COMMENTARY | Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre fouled a ball off his knee in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers, and he battled through injuries during much of the 2011 regular season.
Heading into the 2011 World Series matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals, one of the key questions looming over the Rangers is how well Beltre’s aching legs and knees will hold up for these final games of the season.
Luckily for the Rangers, Beltre looked great in his first plate appearance of the World Series. He hit a one-out double to left fielder Matt Holliday, on a line drive that deflected off the glove of Cardinals third baseman David Freese.
The Rangers weren’t able to bring Beltre around to score, but the hit by Beltre was important because he ran the bases well and didn’t show any signs of injury.
When Beltre is at full strength, he is a potent power bat in the middle of the Texas Rangers’ lineup and a constant scoring threat. He has three home runs, six runs batted in and nine runs scored in 11 games played this postseason.
While the first game of the World Series shaped up to be a pitcher’s duel for the most part, Game 2 should be a different story with Colby Lewis and Jaime Garcia expected to be the starting pitchers on the mound for their respective teams. The rest of the series will likely be determined by each team’s potent offense rather than the starting pitchers.
If Beltre gets hot, the Rangers will have better protection for Michael Young and a much better chance to put some runs on the board. Garcia has a 5.74 ERA this postseason, so Game 2 gives Beltre the perfect opportunity to catch fire.
Sources
www.mlb.com, MLB