Nomar Mazara homers in debut, but Weaver shuts down Texas Rangers

Nomar Mazara is in the major leagues.

His stay with the Texas Rangers is expected to be a temporary assignment.

Maybe as long as the four to six weeks Shin-Soo Choo is expected to be out. Maybe the four-or-so weeks until Josh Hamilton is expected back.

None of the other details mattered as much Sunday as the fact that Mazara, considered one of the Rangers’ top three prospects, arrived to be an everyday replacement for Choo in right field and as the No. 2 hitter, and will do so as the youngest player in the major leagues.

He did so fairly spectacularly in his first career game.

Mazara collected hits in his first three at-bats, including his first career home run, but that was the only run the Rangers could muster against Jered Weaver and three relievers in a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

“It would have been better if we had gotten the W,” Mazara said. “I wasn’t surprised. I went out there and tried to have fun and have everything just come normal, and that’s what I did. I enjoyed the game and tried to get the first one out of the way.”

Martin Perez allowed three runs in 6  1/3 innings despite pitching in trouble most of the game, the result of allowing five walks and hitting a batter in addition to seven Angels hits.

But the Rangers were down only 2-0 when Mazara got a first-pitch fastball from Weaver and sent it out to right-center field with one out in the fifth. Mazara collected singles in the first and the third.

“I had already faced him twice. I knew what the pitches did,” he said. “The first pitch was a fastball up and in, and I just put a good swing on it.”

Mazara made his debut at Angel Stadium only hours after he and catcher Brett Nicholas arrived from Triple A Rock Rock the morning after significant injuries to Choo and Robinson Chirinos.

Choo will be out four to six weeks after an MRI exam confirmed a strained right calf, and Chirinos will miss 10 to 12 weeks with a broken forearm that might be repaired surgically.

Nicholas, who will also be making his big league debut, will be in a backup role behind Bryan Holaday. Mazara is expected to contribute and did from a spot in the lineup now reserved by many teams for their best hitter.

As a 20-year-old.

“I like that fact that he controls the strike zone and can be patient,” manager Jeff Banister said. “He can jump on a fastball early if he needs to. Off-speed didn’t seem to bother him much in spring training.

“I like the on-base also. Obviously, it’s yet to be seen what he can do at the major league level, but if you profile him now, he’s similar to the OPS [on-base plus slugging] category, potential, of what we had in the 2 hole in Choo.”

Mazara didn’t seem anxious from the moment he walked in the clubhouse. He said he got plenty of sleep Saturday night and wasn’t bothered by the early wake-up call for a 6 a.m. flight from Des Moines, Iowa, where Round Rock was opening its season, to Denver for a connection to Los Angeles.

He knew everyone in the clubhouse, except for Holaday, from his first big league camp. Mazara batted .375 (12 for 32) with one homer and eight RBIs last month in Cactus League play before being optioned to the minors.

Mazara, who turns 21 on April 26, also wasn’t aware or concerned about being the youngest player in the majors.

“Everywhere I go I’m always the youngest,” Mazara said. “They’re not going to treat me like I’m the youngest player.”

The 27-year-old Nicholas was also in his first spring training last month, batting .389 (7 for 18) with two home runs. The Rangers held off on announcing the addition as they searched for help from outside the organization.

The search will continue, with San Diego possibly willing to unload Derek Norris. Chris Gimenez is on the 15-day disabled list with an infection in his left leg but is not doing baseball activities.

Choo was placed on the 15-day DL after hurting himself Saturday during batting practice as he did some stretching and conditioning in the outfield.

Chirinos was injured when he couldn’t get out of the way of a Garrett Richards fastball that tailed inside. Chirinos, who was ruled to have swung at the pitch, eventually flied out to deep right field before exiting the game.

This story was originally published April 10, 2016 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Nomar Mazara homers in debut, but Weaver shuts down Texas Rangers."