There's "hot", and then there's "Adrian Beltre".
Remember the tear Josh Hamilton was on back in April and May? That's what we're seeing right now from Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre.
Beltre hit a three-run homer early in Wednesday's win over the Kansas City Royals, then added an insurance run late after he tripled. Of course, a couple of weeks ago, Beltre made history when he became only the second player in history to hit for the cycle and have three homers in a game in the same week.
Now, he's creeping into the AL MVP race as a late charger in the race. On the season, he's now fourth in the AL in batting average (.318), seventh in home runs (29) and eighth in RBIs (88), not to mention the fact he's the best defensive third baseman in the game.
We've seen similar stretches like this from Beltre, including last September when he set the world on fire after missing all of August with an injury. Over that last month, he hit .374 with 12 home runs and 29 RBIs.
“We needed everything he gave to us tonight,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said after the game. “I know he has been hot, but this is the hottest [streak] I’ve seen. He jumped from 19 homers to 29. He’s just not missing his pitch.”
