Joc

Pederson

Pederson gave the Rangers their only run through seven innings against Drew Rasmussen, taking him deep for a solo homer in the sixth inning. He was later lifted in the eighth inning for a pinch-hitter against a left-handed reliever. The 34-year-old slugger is up to 25 homers while hitting .235/.328/.485 across 416 plate appearances.

Pederson walked and struck out in a pair of plate appearances before being tossed by home plate umpire Chris Guccione in the second inning. He appeared to be voicing his displeasure from the dugout after not being allowed to challenge a called third strike earlier in the frame when he was given the boot.

Pederson put the Rangers on the board right away, taking Ryan Johnson deep for a solo homer to lead off the top of the first inning. He went on to reach three more times, all via the walk. The 34-year-old slugger is hitting .251/.343/.511 with 22 homers, 49 runs scored, and 45 RBI across 360 plate appearances.

Pederson was the hero for the Rangers here. Needing to win when Shane Baz was working on a gem, the Rangers could barely get anyone on base. Then, after Elias Díaz legged out an infield single to start the sixth, Pederson punished a cutter that caught too much of the plate and turned a one run deficit into a one run lead with a two-run homer. That score would hold as Pederson put Texas’ lineup on his back. It was his 21st home run to go along with an .846 OPS in what’s been an outstanding bounce back season.

Pederson’s first homer, hit 418 feet to left center, led off the bottom of the first. The second, a three-run shot, made it just out to right despite a 48-degree launch angle. It gave him his 22nd career two-homer game. He’s batting .254/.343/.513, which would place him 20th in the majors with an .856 OPS if he weren’t four plate appearances shy of qualifying.

The steal was Pederson’s second of the season and 33rd in 60 tries for his career. He’s up to .251/.342/.491 on the year, giving him an .833 OPS that’s 220 points better than his mark from last season.

Pederson will make his fourth appearance at the cold corner with starting first baseman Jake Burger taking a seat against Mariners righty Bryan Woo. The 34-year-old is basically a power-only fantasy contributor at this stage of his career, but he’s supplied a resectable 17 big flies in 309 plate appearances this season.

Langford will get a look atop Texas’ lineup with rookie southpaw Noah Schultz taking the ball for Chicago. It’s typically been Joc Pederson leading off against right-handed starters for the last couple weeks with Langford batting second. He’s out of the lineup to start this contest. The other notable change are Justin Foscue hitting second as he continues to emerge as a reliable lefty-mashing platoon option and rookie Cameron Cauley drawing a start in center field.

Pederson’s home run was his 16th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Owen Murphy to leadoff the game. Pederson was just 4-for-23 (.174) in nine games in July entering play Saturday. He’s hitting .239 with an .812 OPS and 35 RBI.

This one off Tanner Bibee was a two-run homer after all of the others were solo shots. Pederson now has 14 homers and 31 RBI on the season. His .812 OPS is about 200 points better than his .614 mark from last year.