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Rangers’ Josh Smith, stitched up and slightly swollen, eager to return to action after HBP

The Rangers utilityman returned to the clubhouse on Tuesday. Manager Bruce Bochy is hopeful Smith can avoid an IL stint.

ARLINGTON – Josh Smith walked into the Rangers’ clubhouse Tuesday afternoon, which, in and of itself, was something of a wonder. Bigger miracle — his jaw and eye socket were both intact.

His cheek was puffy as if he’d just inserted a plug of tobacco. His chin appeared to have the seams of a baseball winding up, but no, it was just six sutures. His voice was a little thick, but not from the get-well whiskey the Orioles sent over; you’d have a tough time talking, too, if the inside of your mouth was swollen.

It could have been so much worse.

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A night earlier, Smith took an 89 mph fastball directly off the face, sending him to the ground and sending blood splattering into the air. He was taken to a local hospital. The Rangers and Smith feared the worst: A broken jaw and a long recovery. Instead, Smith was, remarkably, joking about talking his way into the lineup Tuesday. Alas, he did not.

“I definitely thought it would be worse,” Smith said. “When I got back to the clubhouse after being hit and the shock wore off, I just started crying because I thought it was bad and I was going to miss a long time. This is really the best outcome possible. It’s basically a cut.”

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Indeed. And we’re not recommending a job search website, either. The Rangers and their spunky super-utility man seemed to have dodged serious trouble. Scans showed no fracture. Initial tests indicated no concussion. Manager Bruce Bochy was optimistic Smith wouldn’t even require a stint on the injured list.

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Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Smith is helped up by the Rangers’ medical staff after he was...
Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Smith is helped up by the Rangers’ medical staff after he was hit in the face with a pitch during the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Field on Monday, April 3, 2023.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
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It was the best news the Rangers received Tuesday. The game that followed certainly didn’t qualify. Baltimore scored seven runs in the first three innings against Andrew Heaney in his first start as a Ranger amid a 7-2 loss to the Orioles. There were enough loud noises on four early extra-base hits to give anybody a headache. Then again, it’s just one start. Even though Heaney was the one starter who struggled in spring training, the Rangers will wait a while longer before grabbing the Advil.

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In the meantime: Smith. He was expecting a slider from Baltimore’s Daniel Coulombe during his Monday at-bat and tried to stay in the box, waiting for the break that never came. The ball ran up and in on him. Slow motion replays showed it getting just under his ear flap, connecting with, and distorting his face. If you have watched it, you’ve likely winced.

Smith has tried not to replay it too often. Returning from a facial beaning can be tricky. Beyond the physical damage, it can cause a hitter psychological issue. It can be Willie Calhoun, a left-handed hitter like Smith, who was coming off what appeared to be a breakout year when he took a jaw-shattering 95 mph fastball from Los Angeles’ Julio Urias to the face just days before COVID-19 shut down baseball in 2020.

He was never the same hitter and acknowledged some anxiety about getting back into the box against left-handed pitching.

“I don’t think there is a right answer or a wrong answer on how you deal with it,” Rangers hitting instructor Tim Hyers said. “I think the biggest thing is, once you are healthy, the faster you can get back in and get in the flow helps. The more you think about it, the worse it can get. But I think this guy is fearless and aggressive.”

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Said manager Bruce Bochy: “I just don’t see it [being a long-term issue]. Facing a lefty, maybe it comes into play. But he wants to get back out there and play [Tuesday]. So, he’s certainly got no hesitation.”

There is a notable difference in the Smith-Calhoun comparisons. Most notably, the trauma. Calhoun was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Scottsdale, had his jaw repaired via surgery and then had three months of COVID-19 lockdown to do nothing but think about the beaning.

Smith had previously taken a pitch to the face, too. While at LSU, he was hit in February 2019 by a pitch smack dab in the middle of his mouth. Nothing broken then, either. Maybe he’s indestructible.

He had taken to wearing a chin-protecting flap, however, which attaches to the helmet and protects the jaw. When he got to the majors, the helmets fit a little different, he said. So, he went without one. He will make finding a better fit a priority.

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“You never know what the chances of it happening again are,” Smith said. “I don’t want to jinx it, but they are probably pretty low. I don’t think I’ll have a problem getting back in. I’ve done it before. So, the best thing is to get back in there and not think about it.”

Actually, the best thing might be to take a swig of that special 10-year-old Whistle Pig whiskey the Orioles sent over.

Only one problem: “Right now it would probably burn the inside of my mouth.”

He laughed a little. Because he could. A day earlier, he wasn’t sure that would be a possibility.

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Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant

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