DENVER — Joc Pederson is on a power surge unlike any produced by a rookie in Dodgers history.
The Los Angeles center fielder homered in a fifth consecutive game Wednesday, the longest streak by a rookie in franchise history.
Pederson hit his 17th home run of the year in the eighth inning, giving the Dodgers a 6-4 lead that vanished when the Colorado Rockies rallied for three runs in the ninth and a walk-off 7-6 win.
Pederson joined Seattle’s Nelson Cruz as the only players to hit home runs in five consecutive games this season.
The 23-year-old rookie is third Dodger in franchise history to homer in five games in a row in a single season. He joins Hall of Famer Roy Campanella (1950), Shawn Green (2001) and Matt Kemp (2010).
He went 2-for-3 with three runs Wednesday, reaching base in four of five plate appearances, as he walked and was hit with a pitch. Pederson finished the four-game series with the Rockies 6-for-17 with a triple, four homers and eight RBIs.
Overall this season, Pederson is hitting .267 with eight doubles, one triple, 32 RBIs and 34 runs. He has 35 walks and 64 strikeouts. Pederson has a .393 on-base percentage and a .606 slugging percentage. He is tied for second in the National League in homers. He ranks fourth in slugging percentage and ninth in on-base percentage.
Prior to Pederson, the last Dodger rookie to homer in four consecutive games was Bill Sudakis on Aug. 15-19, 1969.
Pederson, who also homered in four straight games this season from April 27-May 1, is just the second rookie in the modern era to post multiple four-game homer streaks, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He joins Minnesota’s Jimmie Hall, who accomplished the feat in 1963.