Duran continues proving himself in the Majors

ARLINGTON -- Ezequiel Duran could be seen dancing in the dugout with Leody Taveras in the sixth inning of the Rangers’ matchup with the D-backs on Tuesday night.

The 23-year-old had just hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in Texas’ eventual 6-4 win over Arizona and immediately returned to the dugout to celebrate with his teammates.

For manager Bruce Bochy, that carefree energy is what makes Duran the player he is.

“He loves the game,” Bochy said. “He’s out there working every day. He has a lot of fun. He plays very loose. I think that's when you get your best [version of a] player. When they're able to do that up here, especially at his age, and just he plays with no fear on both sides of the ball. He has been a joy to watch how this kid has come along. It’s been a heck of a month for him.”

Duran’s 431-foot homer highlighted a come-from-behind victory for the Rangers, who added another insurance run the following inning.

Rangers starter Jon Gray-- who labored allowing four runs in 5 ⅓ innings -- credited Duran and the offense for picking him up on an off day.

“That's why we're a good team,” the right-hander said. “We pick each other up. Because of what we did tonight, that shows that we're a better team than last year. I’ve got guys to lean on if things aren't going great. Collectively, I think we're a really good group and that's why we came away with the W.”

Even still, Duran was the star of the show. He went 3-for-4 and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

“I’ve been working really hard and all the results that are coming in right now are just what’s paying off,” Duran said through interpreter Raul Cardenas. “I've been working hard on my approach a lot and I’m doing a lot of things just to kind of keep my head right you know?”

When asked if he was feeling confident right now, Duran just laughed.

“Sí, sí.”

Duran’s emergence hasn’t even been a pleasant surprise for the Rangers, who knew the kind of hitter he had the ability to be with consistent playing time. They just couldn’t give him that to start the year

“He’s got a gift, and that’s getting the barrel on the ball consistently, that’s pretty much it,” Bochy said. “Just consistently hard contact. And he’s a smart hitter. I think he sees what pitchers are trying to do. He’s adjusted on the fly, which you like to see from a young kid. He has shown good discipline up there and he's using the whole field. He’s just mature beyond his years.”

But Josh Smith was the initial choice to start in place of the injured Corey Seager, with Bochy stating multiple times that he would get the lion's share of the playing time while the veteran shortstop was out with a hamstring injury. That decision mostly had to do with Smith’s experience at the position as a career shortstop in the Minors, and his more refined control of the strike zone at the big league level.

Smith did get the majority of the reps at first, but Duran just hasn’t stopped hitting, With every chance he’s gotten, he’s delivered.

He’s now played in 11 straight games at shortstop, logging hits in nine of them. He’s reached base via hit, walk or hit by pitch in a career-high 13 straight games (beginning April 18), good for a .404/.440/.681 slash line over that stretch. After registering no extra-base hits in his first 10 games of the season, he’s totaled seven in his last 14 games.

The 13-game on-base streak has raised Duran’s season batting average from .150 to .328.

“I mean, I put everything in God's hands,” Duran said via interpreter Raul Cardenas. “And I show up every day and work really hard to do everything the team asks me to do. I do everything possible that I can do to help the team win. That's basically all I really care about.”

If Duran keeps this up, he may have also earned himself more playing time after Seager returns. Where that playing time comes from remains to be seen, though it’s likely somewhere in the outfield.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Bochy said. “These things have a way of working themselves out, but it’s hard to keep this kid out. He's playing such good baseball and he’s got the speed to play anywhere. So it’s a very workable situation once we get to that point.”