Ezequiel

Duran

Smith is starting today, and he’s planning to travel to Cleveland with the team after the game, but that could change at a moment’s notice. Ezequiel Duran would likely start at shortstop if Smith departs.

Rangers’ skipper Bruce Bochy has admitted that García is still not back to 100 percent yet and will continue to get sporadic days off for the remainder of the season. Ezequiel Duran will start in his place in right field on Saturday and will bat eighth against Adam Mazur and the Marlins on Saturday evening in Arlington.

The encouraging news, at least as of now, is that the 32-year-old slugger has not been placed on the injured list. That means the Rangers still think it’s a day-to-day type of injury. If he doesn’t make progress by Saturday though, something may ultimately have to give. Ezequiel Duran will start in his place in right field and bat seventh against Colton Gordon and the Astros on Friday night.

Jung will get a day off for the finale against Arizona. The 27-year-old will likely be available off the bench with Ezequiel Duran getting the start at the hot corner and hitting seventh.

Semien was pulled from Thursday’s contest after fouling a ball off of his left foot. The good news, is that he doesn’t appear to be dealing with any fractures and didn’t land on the injured list on Friday. He’s considered day-to-day. Ezequiel Duran will start in his place at second base on Friday evening and will bat eighth against Guardians’ right-hander Slade Cecconi.

The double was a 108-mph, 378-foot rope that would have been a homer in nine ballparks. Duran went 5-for-6 in the series against the Yankees, raising his average from .156 to .198. He seemed destined to head back to Triple-A when Jake Burger is ready to be activated, but perhaps the Rangers could demote Alejandro Osuna instead.

No surprise here after Burger missed the final two games of the first half with a lingering quad issue. The 29-year-old slugger has been snake-bitten by injuries this season in his Rangers debut, landing on the injured list on three separate occasions already. No word yet on the severity of the strain, which will determine how much time he misses, but it doesn’t figure to be a lengthy absence. It’ll likely be some combination of versatile Josh Smith and bench infielder Ezequiel Duran filling the void at the cold corner for a couple weeks.

Ezequiel Duran will take over at first base. Burger was in Texas’ initial lineup for Sunday’s first-half finale, but he’s going to sit out his second straight game after exiting Friday’s contest with left quad discomfort. The 29-year-old slugger should be ready to roll following next week’s All-Star break.

Burger is out after leaving Friday’s game against the Astros with discomfort in his left quad. It seems likely that the 29-year-old will also get Sunday off with a chance for Burger to get healthy through the break. Ezequiel Duran is at first base and hitting ninth.

This certainly qualifies as an unexpected development. Jung has been mired in a prolonged slump at the dish for the last few weeks, hitting .164 (19-for-116) with one homer and 16 RBI over his last 30 games. He’s struggled to a lackluster .237/.283/.366 slash line with just eight homers and 35 RBI over 75 games this season. He’ll get a chance to reset at the Triple-A level and work on things out of the spotlight. It’ll likely be some combination of Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran taking over at the hot corner.