LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers and Giants have been rivals since 1884, but Tuesday was the first time both teams used their pitcher in the No. 8 spot in their batting orders.
It was entirely coincidental. Both Madison Bumgarner and Zack Greinke are among the best-hitting pitchers in the majors, and both teams have slumping players who hit in the No. 9 spot.
However, neither pitcher got a hit Tuesday night. Greinke picked up the win as the Dodgers prevailed 2-1.
Although using pitchers as No. 8 hitters has become something of a trend, with the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds going to it frequently, neither the Dodgers' Don Mattingly nor the Giants' Bruce Bochy has embraced it.
Entering Tuesday, Bumgarner was batting .254 with five home runs, and Greinke was hitting .218 with two homers. Among pitchers with at least 50 plate appearances, Bumgarner ranked first in OPS (.804), and Greinke (.574) ranked third behind San Diego's Tyson Ross.
Bochy said before the game that he had used a pitcher in the No. 8 spot "once or twice" in his 21-year managerial career but that he isn't typically a big fan of a trend Cubs manager Joe Maddon has made an everyday occurrence.
Tuesday's No. 9 hitters entered in deep slumps. San Francisco's Ehire Adrianza -- filling in for shortstop Brandon Crawford, who is going to miss several days with a bruised calf -- was batting .169 on the year and went hitless again in his two at-bats.
However, the Dodgers' Joc Pederson, who was 6-for-50 in August, went 1-for-3 with a solo homer that gave L.A. a 2-0 lead.
"I think this speaks for itself," Bochy said. "Madison may have looked at me if I didn't hit him there today because [Adrianza] is really struggling right now."
Bochy said the other times he batted the pitcher eighth, he did so to inject a little more speed into the No. 9 spot. He said Bumgarner is the best-hitting pitcher he has ever managed. He had Woody Williams bat .259 for him one year in San Diego.
"I'll be honest. I did it to change things up more than anything. We were sputtering offensively, and I did it just to shake it up, see if that would do anything," Bochy said. "I wouldn't do it a lot, but the way Madison's swinging the bat, [it] makes sense to me."
In his five-year managerial career, Mattingly had batted a pitcher eighth just once before Tuesday. That was the day reliever Yimi Garcia started and Mattingly knew he wasn't going to be pitching more than two innings.
"This was the first time we really thought it looked right," Mattingly said.