Add ‘Joctober’ to the calendar

Later with October. I’m officially starting a petition to rename this month ‘Joctober’. Over the years, Joc Pederson has delivered in the postseason for the Dodgers. For his career, he’s hitting .265 with an OPS of .852 during the playoffs.

His most notable run came during the 2017 World Series, where he likely would have been World Series MVP had the Dodgers won. During those seven games, Pederson hit .333 with an OPS of 1.344, including three crucial homers.

It looks as if he’s adding another dominant run to his October resume, as he’s been one of LA’s best hitters this postseason. Pederson has made four starts and appeared in six games while hitting .467 (7-for-15) with an OPS of 1.167. His best came in Game 3 last night, as he finished the game with four hits, including a first-inning home run.

When asked postgame who looked the most locked in at the plate, Max Muncy said it was Pederson.

“Every single at bat he had, he grinded out pitches,” Muncy said. “He got the barrel to the ball. He had a big hit for us. To me, Joc was the most impressive tonight, that’s what he does in these situations.”

It was a rough 2020 season for Pederson, as he hit only .190 and had his worst season at the plate of his career. That obviously didn’t let it impact his play in October, as he has come up clutch on numerous occasions.

Pederson said postgame that he hasn’t changed anything with his swing compared to the regular season. He said he’s just working on staying in the zone and swinging at his pitches.

Although the Dodgers scored 11 runs in the first inning, it could have been an entire different ballgame had it not been for Pederson. He stepped up to the plate in the first inning with two outs and two runners on base. LA led 2-0. If Pederson gets out, the inning is over and the Braves’ deficit is only two runs.

Instead, Pederson hit a three-run home run to give the Dodgers a five-run cushion. As you know, the rally continued, and the club went on to score a record-breaking 11 runs in the top half of the first. If Atlanta had trailed by only two runs, the Dodgers could have been looking at a potential 3-0 series deficit.

“Joc is really staying in the strike zone,” Dave Roberts said following the game. “He’s using the big part of the field. Even left on left, he hits the ball hard up the middle. When a guy is going hard through the middle, they are seeing it very well. Joc is doing a fantastic job for us.”