Over the past year, much has been made about the fact that Dodgers utility outfielder / first baseman Scott Van Slyke punishes left-handers – something that Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is well aware of.

“He’s here really to punish left-handers,” Mattingly told reporters last May. “Right now, that’s what he’s doing. That’s his job really, is to hit left-handed pitching.”

But prior to Friday night’s exciting 8-0 shutout over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Mattingly told reporters that with the injury to Dodgers regular left fielder Carl Crawford, he was going to try to get Van Slyke more at-bats against right-handers.

“Without Carl it leaves me with a right-hander against righties,” Mattingly said. “We’re going to try to do the best that we can with matching Scott up. He’s shown that he can hit righties but there are certain righties that he’s had more trouble with. We’re just going to do the best we can with matching [Van Slyke and Alex Guerrero] up with the best for them.”

On Friday night with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, that “best” match-up came. Mattingly brought in Van Slyke to pinch hit for Dodgers reliever Sergio Santos. And while the 50,164 in attendance at Dodger Stadium were still buzzing over Joc Pederson’s grand slam in the second inning – the first Dodger grand slam since June 6, 2013 – and Justin Turner’s and Andre Ethier’s solo shots preceding and following Pederson’s slam respectively, Scott Van Slyke – “The Punisher” – punished Dbacks right-handed reliever Enrique Burgos with a line drive single to left field scoring two.

While Van Slyke’s two-RBI single in the bottom of the eighth had no effect on the outcome of the game, it proved yet again that he punishes both left-handers and right-handers. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

By all indications, the ideal Dodgers line-up would be for Guerrero and Turner to alternate at third base for the slow starting (and aging) Juan Uribe and have Van Slyke play left field every day until Crawford returns from a torn right oblique muscle (which could take more than a month). However, Mattingly is more likely use Turner to occasionally spell Uribe at third base and Adrian Gonzalez at first base, and will rotate Guerrero and Van Slyke in left field – which isn’t a bad situation at all.

“The Punisher” strikes again .
(Image courtesy of Marvel Comics)

But regardless and not to be lost in all the hype and hoopla of Pederson’s exciting first career grand slam and the Turner and Ethier solo shots is the two-RBI single by The Punisher.