'Special talent' Duran comes up big for Texas

ANAHEIM -- Ezequiel Duran stood on second base, smiling wide while doing his and Leody Taveras’ patented celebration for doubles, waving his hand down his chest like a shield in the video game series "Call of Duty."

It was a well-deserved celebration for the rookie Duran, who had just hit one of the most impactful doubles of his brief big league career.

After striking out three times earlier Sunday afternoon, Duran walked to the plate in the top of the ninth inning with the bases loaded in a tied game, “believing he was the best player on the planet,” according to manager Chris Woodward.

“I always have the confidence,” Duran said through an interpreter. “I didn't really kind of think about those past three strikeouts. You've got to go up there with the mentality that you're going to come through for your team. I just did what they asked me to do.”

The confidence in himself was well placed. Duran proceeded to launch a 370-foot double into the right-center-field gap that cleared the bases and propelled the Rangers to a 5-2 win in the finale against the Angels, their third victory in the four-game series.

“He’s a special talent, obviously,” Woodward said. “Sometimes, that’s what it takes. It takes the belief that sometimes a young kid can spark an entire team, an entire organization. He's done that a few times for us already. And we hope to build off of that and just keep the consistency in those big moments.”

While Duran played the hero, execution on both sides of the ball set him up perfectly for the storybook finish. Here are three keys from the game that led to Duran’s game-winning hit.

Lowe, Dunning provide early boosts
After a leadoff walk and subsequent stolen base from Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe knocked a two-out RBI single into right-center field off Angels starter Reid Detmers to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

That wouldn’t last, as the Halos scored in each of the first two innings against Texas starter Dane Dunning, but the right-hander kept the game close before turning it over to the bullpen.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” Woodward said. “[Detmers] has been throwing the ball well against us, and we had a couple of big at-bats. I thought [Dunning] pitched well, obviously. He kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win.”

Burke’s impressive 8th inning
Dunning turned the game over to left-hander Brock Burke, who tossed two scoreless innings and recorded four strikeouts. After the Rangers' bullpen struggled a night earlier, it was vital for Burke to keep the game tied down the stretch.

Burke allowed a single and a walk with two outs in the seventh before getting Luis Rengifo to fly out to escape the inning. In the eighth, Burke used the elite mix of his four-seam fastball and slider to strike out the side.

“We know how good he is when he gets those extra days of rest,” Woodward said. “And [Saturday], getting that extra day, you see the fastballs coming out of his arm. The biggest thing for me with Burke has been his consistency with the slider. He's got an elite fastball, characteristic-wise. He's able to execute that slider, either to lefties or righties. It just makes guys honor the pitch a little bit more. ... But that was fun to watch.”

García's walk to set the stage
Adolis García's biggest Achilles' heels -- one that kept him from sticking around in the Cardinals' organization and one that prevented him from getting called up by the Rangers early last season -- have been his chase and whiff rates.

The outfielder has a flair for the dramatic in big moments. So when García came up to bat in the ninth with two on and no outs, everybody in Texas' dugout likely expected another big hit. Instead, he laid off four close pitches outside the zone to walk and load the bases for Duran.

“He just said, ‘OK, I'll let the next guy beat him,’” Woodward said. “That's a big moment for him. I’m proud of Adolis. For him to pass the baton right there and say, ‘OK, you’re not going to beat me.' He wanted to be the guy there but said, ‘No, I'm not going to chase, I'm not going to budge here.’ And then, obviously, his teammate behind him was able to get it done.”