Andrus Has Big Night on Bases

Elvis Andrus hasn't been good this year for the Texas Rangers.

He's bounced back and forth from his usual No. 2 spot in the batting lineup. He's hit sixth, seventh and eighth and eventually will move back to second when he finds his swing again, but that hasn't quite happened yet.

But since coming out of the all-star break, Andrus has been swinging a good bat in the back-end of the lineup and on Monday night he was doing damage on the bases, as well.

In the four games since the all-star break, including Monday's series-opening win over the Yankees, Andrus is hitting .357 with five hits, including a double. On Monday, he also gave Yankees pitchers headaches with two stolen bases to break a tie for the team lead with Leonys Martin and give him 21 on the season in 24 attempts.

When Andrus was at his best as a Ranger, it was when he was getting on base and getting in pitchers' heads with his base-running ability, giving the opposing pitchers something else to focus on other than the hitter at the plate.

It only seemed like a matter of time before Andrus would break out of his season-long slump, and while it still hasn't happened, he's on the right track. Getting him back in the 2-hole would be huge for the Rangers as the team has had a revolving door at the spot in the order without finding anyone to take to the role like Nelson Cruz did to the 3-hole when Lance Berkman's struggles began.

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