For much of this season, Ian Kinsler has been one of the Texas Rangers' best offensive players — right up there with Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz.
But since returning from a month-long stay on the disabled list last month, Kinsler has struggled to find the stroke he had over the first month-and-a-half of the season.
When he hit the disabled list following the Rangers' game on May 17, Kinsler was hitting .302 with a .369 on-base percentage and a .488 slugging percenage. When he returned to the lineup on June 15, he struggled through the month of June, hitting just .228 over those 15 games with a .246 slugging percentage. Yikes.
But now, he's starting to heat back up and had a huge game on Monday night as he racked up four RBIs in the Rangers' series-opening win in Baltimore. His bases-clearing double in the sixth inning was the key blow to Baltimore's hopes and for the month of July he's now hitting .333 with a .481 slugging percentage with a double, a homer and six RBIs and is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak. He's also walked six times and struck out just twice.
The Rangers are always at their best when Kinsler is hitting at the top of the lineup, and if this month, so far, is any sign of things to come, the Rangers' offense appears to be in good hands for the time being.
