Bottom of the Order Providing Punch

After going through an abysmal stretch at the plate, the Texas Rangers lineup is starting to show signs of waking up from its slumber.

In the last four games, the Rangers have put up 7, 10, 7 and 11 runs, respectively, and a lot of that has been sparked by the bottom of the order: Mitch Moreland, Mike Napoli and Endy Chavez.

As the Rangers pounded out 20 hits in Monday's 11-5 over Tampa Bay, that trio went 8-for-15 with four home runs with 8 RBIs, and it wasn't the first game the bottom of the order has put up some big numbers. It was the third straight game in which the Rangers have hit four home runs.

Chavez homered in his second straight game on Monday, while Napoli has now hit four bombs in the last three games.

This season, so far, is just going to show that Moreland appears to be the first baseman of the future for this club, as he's one of only two regulars hitting better than .300 (.301), Chavez is showing that it might not be such an easy decision to put Julio Borbon back in center field when he returns soon from the DL as Chavez is hitting .394 in his 10-game audition so far. And then there's Napoli, who originally was signed as a guy to hit against left-handed pitching but is starting to take a chunk out of Yorvit Torrealba's time behind the plate. Don't be shocked if Napoli starts getting more starts as he's 11-4 as a starting catcher this season for the Rangers.

Sure, Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz have directly affected the lineup positively since their joint return from the DL, but they've also done it indirectly by pushing guys back into their more natural, comfortable spots in the batting order. It's worked wonders, so far.

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