When the Texas Rangers lost their season-opening game in primetime in front of the entire nation to the lowly Houston Astros, the black cloud of depression could be felt all over DFW.
But it didn't last long as the Rangers announced a club-friendly long-term contract extension of star shortstop Elvis Andrus the following day, locking up the new face of their franchise for a long time at a relatively low price.
Ever since then, Andrus has been a pretty big disappointment in a year when the Rangers couldn't afford to have one of their best players have a career-worst season at the plate. But things are starting to look up for Andrus as of late.
Since the all-star break, Andrus is hitting .341 with a .431 on-base percentage and is in the midst of a league-high 12-game hitting streak. He has three doubles in those 12 games, an extra-base clip far exceeding his slugging output in the season's first half with six walks and is a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts.
On Tuesday night, he might have had his best game of the whole bunch, going 2-for-4 with a double, two walks, a run, and RBI, a stolen base and a couple of stellar defensive plays at shortstop.
Andrus is now back in the 2-hole in the lineup, where he's best suited, and it's no coincidence the Rangers' offense is starting to click in these past two games.
