One of the primary jobs of hitting third in the batting order is to drive in runs and hit well with people on base.
Usually, Ian Kinsler is one of those guys getting on base ahead of the 3-hole hitter for the Texas Rangers, but on Monday night, in an effort to shuffle up a struggling lineup, Rangers manager Ron Washington put Kinsler in the third spot in the lineup, hitting behind leadoff man Leonys Martin and No. 2 hitter Elvis Andrus.
Kinsler, usually the team's leadoff hitter, hit third for the third time this season and came through with two big RBIs — the Rangers' first two RBIs since Friday night.
It still seems Kinsler is best suited to hit leadoff, or possibly second, as he's not a prototypical 3-hole hitter with serious home-run power, even though he has hit 30-plus homers in a season before.
But for the time being, with Kinsler struggling and the overall lineup choking on its own vomit (gross analogy, yes, but pretty fitting), it was worth a shot to make the move, and Kinsler got all the fun started on Monday night before A.J. Pierzynski and Geovany Soto closed the party.
