By Ben Cowlishaw
Online Copy Editor
The Rangers are yet to slow down from their hot start to the season. Now 23-12, they lead the American League, and tie the Dodgers in wins. The bats have been hot, the pitching un-stoppable; the Rangers are making continuing to make their case for another postseason berth.
Josh Hamilton knows what it means to be on a contract year. He currently leads the majors in home runs, RBIs and batting average, and set a feat seen less than a perfect game.
Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles, Hamilton hit four home runs in five at-bats, only the sixteenth four-home run game in MLB history. He also set the record for the most bases in a game, with 18 (he also doubled).
Hamilton now leads the majors with 18 home runs, five more than the second place holder, Carlos Beltran. Adam Dunn has the second most in the American League, well behind Hamilton with 11.
The much anticipated Darvish vs. CJ Wilson matchup of the series with the Angels did not go exactly as planned, as a first inning two-hour rain delay saw CJ take the rest of the night off to start game two of the series, while Darvish returned once the game resumed.
While CJ was credited with the Angels’ loss on Friday, he came back Saturday the same pitcher he was with the Rangers. He kept the Ranger offense to a minimum in the 4-2 Ranger loss, although he did let up a home run to Hamilton.
CJ later tweeted his thoughts about Hamilton’s power at the plate:
@str8edgeracer: “I know a lot of people might want to pitch around Hamilton, but their lineup is too good. He might break [Barry Bond’s home run] record this year, no joke”
To not much surprise, CJ was greeted with jeers at the ballpark, many fans feeling betrayed by his move to the division rivals and his lack of performance in the post season.
Sunday night, Angels’ ace Jered Weaver was on the mound for the halos, coming off a no-hitter in a previous start against the Minnesota Twins. Instead of the pitcher’s duel expected between he and Neftali Feliz, the Rangers pushed Weaver off the mound after just three and a third innings pitched.
The rally started in the first inning and never came to a close. Weaver could be seen singing along to “Hit the road, Jack,” as he walked off the mound.
While most of the Ranger bats have been hot, including Elvis Andrus who has reached base in 31 consecutive games, some have been in a purely relative lull. Nelson Cruz, famous for his “boomstick” hits that came up clutch in last years American League Championship Series against the Tigers, has been a little too quiet.
Starting last week, Cruz slowly broke out of his slump with a few infield hits, then slowly built up with some extra base hits and hard hit balls into the outfield building up to last night. Cruz hit a third-inning grand slam (after Weaver had already been removed), pushing the Rangers to a 6-2 lead. Cruz had four hits on the night, driving in four and scoring three himself. The fans were audibly happy to see Cruz back into his groove, along with the team, manager Ron Washington and Nelson himself.
The Rangers host the Royals and A’s this week in a pair of two game series’, then travel to Houston to face the National League Astros, who will break the league barrier and cross into the AL West next season.
