Mike Napoli only has three starts since returning to the Texas Rangers a couple of weeks ago in Seattle, and he got that third one on Wednesday in the rubber match against that same Mariners team in Arlington.
Napoli is starting to show he could really help this team if given some regular at-bats, which granted, is hard considering he's platooning at first base with Mitch Moreland and only starting against left-handed pitchers.
On Wednesday, he crushed another lefty and was the middle of a back-to-back-to-back offensive explosion in the bottom of the seventh inning, homering after Mitch Moreland's two-run shot and before Elvis Andrus hit Joe Beimel's second consecutive offering into the visitor's bullpen.
That was a shot, but Napoli's homer was an absolute blast — measuring more than 430 feet and going up to the club beyond the grassy knoll in center field. Moreland should get the majority of at-bats at first base, that can't be debated, but the Rangers might want to try to find a way to get Napoli some more at-bats from time to time to keep him in rhythm because he's showing he can be an effective player.
