ARLINGTON -- The boos rained down from the fans at Globe Life Field as Joc Pederson walked to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning of Sunday afternoon’s loss to the Reds.
The Rangers’ designated hitter, who was in the midst of an 0-for-16 stretch to start the year, was in unfortunate familiar territory. Pederson put up career lows in nearly every statistical category in 2025, hitting .181/.285/.328 with nine home runs on top of a franchise-record 0-for-41 slump in April.
His first hit of 2026 was a much-needed one, both for him and the Rangers. Pederson launched a game-tying solo homer in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Reds on Sunday afternoon, snapping his 0-fer and chasing a dealing Chase Burns from his dominant start. Texas still ultimately fell, 2-1, to Cincy.
Pederson looked toward the Rangers dugout, shouting with catharsis before chucking his bat and rounding the bases.
“It felt good, but it sucks that we lost,” Pederson said after the game. “We play to win the game, and we came up short again today.”
Pederson walked later in Sunday’s loss and doubled in Monday’s win over the Mariners, a showing that manager Skip Schumaker believes may be the turning point for Pederson’s early slump.
“Everybody wants to see a ball fall,” Schumaker said pregame on Sunday. “He's a middle-of-the-order bat that we need desperately to come through. He knows that. He's a pro. He's done it before. Hopefully he has a breakout game, either today or this week sometime.”
"We feel like he's getting close. We want him and need him to produce. We're better when he produces. There's no doubt about that. Hopefully, today is the day. Hopefully he's at the point where he is clicking.”
