Joc Pederson, outfielder in waiting, hits two-run homer for Dodgers

About the Dodgers’ four-outfielder problem ... while in the crowded neighborhood, could they make it a five-outfielder dilemma?

Hey, spring is for those who dream, so you could excuse the Dodgers if they were feeling a tad wishful Friday after prospect Joc Pederson broke open a scoreless game with a two-run homer in the seventh inning.

The Dodgers went on to a 5-0 victory over the White Sox at Camelback Ranch, seven different pitchers combining to hold Chicago to five hits.

The Dodgers had only two hits themselves entering the seventh when first baseman Clint Robinson -- a free-agent first baseman who would later add a two-run bomb of his own -- led off the inning with a single.

Pederson -- the Dodgers’ 2012 minor league player of the year and one of their most highly regarded prospects -- then homered on a 2-2 pitch off Jake Petricka.

The Dodgers are high on Pederson -- Don Mattingly compared his swing to Robinson Cano and Carlos Gonzalez this spring -- but are already trying to figure out how to rotate Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig in the three outfield spots.

Pederson is the outfielder in waiting, though after spending all of last season at double-A Chattanooga, he figures to play more at triple-A Albuquerque this season than to be hanging around the Dodgers as a fifth outfielder.

Hyun-Jin Ryu started for the Dodgers, holding the White Sox scoreless on two hits. He was followed by Brian Wilson, Kenley Jansen, Chris Perez, J.P. Howell and Jamey Wright, who are all expected in the bullpen this season. Matt Magill threw the final two scoreless innings.

The Dodgers put the game away with three runs in the eighth, the last the solo shot by Robinson.