For the fourth time in the last five games, Texas Rangers slugger Corey Seager is out of the lineup due to hamstring tightness.
The Rangers (20-21) are preparing for a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies (7-33), one that feels almost like a must-sweep series for Texas, if only because Colorado is in such complete disarray.
Aside from the Rockies’ awful start, the franchise fired manager Bud Black this weekend.
Texas enters Monday’s game on a two-game winning streak. But the Rangers will have to beat Colorado — at least on Monday — without Seager. Texas will have first baseman Jake Burger back after he was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock.
Seager appears to still be day-to-day and undergoing treatment for the hamstring, which has been an issue since lasst month.
Seager first felt the tightness in his right hamstring during the Rangers’ game with the Athletics in Sacramento on April 22 and he was placed on the 10-day injured list the next day. He returned on May 3.
The left-handed slugger hasn’t really been 100%, per manager Bruce Bochy. Texas sat him for the final game of its series with Boston last Thursday and the first game of its series with Detroit on Friday.
He returned to the lineup on Saturday and he went off, hitting two home runs in a 3-for-4 game with three RBI and three runs scored. After that game, Seager said he felt good. He was also philosophical about the Rangers’ offensive slump.
“You have to find a little light in the dark times, man,” Seager said. “Right now, I feel like the light’s starting to beat through and we’re hoping it opens up some more.”
Seager wasn’t in the lineup on Sunday. Bochy said Seager was dealing with hamstring tightness during Saturday’s game and said it was most pronounced when he swung the bat. At the time, he didn’t rule out another injured list stint.
Seager is slashing .300/.346/.520 with six home runs and 12 RBI. The difference he makes in the lineup is clear. When he was on the injured list the Rangers went 2-8. With Seager in the lineup, Texas is 15-11. Without him, the Rangers are 5-10, after winning on Sunday without him.
As for catcher Kyle Higashioka, he returned from his rehab assignment with Round Rock after Sunday’s game in El Paso. Texas opted to give him a day and not activate him on Monday. The Rangers will start Tucker Barnhart behind the plate for Jonah Heim, who was behind the plate for five of the six games on last week’s road trip.
He went 2-for-8 with both hits being doubles in his two games with the Express. He was the designated hitter on Saturday and was behind the plate on Sunday.
Also, Josh Smith was scratched from Monday's lineup due to back soreness.
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