31 Joc Pederson LF

Pederson is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

Cody Bellinger will man center field while Max Muncy starts at first base against right-hander Stephen Strasburg. We know Pederson is going to sit against lefties, and his playing time against right-handers may be more sporadic moving forward. Pederson is batting just .188/.291/.292 so far in May.

Pederson is out of the lineup Thursday against the Marlins, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

With the left-handed Caleb Smith on the bump for the Marlins, Pederson will bow out of the lineup and clear the way for Enrique Hernandez to man center field. Pederson and Hernandez are likely to work in a platoon going forward in light of Pederson's career-long woes against lefties. Over his 283 plate appearances versus southpaws across parts of five big-league seasons, Pederson has slashed .178/.270/.308 (60 wRC+) with a 31.4 percent strikeout rate.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the left-handed Wei-Yin Chen and the Marlins.

Pederson hasn't started against a single lefty this season, but he's gotten the nod against every righty since April 18. A strict platoon makes sense for the outfielder, as he's posted a 126 wRC+ against righties over the course of his career compared to just a 60 wRC+ against lefties. Enrique Hernandez will start in center field in his absence.

Pederson started in center field and batted second Thursday, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored in a loss to the Reds.

The Dodgers have been decimated by injuries in the early going, but even with Yasiel Puig returning to the lineup this week, Pederson continued his string of starts in center against right-handed starters. Manager Dave Roberts stated that Enrique Hernandez would take over center field duties, with Chris Taylor filling in for Corey Seager (elbow) at short, but his lineup cards over the past couple of weeks indicate that Pederson is on the strong side of a platoon. Seager has already been ruled out for the season, so this window of playing time could stay open for a lengthy period of time, making the 26-year-old a decent flier for power and counting stats.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Padres, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Pederson will remain on the bench for a second straight game with another left-hander taking the mound, this time in Joey Lucchesi. Tim Locastro will draw another start in center field in his stead.