Fansided

Josh Hamilton’s big weekend shows he’s at home in Texas

By CM Towle

May 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers left fielder Josh Hamilton (32) follows through on his two run walk off double against the Boston Red Sox during a baseball game at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Rangers won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
May 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers left fielder Josh Hamilton (32) follows through on his two run walk off double against the Boston Red Sox during a baseball game at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Rangers won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports /
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Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton returned to Arlington over the weekend and his big play showed that he belonged.

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It was only last year that Josh Hamilton was playing in a Los Angeles Angels uniform and getting booed by the Texas Rangers faithful. The parting wasn’t a great one after the 2012 season where Hamilton floundered at the end of the season.  The team struggled with him, and the Rangers haven’t been back to the playoffs since.

However, Hamilton had an addiction relapse in over the offseason and the Angels basically paid him to go away. That is, after they dragged him through the dirt as much as possible. The Rangers were the initially dubious benefactors until this weekend.

The last weekend in May was like old times for the Rangers and Hamilton. Texas went streaking and Hamilton delivered big hits to help it happen. The Rangers took the four-game series from the Boston Red Sox after initially losing the first one contest, putting them over .500 and into third place in the AL West.

On Friday, Hamilton hit two solo home runs to help secure a 7-4 win. On Saturday, Hamilton drew a two-out walk that started a rally, and the Rangers won 8-0. On Sunday, Hamilton was supposed to have a day off, but he came on in the ninth inning with two outs and two runners on to face Red Sox reliever Koji Uehara. Hamilton looked for, and got, a split-finger fastball that he knocked into left-center. Texas walked off to a 4-3 victory.

When Hamilton started the homestand on Thursday, fans gave him a standing ovation with the crowd full of Hamilton signs and jerseys, showing that the fans were ready to welcome him back to Texas.

The Rangers ended up having a great May, going 19-11, vs their awful April where they went 7-14. However, their latest test starts now as third baseman Adrian Beltre injured his thumb sliding into a base and will likely be out for two weeks. It’s possible the Rangers move Hamilton up in the batting order from fifth to fourth, which doesn’t immediately seem like a big deal, but not all players feel comfortable batting cleanup so it remains to be seen if Hamilton can keep up what he started in Texas over the weekend.

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