Pederson helps beat old team, DBacks down Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — Joc Pederson blasted a shot deep to right, flipped his bat and hollered into his dugout. His three-run homer had all but sealed what would become a 7-3 victory Tuesday night for the Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium, and it provided another obvious data point to illustrate the value Pederson has produced this season.
But Diamondbacks’ people are quick to point out the other ways Pederson has contributed during his first eight weeks with his new team.
“I think he’s just super comfortable with who he is as a player and knows how to get the most out of himself,” Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker said. “Honestly, I’m trying to learn from it.”
Pederson’s blast in the seventh turned a one-run game into a four-run Diamondbacks’ lead. On a night when righthander Brandon Pfaadt produced another impressive performance and Walker delivered another homer, the Diamondbacks were able to bounce back from a loss the night before and will have a chance to escape town with a series victory on Wednesday night.
For Pederson, it was a moment of triumph against the organization that drafted and developed him, the team with which he established himself as a major leaguer. He went through a little of everything during his time with the Dodgers; that experience seems to have made him a sort of touchstone member of the Diamondbacks’ clubhouse.
Walker said the Diamondbacks’ position players have benefitted from Pederson’s ability to know when take things seriously and when to laugh things off.
“I think he’s fit in great,” Walker said. “His kind of low-maintenance, fun, anything-can-happen kind of mentality is good for this clubhouse.”
Pederson has also struck a balance between being a student of the game but
not overworking. On Tuesday night, manager Torey Lovullo raved about the way Pederson prepared for a ninth-inning at-bat against Yohan Ramirez, a pitcher he had never faced.
“He’s a student of the game,” Lovullo said. “He sees repeated pitches, he logs the information, then goes out and executes. That’s contagious. People are watching him do his thing when he’s in the batter’s box. Then he comes into the dugout and has baseball conversations. That’s meaningful for a young team.”
Pederson is hitting .321 with a .989 OPS. He has six homers. He has been an indispensable weapon against righthanded pitching. But he went out of his way to say he has not figured things out, saying he just hopes some of his experiences in the game can help some of his younger teammates.
“I’ve been in a lot of different shoes in the big leagues,” he said. “You know, starter, bench player, sent down, All-Star. So I’ve seen the game through some different
lenses. I think it helps that I can relate to more people’s situations. But everyone prepares differently and it takes a while to understand what works for each individual. Everyone’s motor is different.”
Lovullo: Another change to pitching plans possible for DBacks
LOS ANGELES — The Diamondbacks apparently are planning to make another change to their starting pitching plans, and it might involve not giving the ball to right-hander Ryne Nelson in Wednesday night’s series finale.
“I’ll announce all that tomorrow,” Lovullo said when asked if the Diamondbacks had a roster move in the works. “We’ve got something coming.”
When asked if it involved Wednesday’s starter, he said, “Possibly, yes.”
He added, “I’ll let you guys know who we’re going to be starting tomorrow. It’ll be an opener if we do.”
Nelson has struggled in his past three starts, giving up 15 runs in his past 132⁄3 innings.
The Diamondbacks on Monday night opted to go with an opener in left-hander Joe Mantiply before turning to right-hander Slade Cecconi to cover the next five innings. Mantiply has pitched in three of the past four games, so he is not likely to start again.
Left-hander Tommy Henry, who has been in Triple-A Reno the past few weeks, last pitched on Friday, meaning Wednesday would be his regular day.
Prospect Deyvison De Los Santos moves to Triple-A
LOS ANGELES — The Diamondbacks promoted infielder Deyvison De Los Santos to Triple-A Reno, rewarding their slugging prospect after a blistering start to the season in Double-A Amarillo. In 148 at-bats with Amarillo, De Los Santos hit .372/.426/.696 with 14 homers, the most in all of minor league baseball.
De Los Santos, who was left unprotected by the Diamondbacks over the winter, was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Cleveland Guardians in December. De Los Santos struggled in big league camp, going just 10 for 44 (.227) with one homer, no walks and nine strikeouts. He did not make the Guardians roster and was returned to the Diamondbacks late in spring training.
By all accounts, he took the experience in stride and was happy to be back with the Diamondbacks.
“He’s dominated Double-A and it was time to challenge him at the next level,” Diamondbacks farm director Shaun Larkin said. “He’s improved in some of the offensive categories we challenged him with and he earned the promotion.”
Larkin said the Diamondbacks want to see him improve his overall game, including his defense and base running. Formerly a third baseman, De Los Santos has been working exclusively at first base this year.