“Rhythm, flow, plays a huge role in being consistent, effortless, not overthinking,” said Pederson. “It’s good when you get into the game flow. [Not starting is] tough, it’s something I have to work on. Obviously, we’ve had some long runs of [opposing left-handed starters], and if I have a good game and I don’t play a few days and it’s tough to pick up where you left off, you’re out of rhythm. It’s a mental grind and you’ve got to stick with it. Still working on it so the carryover is not as long in between.”<doc-sep>The Nats' Brian Dozier, playing deep, steals a hit from his former teammate Joc Pederson and gets flipped off for it. #CONSUME_BASEBALL pic.twitter.com/PKIYjiQAMx — Baseball in Stereo (@BaseballStereo) May 11, 2019 Joc Pederson had quite a night Friday against the Washington Nationals. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder hit two home runs and would have had a third base knock if not for a fantastic diving play from ex-teammate Brian Dozier. After Dozier robbed Pederson of what looked to be a sure hit during the third inning, the Dodgers slugger flipped him the bird as he ran through first base. All Dozier could do was respond with a chuckle.<doc-sep>For Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson, hits have been hard to come by this season. That is, unless he hits the ball over the fence. It’s no wonder then that when Washington Nationals second baseman Brian Dozier sprawled out to rob him of a sure single on Friday night, Pederson was quick to express his displeasure in the form of a hand gesture. That’s right, Pederson shamelessly flipped the bird at Dozier as he watched the baseball get vacuumed up and thrown to first base for the out. The gesture had fans rewinding and slo-moing ad nauseam. That was, until they realized SportsNet Los Angeles had done the work for them. You can see clear evidence of the gesture here. Will Joc Pederson be punished? The intent here was clearly harmless. Dozier, who finished last season as a Dodger, was engaged in a friendly rivalry with Pederson throughout the game. Pederson’s gesture was a playful retort, not a malicious one. Yet it’s still something Major League Baseball will frown on. As you’ll recall, Yasiel Puig, then of the Dodgers, received a one-game suspension for giving the double-bird to a fan in Cleveland back in 2017. The circumstances are vastly different. It seems more likely and more appropriate that Pederson would only get a stern talking to here, but you never know what message the league might want to send. Joc Pederson gets last laugh Robbery aside, this game belonged to Pederson and the Dodgers. LA’s leadoff man sandwiched a pair of solo home runs around the webgem to fuel a 5-0 win and bring his season total to 12. Pederson only has 25 hits overall and a .229 batting average this season. But with nearly half of his hits leaving the ballpark, the Dodgers aren’t going to complain too much. More from Yahoo Sports:<doc-sep>The night’s first batter spelled trouble for Kenta Maeda. In a vacuum, issuing a full-count walk to Adam Eaton to begin Friday’s game at Dodger Stadium on Friday was minor. But these games aren’t played in vacuums and recent history — the command problems hindering Maeda this young season — suggested difficulties loomed. It was another walk, another leadoff man on base, another self-created obstacle to overcome. And it was merely a blip. Maeda shifted gears from there, retiring 18 of the final 20 Washington Nationals he faced in the Dodgers’ 5-0 victory. The right-hander surrendered one hit — a leadoff single to Wilmer Difo in the third inning — over six innings. He walked two while striking out six. “He was just in complete control,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Advertisement It was the best of Maeda’s eight outings so far in an uneven 2019. He entered the night having walked 18 batters in his initial 382/3 innings. Last season, he walked 43 batters in 1251/3 innings. He walked 2.6 batters per nine innings over his first three years in Los Angeles. Before Friday, that number was up to 4.2 in 2019. The troubles resulted in inconsistency. He oscillated between good and poor outings over his first seven turns. Maeda explained Friday’s performance was a carryover from the final two innings in his previous start Sunday against the San Diego Padres. He said he discovered his slider in those two frames. On Friday, he threw 33 sliders. Seven were called strikes. Six induced swing-and-misses. Six were fouled off. Four were put in play. The only hit he gave up came on a changeup. “I was able to keep the good flow going,” Maeda said through an interpreter. Julio Urias partnered with him to keep the Nationals without a run. The left-hander completed three scoreless innings for his second save this week with some help from Max Muncy at third base. Sign up for our Dodgers newsletter » With bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning, Anthony Rendon scorched a ground ball to Muncy’s right. Muncy, never mistaken for an elite defender, snagged it with a dive and beat Difo to third base with another dive to end the inning, robbing Rendon of extra bases and the Nationals of at least two runs. It was the most recent of a few stellar defensive plays at different positions for Muncy this week. Roberts suggested he would’ve inserted Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning to close the game. Muncy’s effort saved some mileage on Jansen’s arm. Advertisement “That could’ve been a different game,” Roberts said. Shortstop Corey Seager was initially in the Dodgers’ starting lineup, batting fifth, but the club announced he was scratched at 6:45 p.m. Chris Taylor moved from second base to shortstop and Enrique Hernandez was inserted at second base. After the game, Roberts said Seager was scratched because a personal matter surfaced. He was in the dugout by the middle of the game. With Seager in the lineup Thursday, the Dodgers (26-15) suffered their third shutout and first at home when Patrick Corbin, a familiar nemesis, muzzled them again. They wasted no time scoring 24 hours later. Joc Pederson smacked a leadoff home run off right-hander Anibal Sanchez — his third leadoff homer this season and 14th of his career, tying him for second in franchise history. It was Pederson’s first home run he clubbed two on his birthday April 21. He added a 113.7-mph missile into the visitors’ bullpen in the fifth inning for his 12th home run this season — two more than his singles total. Advertisement “I think I have an overly aggressive swing,” Pederson said. “I definitely try to hit the ball really hard because I think good things happen when you hit the ball hard.” Sanchez was chased with two outs in the inning. Two frames later, David Freese feasted on the Nationals’ leaky bullpen and supplied some insurance with an opposite-field, two-run home run. Maeda, meanwhile, had baffled the Nationals. He needed only 86 pitches in six innings to carve up the overmatched lineup. He struck out Rendon with his final pitch before passing the baton to Urias. Maeda said he could’ve pitched more. He was ready for the seventh inning. There was more in the tank. But Roberts told him to stand down and had a pinch-hitter take his at-bat. His successful night was over. Advertisement jorge.castillo@latimes.com Twitter: @jorgecastillo<doc-sep>
Manager Dave Roberts found the statistic difficult to believe after the Dodgers’ 5-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Friday: Joc Pederson has more home runs than singles this season. “He’s done a job of getting the ball in the air,” Roberts noted matter-of-factly. Entering Saturday, Pederson had 25 hits. Twelve were home runs. Ten were singles. He was batting .229 with a .606 slugging percentage — an unusually large gap between the numbers. His home-run-to-fly-ball ratio was the third highest in baseball at 34.3 percent. Only Joey Gallo, a notorious true-outcome machine, and Christian Yelich, the reigning National League MVP, had higher percentages. On Friday, Pederson hit his third leadoff home run this season and 14th of his career, tying Rafael Furcal for the second most in Dodgers history. He’s halfway to Davey Lopes’ record of 28. He added another home run, a rocket into the visitors’ bullpen, in the fifth inning. They were his first home runs since he belted two on his birthday, April 21, against Milwaukee. Pederson maintained he doesn’t step into the batter’s box trying to hit a home run. He said that strategy doesn’t work; he admitted trying to in his final at-bat in the eighth inning Friday and grounding out. But his swing, which he described as “overly aggressive,” is designed to drive balls in the air. It’s a trend sweeping baseball. Pederson succeeds more than most. “The goal is to hit the ball hard on the barrel as much as possible,” Pederson said. Friday’s performance snapped a rough patch for Pederson, a stretch made more difficult by the inconsistent playing time he’s limited to as part of a platoon in left field. Pederson had started seven of the Dodgers’ 16 games after his birthday bash in Milwaukee and appeared in five others as the Dodgers confronted a flood of left-handed starting pitchers. In those 12 games, he went three for 30 with two walks, 11 strikeouts and a triple. Pederson acknowledged his role — starting only against right-handed pitchers — is challenging. “We’ve had some long runs of lefties this year where I come back after I had a really good game the night before and then I don’t play for a few days,” Pederson said. “It’s tough to pick up where you left off and that’s what you want to do. It’s a mental kind of game and you got to just stick with it.” He was back in the lineup Saturday against Max Scherzer and went 0 for 3. He will be in there again Sunday when the Dodgers face Stephen Strasburg. They are his first starts on consecutive days since April 28 and 29. It’ll be a chance to maintain his form. “Rhythm, flow, I think plays a huge role in to being consistent and effortless; not overthinking,” Pederson said. “So it’s really good to get in there and get in the game, just to ride out pitches. I think it makes it more comfortable.” Sign up for our Dodgers newsletter » Short hops Caleb Ferguson will make his second rehab appearance for triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday. The left-hander tossed a scoreless inning for single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday, striking out two and walking one. He was put on the injured list with a strained oblique April 28. ...Tony Cingrani, the Dodgers’ other left-handed reliever on a rehab assignment, will remain with Oklahoma City until he pitches in back-to-back games and logs more than an inning in an outing, Roberts said. Cingrani has appeared in three rehab outings, one for Rancho Cucamonga and two for Oklahoma City. He’s tossed three scoreless innings. jorge.castillo@latimes.com Twitter: @jorgecastillo