But one player’s chance to reset is another’s opportunity.
It means Ezequiel Duran will likely get a chance to start at second base for multiple games for the first time this season. And after that? Well, who knows where things go. But it’s fair to say there is now renewed competition at the position.
“I mean, that’s what this game is, right?” Schumaker said. “You do the most with your opportunities. But I’m also not giving up on Josh Smith either. We need both of them to be good players, especially on the offensive side for us to get going, because we just haven’t clicked yet. We need Josh to be really effective against right-handed pitching. [Duran] has been hitting right-handed pitching. Sometimes you need a couple of days to work things out.”
Duran certainly made the most of his opportunity Wednesday, reaching base all three times up. He singled to load the bases in the second, walked in the fifth and doubled in the seventh. He scored two of the Rangers’ three runs. It raised his batting average to .288 with a .778 OPS for the season.
“He’s been super effective off the bench,” Schumaker said. “He’s spot started, been actually more effective against righties and lefties. He runs the bases as good as anybody. There’s nobody that provides more energy when he’s playing or not playing, which I really appreciate, because you need to have those guys on the bench. I appreciate that as well. But, yeah, he’s making it tough not to put [him] in the lineup.”
Smith, currently hitting .193, entered Wednesday in a 3-for-16 stretch over his last six games. Twice during the homestand, including Tuesday evening, he struck out on pitch-clock violations, failing to get set in the batter’s box in the required time. He also made a throwing error on a grounder Tuesday, though it did not cost the Rangers.