Remember the Rangers' second game of the season? It was a win over the Red Sox and new third baseman Adrian Beltre made his presence felt at the plate for the first time with a big grand slam.
But that was about all Beltre did on the Rangers' season-opening homestand. In the field, it doesn't get any better than Beltre at the hot corner, but he was leaving a lot to be desired at the plate.
How quickly things can change.
With reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton on the shelf for two months, the Rangers need as much help at the plate as they can get, and ever since Hamilton got hurt, Beltre has been rising to the occasion.
After seeing his batting average reach a low point of .107, he's now up to .250 after a stellar road trip when he went 12-for-36 with three home runs, four doubles and nine RBIs. That included Sunday night's game, when Beltre went 3-for-4 with a homer, double and four RBIs off Yankees ace CC Sabathia.
Remember, Beltre led the American League in doubles last season for Boston while smashing 28 home runs and driving in 102 runs.
That production was supposed to replace the departed Vladimir Guerrero, but for now, that will fall to someone else as Beltre is tasked with picking up the slack left by Hamilton's absence in the top of the lineup.
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It was a rough start, but it's starting to look like a bright future is on the horizon.
