Josh Hamilton Makes Season Debut

After missing the start of the season due to shoulder surgery and also being traded back to the Texas Rangers, Josh Hamilton made his season debut on Monday. Hamilton didn’t make much of a splash, but the Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 10-8. The victory was the sixth straight for Texas.

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Hamilton underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason, but that wasn’t the only problem for the former MVP award winner. He had a drug and alcohol relapse that also marred his offseason, and he didn’t play for the Los Angeles Angeles this season before he was finally sent back to the Rangers, where he has had the most success in his career. He played in two World Series and won his MVP in Texas.

Hamilton went 0-for-3 at the plate with two strikeouts, a walk and a run in his 2015 debut. Clearly there was some nerves and rust there, and it’ll likely take him some time to get back into a groove.

Hamilton was involved in a key play in the seventh inning. With the score tied and men on first and second with two outs, Hamilton hit a tapper back to the mound. Indians pitcher Zach McAllister airmailed a throw over the head of Carlos Santana at first base, allowing the runner on second to score to break an 8-8 tie. The Rangers tacked on an insurance run in the eighth inning on an Elvis Andrus dinger.

With the sixth consecutive win, Texas is now 22-23 after an awful start to the season. The Rangers are now just a half-game behind the Angels and 6½ games behind the first-place Houston Astros. Most people expect the Astros to fall back down to Earth at some point, so Texas is certainly still in this thing.