Joc Pederson heating up

Joc Pederson is picking things up after a rough start to his 2017 season, and now is a part of the Dodgers June power parade.

Pederson spent two stints on the disabled list in the first two months, one with a right groin strain and another with a concussion, missing a total of 28 games.

But there was also the matter of starting slow at the plate. Pederson was hitting .200/.309/.314 with two home runs in 35 games when he was on the DL a second time. It was such a concern that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wanted to make sure that Pederson worked on his swing while on his minor league rehab assignment.

Since Pederson was activated on June 13, he is 10-for-32 (.313) with three home runs, three doubles, and more walks (nine) than strikeouts (six).

Pederson might not start on Friday against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland, but that hardly matters. Pederson didn’t start on Thursday either, and still hit the go-ahead home run in the seventh inning.

Pitching matchup

The Dodgers have won Alex Wood‘s last seven starts. During that span he has a 1.71 ERA, with nine total runs allowed and seven walks, with 53 strikeouts in 42 innings.

The left-hander is coming off the longest outing of his career (well, tied), eight innings last Friday against the Reds. Wood face the Rockies once this season, striking out 10 in six scoreless innings at Coors Field on May 13.

Kyle Freeland allowed one run in both of his starts against the Dodgers. He pitched six innings in his major league debut on Apr. 7 for the win, then got a no-decision in Los Angeles with a four-inning start 11 days later.

The rookie left-hander has allowed eight total home runs in 14 starts, including more than one just once. He will try to keep in the park a Dodgers team that has hit multiple home runs in six straight games, and one that has 32 home runs in their last 11 games.

The Dodgers haven’t hit two home runs in seven straight games since July 19-25, 2001.

Game info

Time: 7:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA