St. Louis seems like a fun place for Joc Pederson to make his major league debut.
LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers head into Friday night's game against the Padres, the second of a four-game series, with no Hanley Ramirez and no Andre Ethier in the starting lineup.
Ramirez sitting was expected, as the shortstop received another cortisone injection in his sore right shoulder after Thursday's game, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, a move that could keep Ramirez sidelined all weekend against San Diego.
Ethier sitting is a little less expected, in that there is no real discernible pattern in center field other than Ethier isn't playing the position for a second straight day. Ethier is 0-for-10 in his last three games, but that followed a stretch of 10-for-24 (.417) with five extra-base hits in his previous seven games. This is the first time Ethier has sat in consecutive games against right-handed pitchers since May 20-21, when all five outfielders were healthy.
Scott Van Slyke gets the start in center field, his fourth start at the position in the last seven games and 13th overall this season. This is his fourth start in the Dodgers' last six games against right-handed pitching, including a start in left field and one in right field as well.
Seth Smith gets the start in right field, leading off for the Padres. He is 12-for-42 (.286) with three home runs and four doubles against Dan Haren, including a pair of home runs in San Diego on June 20, prompting a classic quote from Haren.
"With all due respect, it's Seth Smith," Haren said after the game. "It's not Babe Ruth, but he was pretty much Babe Ruth tonight."
Smith this season against the Dodgers is 6-for-13 (.462) with four home runs, a double and four walks.