Nobody seems to love interleague play more than Dustin Pedroia.
For the past three seasons, Pedroia has begun June mired in brutal batting slumps against familiar American League opponents. And like clockwork, the hits have arrived at the same time as the purportedly superior pitching of the National League.
Pedroia continued his mastery of the NL on Tuesday with two hits against the Diamondbacks. After going 8-for-50 from May 28 through June 9 while fighting through a knee injury, Pedroia entered last night 10-for-20 over five games.
“I thought I was messed up there for awhile,” Pedroia said Tuesday. “I was having trouble walking up stairs. That kind of worried me, but my legs are like three inches. That was part of the problem. I’m getting better. I’ll be fine.”
In 2008, Pedroia started June 3-for-31 before rediscovering his stroke during interleague — hitting .471 over the final 18 days of the month.
A year ago, the slump consisted of 6-for-43 (.140) through June 12 before Pedroia reasserted during interleague play.
The Sox host Arizona at 6:10 tonight (NESN).
