ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said the club’s bench coach watched Ezequiel Durán in winter ball and pushed for him to get more playing time.
Schumaker spoke to Rangers Sports Network before Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Globe Life Field.
“And obviously Zeke Durán. He had a limited playing time last year, had a really good winter ball with our bench coach down there watching him and having him play right in front of him and was a big advocate for Zeke Duran to get more playing time,” Schumaker said. “He worked himself into an everyday role, and here we are. So yeah, three huge contributors to where we’re at right now.”
Ezequiel Durán’s Season Across Seven Positions
Durán entered Thursday batting .276/.336/.455 with 16 home runs and 75 RBIs in 131 games. His 4.4 wins above replacement leads the Rangers.
He is listed as an infielder and has played second base, third base, shortstop, left field, right field, center field, and first base this season. Durán started at second base and batted fifth on Friday.
Durán drove in the second run of Thursday’s 6-0 win with a two-out flare to right in the fifth inning that scored Logan O’Hoppe. Corey Seager followed with a two-run homer to right after hitting balls to the warning track in left and center earlier in the game.
Schumaker also said Durán ran down a ball in the gap in the first inning like an everyday center fielder. Junior Caminero hit it.
How the Texas Rangers Scored Six Runs Against Tampa Bay
Texas took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on Thursday when Wyatt Langford doubled into the left field corner and scored on Justin Foscue‘s single to left. The Rangers added 2 runs in the eighth when Evan Carter tripled home Langford and scored on Jake Burger‘s sacrifice fly.
Cal Quantrill allowed 2 hits and 2 walks and struck out 5 over 7 scoreless innings for the win. Jakob Junis and Chase Silseth finished the combined three-hitter, the 13th shutout of the season for Texas and the eighth time Tampa Bay had been blanked.
Seager entered Thursday batting .223/.324/.404 with 13 home runs in 80 games. Langford entered at .251/.332/.447 with 15 home runs, and Burger has 23 home runs and 78 RBIs.
Texas had scored 578 runs in 141 games entering Friday and carried a .243 team batting average, which ranked 16th in the majors. The Rangers have hit 157 home runs.
Tampa Bay entered Friday at 83-57, leading the American League East by 3 games over the New York Yankees. The Rays had lost 10 straight games in Arlington, and their last win at Globe Life Field came on June 2, 2022.
Texas entered Friday at 70-71, one-half game behind Cleveland for the American League’s final wild-card spot and 2 games behind first-place Houston in the West, with 21 games left on the schedule. Right-hander Trevor Williams opened Friday’s game with Kumar Rocker lined up to follow, opposite Rays right-hander Nick Martinez (13-4, 2.99 ERA).
