Joc Pederson, Dodgers continue to thrive in San Diego

Joc Pederson and the Dodgers continue to thrive in San Diego. Pederson cranked two home runs and drove in five to beat the Padres 7-6 on Wednesday night at Petco Park, securing yet another road series win for the Dodgers down south.

It’s the fifth consecutive series win for the Dodgers in San Diego. Since the start of the 2017 season, the Dodgers have won eight of their 10 series at Petco Park, winning 20 of 31 games.

Pederson how has eight career home runs at Petco Park, matching Coors Field for his most in any road stadium. Seven of those blasts are in his last eight games in San Diego, including another two-homer game last Sept. 25. Pederson also homered Monday in this series.

Here’s his second homer of the night Wednesday, a three-run shot in the sixth inning against Luis Patiño, one of the top prospects in baseball making his major league debut in relief.

Pederson posted the second multi-homer game by a Dodger this season, along with Max Muncy on July 24.

The home runs gave a nice cushion to Ross Stripling, who was scoreless through four innings but ran into some trouble. Fernando Tatis Jr. got him for a majestic two-run homer in the fifth inning, then a two-out double by Greg Garcia in the sixth plated two more runs.

Stripling struck out seven on the night to match his career high, including four strikeouts looking. He’s lasted at least into the sixth inning in all three starts, and with 18 total innings is one of only six major league pitchers in the early going to average six innings or more in at least three starts.

Kenley Jansen walked a tightrope act to get the save, but maybe it should have gone to Chris Taylor, who caught a ball by Manny Machado in left field, then threw out Trent Grisham at the plate for the final out of the game to secure the one-run win.

The final play of the game was scored 7-2, to secure a 7-2 road trip for the Dodgers.

Notes

• Wil Myers homered against Caleb Ferguson in the eighth inning, the first home run allowed by the Dodgers bullpen this season.
• Corey Seager singled and scored in four at-bats, extending his hitting streak to eight games.
• Kiké Hernández’s RBI double in the fifth inning was his first extra-base hit and first run batted in since homering on Opening Day.
• Mookie Betts, who didn’t start any of the three games in San Diego with a sore middle finger, played right field in the ninth inning on Wednesday, his second straight night as a late defensive replacement. The Dodgers hope he’s able to bat by Friday, their next game.

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Joc Pederson 2 (3); Fernando Tatis, Jr. (4), Wil Myers (4)

WP — Ross Stripling (3-0): 5⅔ IP, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts

LP — Garrett Richards (0-1): 5 IP, 5 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts

Sv — Kenley Jansen (4): 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Up next

The Dodgers return home for a weekend series against the Giants, but up first comes an off day Thursday, and trimming the roster from 30 to 28 players. Julio Urias starts Friday night (6:40 p.m. PT; SportsNet LA, MLB Network) for the Dodgers, followed by Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler to close out the series.