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With the Dodgers playing the Padres, it gives us a chance to see Ryan Schimpf, who is one of the most unique players in baseball. So far in 2017, he has doubled down on his distinctness.
Starting lineups
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Padres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Padres |
| LF | Toles (L) | CF | Margot |
| SS | Seager (L) | LF | Spangenberg (L) |
| 3B | Turner | 1B | Myers |
| C | Grandal (S) | 2B | Solarte (S) |
| 1B | Bellinger (L) | 3B | Schimpf (L) |
| CF | Pederson (L) | C | Sanchez (S) |
| RF | Puig | RF | Renfroe |
| 2B | Utley (L) | SS | Aybar (S) |
| P | Maeda | P | Chacin |
Schmipf bats fifth on Friday, playing third base for the Padres.
In 2016, Schmipf had just 60 hits in 330 plate appearances, yet produced a 131 OPS+ in 89 games, hitting .217/.336/.533. Of those 60 hits, 20 were home runs and 42 were extra-base hits.
No other player has had 70% of their hits as extra-base hits in at least 200 plate appearances in a season. Barry Bonds came the closest, with 68.6% when he hit 73 home runs in 2001.
This season, Schimpf is just 12-for-84 (.143). But he’s also walked 20 times and driven in 14 runs in 27 games, hitting .143/.302/.405. Of his 12 hits, eight are for extra bases, including seven home runs. That’s 66.7% of his hits for extra bases.
Schmipf homered against Clayton Kershaw on opening day this season, and was 3-for-15 in that opening series at Dodger Stadium. Two of his four singles this season have been hit against the Dodgers.
Joc Pederson is back in the lineup for the Dodgers, batting sixth and playing center field in his first day back off the disabled list.
Cody Bellinger shifts to first base for the short term, with Adrian Gonzalez getting placed on the disabled list earlier on Friday. Bellinger bats fifth.