Rangers waiting on decision on Beltre

ARLINGTON -- Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game Friday and a decision looms for the club on whether -- or perhaps merely when -- to send Beltre and his strained left quadriceps muscle to the disabled list.

"I'll check with the trainers," manager Ron Washington said, "and usually when I go in there to check, Adrian is there. He's got to go through some treatment and we'll make a call. … We're not going to do anything stupid. We've got time. We'll do something by this weekend."

In Beltre's absence, veteran Kevin Kouzmanoff was in the lineup Friday at third and will be the primary stopgap at that position, along with help from Josh Wilson, if Beltre is out for an extended period.

Kouzmanoff, 32, didn't play in the Major Leagues at all in 2012 and 2013 but had an impressive spring with the Rangers. He hit .370 (20-for-54) with three homers and 12 RBIs in 27 games in Arizona, but missed making the club and went to Triple-A Round Rock to start the season. Now he's a starter for the Rangers, however temporarily, less than two weeks later.

"It feels good to be back," said Kouzmanoff, a career .256 hitter with 85 homers and 361 RBIs over 673 games and seven seasons. "I've had a couple tough years.

"I guess that's why you keep pushing and practicing hard, playing hard. You never know what can happen. It doesn't last long so you've got to give it all you've got."

Washington said he likes "the fact that he knows how to play the game. You can see the way he plays that he has an understanding of the game of baseball. … He's steady. He reads situations well. He plays to the game. That's my type of player."