Ezequiel

Duran

Duran worked Shane McClanahan for a leadoff walk to open the home half of the first inning, but he wound up stranded on second base. He then delivered an RBI single in the fifth inning, swiped second base and scored on Corey Seager’s two-run blast. The versatile 27-year-old is having a solid season for the Rangers, slashing .276/.337/.454 with 16 homers, 76 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 511 plate appearances while functioning in a super utility role.

It was the first career leadoff homer for Duran, who has started every game for Texas dating back to June 28. The versatile 27-year-old is posting career-bests across the board this season, with 16 homers, 75 RBI, 62 runs scored, and a .276/.336/.455 triple slash. He has started at every defensive position other than pitcher and catcher, and he entered Wednesday tied for the eighth-most fWAR among all position players.

Duran’s 15th homer overtook his previous high of 14 from 2023. His .273/.331/.450 line this year is a near match for his .276/.324/.443 line from his one other nice season as a big leaguer. He hit just .237/.278/.309 with three homers over 504 plate appearances in the two years in between.

Carter started against each of the other three left-handers that the Rangers faced this week, but he’ll get a breather in this one with Yusei Kikuchi taking the ball for the Halos. Ezequiel Duran will cover center field in his absence while Justin Foscue starts at second base and bats leadoff for the Rangers.

Technically, it was a throwing error that ended the game, allowing Wyatt Langford to score from second on Duran’s infield single off Ben Joyce. Duran ended the night with no RBI or runs scored, but as has often been the case this season, he was the Rangers’ best position player. He’s batting .271/.327/.441 in 460 plate appearances.

The Rangers are being sure to mix in plenty of days off for the 32-year-old slugger and it makes sense to do so with left-hander Jacob Lopez toeing the slab for the A’s on Sunday afternoon. Expect Seager to make an appearance off the bench in this one if the right situation arises. Ezequiel Duran will start at shortstop in his place and bat second for the Rangers.

Duran drove in a run on a base hit in the first inning and swiped second base for his ninth steal of the season. He then drove in two more runs in the eighth on a double to break a tie game. Duran came through in a clutch moment again in the ninth, driving in the winning run with a walk-off double. The 27-year-old infielder is hitting .278/.329/.463 with 13 homers, 51 runs scored, and 63 RBI across 399 plate appearances.

He’s surely happy to be playing regularly, but it still must be kind of frustrating for Duran to be the Rangers’ most valuable position player this year and be hitting seventh behind the likes of Evan Carter and Jake Burger. The other eight guys in the Texas lineup finished 3-for-29 while Duran was going 4-for-4 tonight. He’s batting .274/.326/.455 with 13 homers and 59 RBI.

Duran has homered in back-to-back games, and he collected five RBI in the four-game series win over the Mariners. Most Rangers fans surely would have been happy to see him go at any point during 2024 or ’25, but in 2026, he’s currently the team’s bWAR leader, at 2.6 entering today, and he’s second in RBI with 56.

Jung was pulled from Tuesday’s battle against the White Sox due to tightness in his left calf and hasn’t played since. There haven’t been rumblings about the oft-injured third baseman requiring a trip to the injured list just yet, but if this lingers for another couple of days the Rangers may be forced to rethink that. Ezequiel Duran will start in his place at third base and bat third for the Rangers against Mariners’ right-hander Bryce Miller.