Rangers edge Astros as Choo-Mazara decision creeps closer

Shin-Soo Choo hasn’t been in the Texas Rangers’ lineup since April 8, the day before he felt his right calf muscle pop as he was running the last of five sprints in the outfield at Angel Stadium.

He landed on the disabled list April 10, the same day that Nomar Mazara replaced him in right field and the No. 2 spot in the batting order. Choo hadn’t been seen by media since, before appearing on the field early Wednesday afternoon at Globe Life Park to crank up his arm.

He was watching from the dugout later as Cole Hamels dodged early trouble against the mistaken-prone Houston Astros and as Rougned Odor swatted a two-run homer in a 2-1 Rangers victory.　

Though out of the media’s reach, Choo has been watching his team closely. He’s been working out with weights and has been around the team. His locker is only four away from Mazara’s, and they were clubhouse neighbors in spring training.

Choo knows exactly what his replacement has been doing, like the .414 batting average he took into Wednesday. And the .457 on-base percentage. And the .552 slugging percentage and solid defense.

Choo is loving it. He’s also loving the way he feels 11 days after the injury that was to keep him out four to six weeks. He expects to beat that window, or at least be on the short end of it.

No matter when Choo returns, what happens to Mazara if he’s still raking will be a pressing issue.

“I’m here until he gets ready and is healthy enough to play,” Mazara said. “I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. It’s not my decision.”

Mazara went 0 for 4 and didn’t reach base for the first time in his career, but he wasn’t the only Rangers hitters who didn’t do much against Astros pitching. Odor did just enough, following a Doug Fister walk to Ian Desmond with a towering shot into home-run porch in right field with one out in the second inning.

The Astros made outs on the bases in each of the first three innings to help Hamels wiggle into the sixth with a shutout, which he lost when Tyler White hit a one-out solo homer.

Sam Dyson, Jake Diekman and Shawn Tolleson kept the Astros at bay the rest of the way as the Rangers won for the 14th consecutive Hamels start and as Hamels won his 10th consecutive decision.

Mazara has been putting together solid at-bats, including Wednesday, thanks to an advanced plate approach that allows him to succeed even when he’s behind in the count. He doesn’t get rattled with two strikes, and is able to keep his bat in the strike zone to either spoil pitches or knock them into the outfield for a hit.

It’s a quick bat, and Mazara is a strong 20-year-old. He has fought off pitches on his hands and flipped them into the outfield for base hits, and gone the other way with outside pitches.

“Oh, man, he’s good,” Choo said. “He can hit. He’s ready to be in the big leagues. The reason I say this is he’s prepared and his mentality. He’s mature. He’s professional. He can handle things. He understands the situation and what his role is.”

That wasn’t Choo just playing up Mazara to a writer. Choo has told Mazara the same exact thing.

“It means a lot to me,” Mazara said. “The first time he told me that, I was like, ‘Oh!’ he’s one of those guys. He’s a great guy.”

Their talks in spring training were fairly one-sided, with the veteran talking and the prospect in his first big league camp listening. Choo told Mazara what he needs to do as a rookie: show up early, keep his head down, work hard and ask questions.

“Everything,” Mazara said. “He always told me I can play here because of my maturity. We talked a lot. He’s early, before everybody else. He started to tell me how to do stuff, like on the field when we’re practicing and off the field. He always told me to keep doing what I’m doing and keep working hard.”

Choo was bummed out in the days after the injury. He felt that he was in the best shape of his life, as good as his days in Cleveland, and the Rangers had taken good care of him during spring training to ensure that he arrived full-strength on Opening Day.

Choo has been working out again for nearly a week after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection into his Grade 2 strain. The throwing he did Wednesday was the first since the injury, but he has been keeping busy in the gym — including squatting 315 pounds — and is walking without a limp after hobbling around for the first four or five days.

He said that his injury was freak, possibly the by-product of getting hit in the calf by a pitch earlier in the series. The muscle was bruised and tight, and it never loosened up during the sprints.

Originally told he would miss four to six weeks, Choo hopes to go on a rehab assignment the first week of May.

“Six weeks? No chance. I say earlier,” Choo said. “I always come back early, and I have confidence I’m healing quickly. But this is the first time in my career that I’ve had this injury. I’m trying to get back on the field as soon as possible, but I don’t want to have the same injury again.”

Choo was batting only .188 when he was injured but had a .409 on-base percentage, which is his calling card. He has also played 1,130 careers games, compared to 10 for Mazara.

Chances are Mazara is going to hit a slump and won’t be hitting around .400 when Choo returns. Josh Hamilton is also on the mend, Ryan Rua’s versatility is coveted by the Rangers, Desmond is getting paid $8 million, and Delino DeShields is seen as the player who makes the offense go.

Mazara has options, and the Rangers won’t want to make him a bench player.

“That’s a ways away,” manager Jeff Banister said. “We’ll worry about that when we get to that point.”

How the Rangers fared

Hitting: Doug Fister had his best career start at Globe Life Park, allowing two runs in six innings after entering with an 11.85 ERA in three previous outings. ... His biggest mistakes were in the second, a walk to Ian Desmond followed by a two-run homer by Rougned Odor. ... The Rangers were 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position.　　

Pitching: Cole Hamels benefited early from some sloppy Astros base running and was still standing in the seventh inning with a lead. The lone run against him came on a Tyler White homer in the sixth, and Sam Dyson stranded the trying run at third after Hamels exited after 6  2/3 innings. Dyson, Jake Diekman and Shawn Tolleson covered the final 2  1/3 innings.

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 11:11 PM with the headline "Rangers edge Astros as Choo-Mazara decision creeps closer."