{"id":106840,"date":"2025-09-08T23:35:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T03:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=106840"},"modified":"2025-09-08T23:35:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T03:35:07","slug":"unlikely-players-fueling-texas-rangers-hot-streak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/09\/08\/unlikely-players-fueling-texas-rangers-hot-streak\/","title":{"rendered":"The Unusual Suspects Behind the Rangers’ Hot Streak"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Texas Rangers have been on a hot streak to get themselves back into the playoff picture and the race for the American League West. They have won 12 of their last 16 games with big series wins over the Cleveland Guardians and the Houston Astros.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They have done all of this without second baseman Marcus Semien<\/a>, and they lost their best player in Corey Seager<\/a> six games into this stretch. Their best pitcher, Nathan Eovaldi<\/a>, who was. a top contender for the Cy Young Award, only made one start in that time before being shelved for the rest of the season. The only guy that might be able to make it back this year is Seager, who could be back the last week of the season, although there is no official timeline at this point.<\/span><\/p>\n

You would think that the Rangers would sink with their leaders going down. However, it has been the opposite as a group of players has stepped up big for them. Ezequiel Duran<\/a>, Michael Helman<\/a>, Cody Freeman<\/a>, Alejandro Osuna<\/a>,\u00a0and Dustin Harris<\/a> are all players who most fans did not give a second thought back in March, but are leading a late-season charge in Arlington.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sep 3, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Texas Rangers outfielder Alejandro Osuna (19) hits a single against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Texas Rangers’ Hot Streak Fueled by Unsung Heroes<\/h2>\n

Ezequiel Duran<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Duran is the most familiar player of the bunch, and he was expected to just be a bench bat, as he has been most of his career. He just hit .246 with three homers in 2024<\/a>. He didn\u2019t get off to a great start in 2025, he was hitting .148 before the month of August. Then he turned into a different player. Over the last 30 games, he has a .318 batting average with a .348 on-base percentage and a .400 slugging percentage. He has played great defense at second in place of Semien<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Michael Helman<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Helman was a waiver-wire add earlier in the year and spent time between Triple-A Round Rock and the Rangers. He has been with the team since August 23, when Sam Haggerty<\/a> went on the IL. His stats<\/a> don\u2019t pop off the page with a .238 batting average, a .289 on-base percentage, and a .524 slugging percentage. He has brought energy to the team by flying around the bases and has launched three home runs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cody Freeman\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Freeman is a guy who tore up the minor leagues ,forcing the Rangers to call him up. He has brought a lot of energy to the clubhouse, getting hyped up when he or another teammate makes a play. That energy has been infectious, as the Rangers have been showing more emotion lately and seem to be having more fun.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alejandro Osuna\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Osuna is another guy like Freeman who was great in the minor leagues and gave the team no other choice but to call him up. He has had mixed results, but has had his moments where he has come big and delivered, such as his recent two-run single against the Arizona Diamondbacks to give the Rangers a 10-inning win. He hasn\u2019t set the world on fire, but he has helped the team when he can.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dustin Harris<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Rangers called up Harris on Friday, so he hasn’t been with the team long. He would deliver later that night, as he had a walk-off single to give them the win over the Astros. This is the mentality that the Rangers have had with players being next man up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dustin Harris is the 12th inning #walkoff<\/a> hero for the @Rangers<\/a> \ud83d\ude24 pic.twitter.com\/dC3EpvVXsz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MLB (@MLB) September 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n