Sizzling Marcus Semien has Rangers’ offense doing things it hasn’t done in years

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – There are short – and long-term goals.

Short: Survive Corey Seager’s absence. Long: Mount a run for the AL West title. The Rangers know they can’t accomplish the second without navigating the first.

And Tuesday, they showed a grasp of both in a 12-2 win over Kansas City. A bunch of not-so-regular guys at the bottom of the lineup steered the offense and Marcus Semien, the hitter most capable of replicating Seager’s offense, continued to sizzle.

Semien’s three-run homer, his third homer in as many games, capped off a five-run sixth inning that was built by the bench players at the bottom of the lineup. Over the six games since Seager was lost to a strained hamstring a week ago, Semien has reached base in half of his 26 plate appearances and has more walks (five) than strikeouts (two).

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“You are seeing a really good hitter who is locked in right now,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s seeing the ball so well right now. He’s making hard contact every time he swings. He’s done a great job of carrying us.”

It is early, but this team is doing things it hasn’t done in years. Admittedly, that’s something of a low bar, considering recent seasons, but on Wednesday they can finish off a sweep of a road series of at least three games for the first time since 2019. They also are 11-6; the last time they won 11 of their first 17: 2013. And, yes, they have held the early-season lead in the AL West in the wake of some significant injuries. In addition to Seager, they are without catcher/DH Mitch Garver, also out for a month with a knee sprain.

In their absence, it’s been imperative for the vaunted rotation to carry more a heavier burden and for the patched-together lineup to grind out at-bats and optimize run-scoring opportunities. In Seager’s absence, the rotation has put together a 3.67 ERA and struck out 27 to 10 walks. On Tuesday, Nathan Eovaldi, who had struggled in his last outing, overcame a rough first inning to give the Rangers a quality start. He allowed a pair of runs in six innings.

There was no better evidence of the grasp of the short-term situation than the five-run sixth inning. It began with four consecutive singles from the Nos. 6-9 hitters – Robbie Grossman, Ezequiel Duran, Brad Miller and Sandy León – that produced a pair of runs. They had played infrequently since the first series of the year, combining for a .207 OBP in 82 plate appearances. Duran was making only his second start at shortstop; León his second start at catcher.

The bottom four hitters in the lineup combined to reach base nine times, scoring six of the team’s runs and driving in four of the first five. Miller had scored the Rangers’ first run in the third after he and León took back-to-back walks and the utterly unstoppable Travis Jankowski singled home a run. Miller also drove in the Rangers’ third run with a fielder’s choice in the fourth to give the team its first lead, 3-2.

“We had role players that had some major contributions,” Bochy said. “And that’s what has to happen during the season because you’re going to have guys get injured, you’re going to have guys who need a rest. It’s got to work like that. The bench has done a great job.”

It was still 3-2 when León delivered the fourth straight single of the sixth. Semien then launched a hanging 1-1 slider into the back of the visitors’ bullpen in left field. He also singled and walked twice on Tuesday.

“I’m definitely happy with the pitches I’m swinging at right now,” Semien said. “And that’s half the battle. I want to score runs and produce runs. I want to get myself going and I’ve worked hard on it in the cages.”

It’s a significant contrast from a year ago when Semien, a slow starter throughout his career, got off to a dreadful start with the Rangers following the long lockout. He didn’t homer until May 28 and was hitting below .200 when June rolled around.

He’s made quicker adjustments this year, perhaps due to his level of comfort with the staff. But, he said, he’s not trying to simply replace Seager’s offense.

“We’ve got a deep group here,” he said. “We are doing the things we need to produce runs.”

If they do that, they will survive the short-term crisis and put themselves in position to achieve the long-range goal.

Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant

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