strain by the Dodgers, who have activated Chris Hatcher from the 60-day DL.

Carlos Frias, out since July 1, has been moved to the 60-day disabled list.

Nicasio has allowed 62 baserunners in 47 innings this season while striking out 52. Since allowing three runs on July 5 and again on July 7, the right-hander, who turns 29 at the end of the month, has allowed two runs in 11 innings (with 13 strikeouts) and stranded all three inherited runners.

Hatcher has allowed 31 baserunners in his 18 1/3 Dodger innings with 19 strikeouts.

Some other quick notes …

  • Yasmani Grandal has been nursing a sore left (non-throwing) shoulder, but is back in the lineup tonight. Justin Turner also makes his first start since returning from the disabled list.
  • Joc Pederson on Thursday hit his second homer since July 1. Mike Petriello looked at Pederson’s contact rates for MLB.com.
  • Mat Latos spoke about his own struggles Thursday after a second consecutive subpar start. From Bill Plunkett of the Register:

    “I just need to get back to pitching like me instead of trying to fool everybody, throw too many breaking pitches and so on and so forth,” Latos said. “Go look back at video and try to make some adjustments on how I used to pitch when I was getting outs.”

    Latos could not say when that drift occurred and whether the change was in response to a gameplan devised by his new team, saying only that it has been “kind of like spring training all over again, trying to get used to a new team, get used to a new catcher.”

    “I honestly can’t tell you,” he said. “I need to go back and look a couple years back when I was more fastball dominant, throwing more fastballs, locating better. I’ve gotten away from that and started throwing much more off-speed.

The next two days at Dodger Insider will be relatively quiet because of family events. Will catch up with you soon …

Pederson walking it back, Hernandez backing it up

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Dodgers at Pirates, 5:08 p.m.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Carl Crawford, LF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Joc Pederson, CF
Alex Wood, P

By Jon Weisman

Since taking two days off to regroup during last weekend’s series against the Angels, and then returning in the bottom third of the batting order, rookie outfielder Joc Pederson has seen some progress.

Pederson has resembled the player he was in April, when he was bringing solid defense and walking all the time but hitting one home run in his first 11 games. This past week, Pederson has two singles, a double and eight walks in 23 plate appearances with five strikeouts, so while the slugging percentage is languishing at .267, the on-base percentage is at .478.

In July, Pederson walked four times the entire month, struck out 31 times and slugged .258.

Kiké Hernandez has cushioned the effect of Pederson’s post-July struggles, with a .421 OBP and .606 slugging since July 1.

The Dodgers are still a few days away from activating third baseman Justin Turner, Don Mattingly told reporters.

Pitch imperfect a sour note for Dodgers

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By Jon Weisman

Alex Wood had a solid Dodger debut for six innings, with eight strikeouts (tying a season high), no walks and one run allowed, when things went in the wrong direction — figuratively with a single by Carlos Ruiz (followed by an intentional walk to Cesar Hernandez), then literally with a still-not-sure-how-that-happened, slipped-pitch balk.

As it turned out, the balk actually had no direct effect on the game’s outcome, but the Dodgers never rediscovered their magnetic north.

Wood left the game after another walk, and reliever Joel Peralta served up a grand slam to Maikel Franco that lifted the Phillies to a 6-2 victory over the Dodgers.

Los Angeles relievers have allowed runs in five straight games and eight of their past nine, though this was only the second of those nine games that led directly to a loss.

Offensively, the Dodgers had 16 baserunners in the game, but it was one of those nights when they couldn’t cash them in. Los Angeles is third in the National League this season in OPS with men on and with runners in scoring position.

Besides Wood’s first six innings, silver linings for the Dodgers included Joc Pederson’s three walks (his first of any kind since July 18) and Jimmy Rollins’ two hits, maintaining his on-base percentage in his past 10 games at .400.

Rollins also received a lovely bit of brotherly love while stepping in for his first at-bat as a visiting player in Philadelphia after 14 seasons there.

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Greinke faces Trout again, as Kershaw rests one more day

Angels at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Alex Guerrero, 3B
Kiké Hernandez, CF
Zack Greinke, P

By Jon Weisman

After delaying his scheduled Wednesday start because of a sore hip, Clayton Kershaw threw a bullpen session Thursday and was pronounced fit.

But with the luxury of having Zack Greinke available on four days’ rest tonight, the Dodgers are giving Kershaw one more day of rest before bringing him back the mound Saturday.

Greinke will be starting for the first time since Sunday, when his 45 2/3-inning scoreless streak ended. The third batter he faces will be Angels star Mike Trout, who himself missed time this week with a sore wrist. The two faced each other July 14 in the first inning of the All-Star Game, when Trout hit a leadoff home run.

Kershaw and Greinke have a chance, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, to become the teammates with the lowest ERA in a calendar month ever. The record is 0.49 by Orel Hershiser and Tim Belcher in (surprise) September 1988. Greinke basically needs to pitch shutout ball, because even if he allows only one run in a complete game, the duo’s ERA would rise to 0.50.

Kershaw Greinke through July 30

Southern California’s other 23-year-old center fielder, Joc Pederson, is resting tonight, and Don Mattingly said that Pederson might sit out one or two more games this weekend to get him some rest and allow him to regroup mentally from a July in which he has had a .488 OPS. Mattingly made clear that it was not a punitive benching.

Kershaw start delayed until Friday — Bolsinger to start tonight

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Atlanta Braves

A’s at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Andre Ethier, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Joc Pederson, CF
Alex Guerrero, 3B
Mike Bolsinger, P

By Jon Weisman

Clayton Kershaw’s scheduled start tonight has been moved to Friday by the Dodgers, amid reports of a sore left hip or glute muscle.

Mike Bolsinger, who threw seven innings and allowed no earned runs seven days ago in Atlanta, will start in Kershaw’s place. Bolsinger has a 2.79 ERA this season — 1.59 in his past three starts.

Kershaw will bring his 29-inning scoreless inning streak up against the Angels on Friday.

Justin Turner, who is suffering from a leg infection, remains sidelined. Alex Guerrero is scheduled to make his first start at third base since May 19.

Joc Pederson is batting seventh, his lowest spot in the order since July 5. Pederson has a .239 on-base percentage and .271 slugging percentage in July, with one homer and four walks against 28 strikeouts.

“He’s working on different things,” Don Mattingly said after Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to Oakland, according to Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. “It’s not like he’s just going up there, I know it looks like he’s swinging for the fences all the time. That’s not what he’s trying to do. … He’s trying to get inside the ball a little bit using his bottom hand. He’s frustrated.

“At some point Joc’s going to get that front side thing, and he’s going to be a monster. He’s going to be tough to get out.”

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