Game 59: Howie Kendrick, cleanup hitter.

Howie Kendrick

Howie Kendrick hit a solo home run and drove in two more runs with a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ 3-1 win Tuesday. (Associated Press photo)


Funny thing about Howie Kendrick. He hits a ton of line drives and not a lot of home runs, yet he can thrive as a cleanup hitter in a lineup full of sluggers.

Kendrick batted cleanup Tuesday and drove in all three Dodgers runs. He batted cleanup 39 times last year for the Angels, a lineup featuring Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and six other guys who either matched or exceeded his home run total (7). When batting fourth for the 2014 Angels, Kendrick produced a .320/.366/.513 slash line — his best slash line at any spot in the order (he also hit first, fifth, sixth and seventh). So yeah, he’s done this before. Maybe we really shouldn’t be all that surprised when he does.

Before the game, I talked to Bob Baffert, who grew up a Dodgers fan in Arizona and now is the most famous horse trainer in the world.

The box score is here.

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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.