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LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers recalled a pair of outfielders on Tuesday before the middle game of their series against the Diamondbacks, with Joc Pederson and Trayce Thompson joining the club one day after Triple-A Oklahoma City’s season ended.
Both have struggled mightily to varying degrees this season.
Pederson was optioned on Aug. 19 after a 2-for-41 stretch, then was 8-for-56 (.143) with a home run, a double, and five walks in Triple-A. That makes him 10-for-97 (.103) in the majors and minors combined dating back to July 29.
After getting optioned to Oklahoma City, Pederson started 10 games in left field and just twice in center field. In his MLB career, all 322 starts have been in center field. He has played five games and 18 total innings in right field, and two games and five innings in left in the majors, but only in reserve.
Thompson is just 5-for-43 (.116) with a home run, two doubles, and a triple in his 19 games in the majors this season, and also hit just .212/.269/.363 with nine home runs and 12 doubles in 95 games in Triple-A.
Dave Roberts on Pederson/Thompson: "They're both going to get opportunities at some point depending on the matchup."
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) September 5, 2017
Thompson wore No. 21 in his previous stints with the Dodgers, but with Yu Darvish now here Thompson is now No. 47.
Starting lineups
| Pos | D-backs | Pos | Dodgers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | D-backs | Pos | Dodgers |
| LF | Negron | SS | Taylor |
| C | Iannetta | RF | Granderson (L) |
| CF | Pollock | 3B | Turner |
| RF | Martinez | CF | Bellinger (L) |
| 2B | Drury | C | Grandal (S) |
| 1B | Descalso (L) | 1B | Gonzalez (L) |
| 3B | Rosales | LF | Ethier (L) |
| SS | Marte (S) | 2B | Forsythe |
| P | Greinke | P | Ryu |
The active roster now includes 38 players, and will be at the full 40 by the weekend when Walker Buehler (Wednesday) and Kyle Famer (Saturday) are added. The Dodgers will need to make a corresponding move to add Buehler to the 40-man roster, and the only transaction that won’t involve getting rid of someone from the active roster is calling up Julio Urias from Triple-A and placing him on the 60-day disabled list, earning him 24 more days of major league service time.
Center stage
Cody Bellinger gets the start in center field on Tuesday night for the Dodgers, his first start at the position in the majors.
Bellinger has played the position in 47 games and 363 innings in the minors, including 19 starts. He started twice in center field with Oklahoma City in April, and played the position for all of two innings during spring training with the Dodgers.
So far this season, Bellinger has started 36 times in left field and three games in right field in addition to 63 starts at first base.
Manning first base on Tuesday night for the Dodgers is Adrian Gonzalez, who is 5-for-16 (.313) with a home run, a double, and a walk against Zack Greinke.