On Wednesday night at Globe Life Park in Arlington, the Rangers lost a rare game to the Houston Astros, but that took a back seat to the other stuff the Rangers lost that night.
Starting pitcher Yu Darvish, who was making just his third start on the heels of Tommy John surgery, left the game early with shoulder and neck stiffness — a scare for sure, but deemed nothing serious. And Darvish has said he'll make his next scheduled start on Monday.
Then, a few innings later, Adrian Beltre pulled up lame and grabbed his left hamstring after running to second base and exited the game in favor of a pinch-runner. The 37-year-old cleanup hitter has a history of balky hamstrings, and it was a scare.
But, so far at least, there is no disabled list trip for Beltre, as he made the trip with his team to Seattle with what was diagnosed as a mild strain after an MRI.
Even if Beltre doesn't need a DL stint, don't be shocked if he sits for a couple of days, especially with the quick rise of utility man Jurickson Profar, who gives the Rangers some options at third base.
"A guy like that, he's going to push whatever envelope we give him," Rangers skipper Jeff Banister told reporters after Thursday's win over Houston. "But, sometimes, there's a time when the rest of the guys need to carry the load, too. If the time is now to carry the load for their captain, then so be it."
