Joc

Pederson

This was a given. Pederson struggled to a calamitous .181/.285/.328 slash line with nine homers, 26 RBI and two steals over 96 games in his Rangers debut. The 33-year-old’s track record suggests he’ll bounce back some next year and it’s hard to imagine things could get any worse.

Pederson blasted Zebby Matthews’ second pitch of the ballgame for a 411-foot (109.2 mph EV) solo shot that gave the Rangers an early 1-0 lead. That would be their lone tally in the ballgame. It has been a very rough season at the plate for the 33-year-old slugger, slashing a paltry .182/.288/.336 with nine long balls and 26 RBI in 293 plate appearances.

Pederson was 0-for-11 in his previous five games before singling twice today. Both hits today were solid liners to the outfield, something he’s really struggled to do this season; he entered the game with a 10.4 percent line-drive rate, compared to 20.5 percent last year and 18.4 percent over the course of his career. Still, as disastrous as this season has been overall, he has been fine for the last month and a half; he’s hitting .255 with six homers and 19 RBI in 35 games since the beginning of August.

Pederson got the Rangers on the board first with a 418-foot (113.7 mph EV) two-run blast off of J.T. Ginn in the opening inning, giving them a lead that they would never relinquish. He also added on with a run-scoring double in the fifth inning that made it a 5-0 ballgame. With his two-hit afternoon, the 33-year-old slugger is now slashing .177/.283/.350 with eight homers and 21 RBI in what has been a very disappointing season in his first year with the Rangers.

Pederson missed out on a chance to add to his numbers against Oswald Peraza in the seventh, though at least he did get an RBI on his groundout in the Rangers’ eight-run inning. Of course, every little bit helps at this stage; Pederson entered the night with just 13 RBI in 71 games and never more than two in a contest this season.

Pederson’s home run was his sixth of the year. The 33-year-old DH has hit four of his six home runs in 20 games in August and is batting .269/.345/.538 over his last 20 games. Pederson can be rostered in situations where his power is absolutely necessary, but his .162 average this year is something most fantasy managers should continue to avoid.

Pederson tagged Royals’ right-hander Seth Lugo for a 414-foot (107.5 mph EV) solo shot in the fourth inning that gave the Rangers a brief 2-1 lead. That would be the extent of their offense and Pederson’s only hit in four at-bats in the ballgame. While he has been better of late, the 33-year-old slugger is slashing a woeful .150/.276/.283 with just five homers and 10 RBI overall on the season.

Pederson’s home run was his fourth of the year. The 33-year-old DH hit a two-run shot off Zack Wheeler in the first inning. Pederson has been one of the biggest fantasy busts this year with a .148 average, .569 OPS and nine RBI on the season.

Pederson led off the second inning with a walk off of Will Warren and made his way to third base with only one out but the Rangers couldn’t cash him in. He then led off the fourth inning with a double and again got to third with only one out — and yet again he was stranded. He drew a one-out walk in the eighth inning and raced around to score on a two-run single by Rowdy Tellez. The 33-year-old slugger is now hitting .144/.277/.260 with three homers, seven RBI and one stolen base through his first 146 plate appearances with the Rangers.

Jung finds himself back on the bench with Joc Pederson, who belted a clutch game-tying homer against Yankees closer Devin Williams during Monday’s series opener, at DH. The 27-year-old third baseman, who crushed a walk-off homer in the 10th inning of Monday’s marathon affair, is managing a lingering calf issue. He should be available off the bench for a late-game situation, if necessary.