Zack Greinke matched Madison Bumgarner pitch for pitch and Rookie Joc Pederson hit a Bumgarner fastball in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead the Dodgers to a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants and a 5 1/2 game lead in the national League West. I am surprised that Pederson started against Bumgarner because of the agonizing slump he has been in but Mattingly's "hunch" paid off. That and the fact Kike Hernandez is hurt. The Dodgers much beleaguered bullpen shut the door, Luis Avialn finishing out the eighth inning on seven pitches and Kenley Jansen nailing down his 28th save.
Pederson had been in a 6 for 63 slump but he decided to employ one of the oldest hitting strategies of "see the ball. Hit the ball" and it paid off against one of the toughest left hands in the league. It was only the second homerun a left handed batter had hit off Bumgarner all season and only the fourth homerun Pederson has hit off a left hander.
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