On Tuesday night, the Rangers used a strong start from Jacob deGrom and a three-run walk-off shot by Jonah Heim to take down the Royals in the second game of their three-game set.
The Rangers’ win did, however, come at a cost. Star shortstop Corey Seager left the game in the fifth inning after experiencing left hamstring tightness while running to second base on an opposite-field double.
“I’m obviously disappointed,” Seager said. “You just take it day by day, you know? There’s nothing else you can really do now other than support your teammates and try to be healthy. How does that look? I don’t know yet. I just don’t want to be a distraction or anything. Just try and be as smart as possible, be around but not be in anybody’s way.”
This won’t be the first time that Seager has dealt with a hamstring injury. In 2019 with the Dodgers, the left-handed hitting shortstop missed roughly a month with a similar injury.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Rangers announced that their all-star shortstop would miss at least two weeks with a grade two hamstring strain.
Corey Seager was really beginning to heat up and had become the Rangers hottest hitting over the past week. Seager was hitting .563 (9-for-16) with a homer, four doubles, and six walks in his last five games.
Unfortunately, in baseball, stuff like this happens, and you just have to move on from it. However, the question is, “How will the Rangers respond to this?”
Many fans thought Marcus Semien could slide over and play short, but Bruce Bochy had other thoughts. In order to keep the Rangers’ second baseman playing at a consistent position, Bruce Bochy said he’s “likely” to keep Semien at second.
Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran are going to get most of the reps at short while Seager is down. Based on the fact that Josh Smith was the one who went in following Seager’s injury on Tuesday and started the first game without him, it’s likely that Smith gets most of the reps.
In Wednesday’s 10-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals, Smith went 0-3 with two strikeouts.
While talking with reporters earlier this week, Smith said, “I’m not Corey Seager, of course, and Corey Seager’s, not Josh Smith,” “We are two different players. Like I said, I’m gonna go out every day prepared and do my best. I’m probably not gonna go out there and hit home runs like he did last year, but I’m gonna give everything I got, and hopefully, we’ll win some games while I’m out there.”
There is no doubt that this is a different Rangers team without their superstar shortstop, but Texas should have more than enough depth to make it through.
