Seven Doubles Lead Dodgers Past Padres



You stay classy, San Diego.

Joc Pederson had a pair of RBI doubles and the Los Angeles Dodgers came from behind to avoid the sweep, 9-4, over the Padres in their last trip to San Diego of the season on Thursday. 

The Dodgers fell behind 2-0 in the fourth inning, but Pederson put the Dodgers on the board with his first of two doubles in the top of the fifth. 

“I’ve been able to stay on balls and drive them the other way,” Pederson said of his first double and the new face guard he’s been wearing against left-handers. “I like the direction I’m headed.”

After an RBI single for Justin Turner tied the game in the sixth, Pederson cleared the bases with a two-run double over the head of centerfielder Manuel Margot to give the Dodgers a 5-2 lead. 

“It was an encouraging at-bat,” Pederson said of the two-run double. “I was able to square some balls up. It was fun.”

Los Angeles would tack on two more runs in the top of the seventh after a Carlos Ruiz double down the left field line broke the game open.

After hitting just two doubles in the first two games of the series, the Dodgers won with extra base hits in the finale, stroking seven two-baggers to go with a triple by Rob Segedin, the first of his MLB career.

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“There was some good things tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the offense against a left-hander. “It was good to see JT [Justin Turner] swint the bat well, Yasiel break out and Joc against a left-hander. There was some good things, we’re trending in the right direction.”

The game marked the final start of the season for 20-year-old pitching wunderkind, Julio Urias. The young left-hander was impressive in his final tune-up before the postseason as he threw three scoreless innings. 

“The roster comes out at the end of the season, and i’m going to respect whatever decision they make,” Urias said of making the postseason roster. “Whether it’s starting or coming out of the bullpen, I’ll do whatever it takes to contribute to the team.”

Urias showed poise and patience on the mound as he allowed the leadoff runner to reach second base in both the first and second innings, but was able to wiggle out of the jam in both instances.

“If there’s one word to describe Julio, it’s ‘poise,'” Roberts said. “Regardless of the situation or environment, or having his ‘A’ stuff or not, he’s able to get Major League hitters out and there’s something to say for that.”

The Mexican pitcher struck out the side in the second and rang up two more in the third before he exited stage left after 58 pitches. He did not factor in the decision, allowing one hit with two walks and five strikeouts in his first start since Sept. 13. 

“My fastball wasn’t on target so I started throwing my slider more,” Uris said of the outing overall. “I was able to adjust a little bit as I went on with the game.”

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Urias ends the season with an overall record of 5-2, but is a perfect 4-0 over his last 10 seven starts since July 21, with a 1.99 ERA and 40 strikeouts. 

“It’s only my first year, but to be considered for the playoff roster is great,” Urias said looking back on the season. “I learned from every start, I learned about the league and every batter and I feel real comfortable now.”

Brett Anderson picked up the win, appearing briefly in relief, his first appearance out of the pen in almost three years to the date (Sept. 28, 2013).

“We wanted to get a different look from Brett and see him out of the pen, something he’s not accustomed to,” Roberts said. “For him to come in and throw three innings was a positive for him.”

Anderson allowed no runs on five hits in 2 and 1/3 innings with two strikeouts. 

Christian Friedrich (5-12) took the loss in his final start of the season for San Diego, allowing five runs on seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 5 and 2/3 innings of work.

Friedrich owns a paltry 1-6 record over his last ten starts, and will look to improve upon his first season with San Diego next spring. 

Los Angeles remains two games behind the Washington Nationals for home field advantage in the NLDS with just three games left to play on the season. 

Players of the Game:

Joc Pederson: 2-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs.
Justin Turner: 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and a run scored.
Rob Segedin: 2-for-3 with a double, triple and two runs scored. 

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Three Takeaways: 

1. The Red Headed Reliever: Dodgers starting pitcher, Brett Anderson, came out of the bullpen and pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief for the boys in blue. It was Anderson’s first relief appearance of any kind since Sept. 28, 2013.

2. RBI Kings: Justin Turner and Adrian Gonzalez lead the Los Angeles Dodgers in RBIs with 90 apiece.

3. Kid’s Table: Dodger rookies have a combined over 1300 plate appearances this season. That’s the most by any Dodger team since 2006 when Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, James Loney and Russell Martin were all rookies for the boys in blue.

Up Next:

Dodgers (91-68): Los Angeles heads to San Francisco on Thursday where Rich Hill heads the mound as the Dodgers look to knock the Giants out of playoff contention.

Padres (68-91): San Diego heads to Arizona for the final three games of the regular season.

Photo Credit: Denis Poroy/Getty Images

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