ARLINGTON, Texas _ With a chance to win the game Wednesday, the Rangers politely asked Rougned Odor to put his bat down.
It may be a sign of things to come.
With Odor struggling in the No. 2 hole, manager Chris Woodward acknowledged Wednesday the possibility of dropping Odor in the lineup. And that was before Hunter Pence hit for him with two outs and two on in the bottom of the ninth. Alas, Pence struck out against wicked Pittsburgh closer Felipe Vazquez to end a 7-5 loss to the Pirates.
Odor, who was 0 for 4 with a strikeout Wednesday is 2 for 24 with 12 strikeouts in five games since returning from the injured list. His batting average for the season has fallen to .136 and his OPS to .431. It was the first time the Rangers pinch hit for Odor in more than five years. The last time he was a 20-year-old rookie with two months in the big leagues; now he's expected to be a core producer.
"I was honest with him," Woodward said after the game about lifting Odor. "I said, hopefully in the near future, I'll never have to do that again. But Vazquez is incredibly tough on lefties and Hunter is swinging a hot bat."
Said Odor: "I understood the whole process. That is his job to make those decisions. If he thought Hunter is going to help the team win, then that is what he has to do."
Pence worked the count full against Vazquez, a left-hander who throws 99 and backs it up with a sweeping slider. But Vazquez got him to chase a ball down in the zone for the final out.
Where Vazquez is concerned, Odor shouldn't feel alone. On Tuesday, with Odor on deck, Woodward pinch hit Danny Santana for Choo. Santana made the final out of the game. Woodward had been left with a choice to hit for either Choo or Odor. He chose Choo, who holds the team's best on-base percentage, because he didn't want the game to end without using the right-handed hitter.
Whereas Choo remains the game's best leadoff hitter for the moment, there is growing concern about Odor's ability to hold the No. 2 spot for now. Woodward mentioned that Odor may have felt some pressure after getting off to a slow start, while seeing other core teammates (namely Joey Gallo and Elvis Andrus) get off to hot starts. It may have led to him trying to do too much catching up in too short a period of time after returning from a knee sprain.
"I love him at the top of the lineup, but some time down (in the order) may do him some good," Woodward said. "I feel like he's really close. He's still confident. It's not getting him down, where it would get a normal person down. But, as much as I talk process, man, I'd like for him to see him to see more results."
