There isn’t a Dodger fan on the planet who isn’t familiar with Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson’s meteoric rise at the beginning of the season and his even more meteoric fall from grace which, on Tuesday night, landed him as low in the Dodgers lineup as one can get – ninth. But through all of his struggles, through his 146 strikeouts – third most in the National League – and even through the occasional boos from fans, there is one guy who never gave up on the 23-year-old Palo Alto, CA native – hitting coach Mark McGwire.

“It’s a learning process and I’ve said this since day one,” McGwire told AM570 LA Sports Radio’s David Vassegh prior to Monday’s series opener against the Giants. “It’s about being patient. He’s a young kid learning how to hit in the big leagues. There has to be some adjustments being made and the biggest thing I do as a hitting coach and I pass on, is that he has to make it his own.

“There’s not one certain way that you have to hit. You take the knowledge from myself or whoever it may be – the stuff they’re passing on to you – and you make it your own, and that’s what Joc’s trying to do right now,” said McGwire. “We’re trying to calm the swing down, not feeling like you have to swing at a hundred and fifty percent all the time. If he can get in that box and feel like he’s swinging about seventy percent, good things are going to happen. It’s all about being patient. This kid, the sky’s the limit for him. I’m his biggest backer and I love him to death and the thing is, he works his rear end off.”

Prior to Monday night’s series opener against the Giants, Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire spent an hour working with Joc Pederson on his hitting. (Photo credit – Dylan Hernandez)

Judging by the early returns it appears that all of the hard work by Pederson and McGwire is paying off. Dodger fans who were paying close attention in Tuesday nights exciting 2-1 win over the Giants undoubtedly notice that the young superstar has changed both his batting stance and his approach at the plate. And although most fans focused on Pederson’s laser-shot solo home run off of Giants ace Madison Bumgarner in the bottom of the seventh inning, it was Pederson’s two previous at-bats that suggest the young slugger is back.

“What I’ve noticed with Joc, he went the other way today,” said Kevin Kennedy, Vassegh’s co-host and former MLB manager. “He went the other way the first time, he hit the ball pretty well for the fly out to left, he flew out to right and then he hit a rocket line drive [for the home run] but is was a nice fluid swing and he stayed through the ball.”

Pederson put a great swing on Bumgarner’s fastball for his 24th home run of the season – most by a Dodger rookie since Mike Piazza’s 35 home runs in 1993. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Although Pederson’s home run just barely cleared the wall in right-center field, it was, as Kennedy noted, a rocket line drive on a Madison Bumgarner 92-MPH fastball that the young Dodger slugger squared up on perfectly. But the former Red Sox and Rangers manager noticed something else about Pederson – something that perhaps suggests that he is finally coming out of his near-season-long slump.

“This was one of the best days, I think, for him in quite a while,” said Kennedy. “Number one, he didn’t strikeout, his swings were more under control, and I believe just looking at him this last couple of days, that’s what Mark’s talking about. Plus the set-up is different. Right away, his set-up… he’s a little bit flatter with the bat, he’s kind of touching his shoulder there, he has his hands back, he’s not just having his hands in front. When you have your hands in front like that and you drift with the leg kick, you combine that with a big leg kick, there’s a lot of moving parts and the timing has to be impeccable. When you don’t drift as much and your head’s not moving forward like that and your hands are moving back, that makes the swing long.”

As for Pederson, he is well aware of the time and effort that McGwire has invested in him and sincerely appreciates it.

“He always reminds me how hard the game is,” said Pederson after Tuesday night victory. “It’s a tough game and it’s learning, learning and lots of learning.”

Pederson also recognizes that this is the perfect time for he and his teammates to get (and stay) hot.

“Altogether I think everyone contributed and it was a huge win,” Pederson said. “It’s nice to help the team win in a big game, hopefully brings us one game closer to making the playoffs and clinching that.”

If Pederson is, in fact, back, his timing couldn’t be better. With Howie Kendrick, Yasiel Puig and now Kiké Hernandez all on the disabled list with hamstring injuries, the Dodger need, absolutely need Pederson to get hot right now and through the postseason for the Dodgers to have any shot at winning their seventh World Series title.

Welcome back, Joc.