Watch: Slumping Texas Rangers Slugger Finally Ends Historic Batting Drought

Joc Pederson finally ended his historic hitless streak for the Texas Rangers against the Athletics.

Apr 2, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Texas Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson (4) high fives teammates after scoring on a RBI double hit by shortstop Josh Smith (not pictured) in the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Joc Pederson's long national nightmare is finally over.

The Texas Rangers lost 5-2 to the Athletics on Wednesday night after placing Corey Seager on the injured list, but that wasn't the story. The real story was Joc Pederson finally ending his historic 0-for-41 slump for the Rangers.

As expected, Pederson was out of the starting lineup on Wednesday with a lefty, J.P. Sears, on the mound for the Athletics. Sears through five quality innings, Kumar Rocker got lit up like usual, and the A's took a comfortable 5-2 lead into the ninth inning.

With Texas down to its last out in the top of the ninth, Bruce Bochy sent up Pederson to pinch-hit for Jake Burger. After all, he had nothing to lose.

Incredibly, Pederson scorched his first hit in three weeks, drilling a double just over the head of center fielder JJ Bleday on a 100.7 mph first-pitch fastball from All-Star closer Mason Miller. Hustling all the way, he scampered into second base and narrowly beat the tag, securing his first hit since April 2.

While Pederson was stranded at second when Jonah Heim struck out to end the game, it didn't matter. His horrendous stretch of 12 hitless games and 41 hitless at-bats -- the longest hitless streak in Rangers history -- was finally over.

Hopefully this is the spark Pederson needs to finally get going at the plate. The two-time All-Star has been in a massive funk in his first season with Texas, slashing .068/.154/.102 with a comically bad -22 OPS+ and -1.1 WAR through 20 games.

With Seager (hamstring strain) hitting the 10-day injured list, the Rangers desperately need Pederson to pick up the slack and start providing a return on their two-year, $37 million investment. They've managed to go 14-10 and lead the AL West despite his struggles, but the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners (both one game behind) are breathing down their necks.

The 33-year-old slugger is notoriously streaky, so hopefully he's able to put his slump behind him, turn the corner and start hitting like he's capable of.

He'll get a chance to build on Wednesday's hit during the rubber game of the series on Thursday night against right-handed pitcher J.T. Ginn, who's 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 10 innings over two starts this season.

Ginn has struggled versus lefties in his young career, allowing them to hit .307/.371/.489 in 97 plate appearances against him. Pederson has never faced Ginn, but don't be surprised if he gets another knock on Thursday.

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