Looking for throwback Kinsler and Hamilton.

Prepped by every writer in town, if not by our own eyes, we were all looking for the same thing last night, aside from a win to get this 13-of-16-at-home started off right: a hint that Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton were poised, one after four days away from the game and the other after a corner turned at the All-Star Game, to put disappointing first halves behind them and reignite a sluggish offense. In spite of a 5-2 deficit through three innings (and a brutal second-inning 0-2 call by plate umpire Jim Wolf that cost the Rangers two runs), I was in a good baseball mood. In the first inning, on the second pitch he saw, Kinsler did what he hasn't done much of since April, blasting a pitch on the ground, through the box, for a crisp single. (As for his steal of second and taking of third on the errant throw from catcher Joe Mauer, that's just Kins being Kins. That part of his game hasn't wandered.) Kinsler leads baseball in fly balls hit (his 158 is well ahead of Bengie Molina's 144 and Vernon Wells's 133), and that's not a category you want an offensive igniter and disruptive baserunner anywhere near the top of. Hamilton homered inside the right field foul pole linearly. The ball exploded off the bat and would have been a terrible punt, devoid of any hint of hang time. The shot had 2008 written all over it. Kinsler led off the third by once again taking a pitch, and following with a smash to center field, caught on a line for an out. Great-looking swing. Two batters later, Hamilton worked a 3-1 count and rifled a single to center. Hard. Great at-bat. The inning ended in the next at-bat, and Texas remained down, 5-2, but I was starting to think about a second-half offensive resurgence for this lineup. But then Kinsler popped out to center with a man on first in the fifth. OK. It's a process. Everyone gets outdueled from time to time. After a Michael Young shot to third that Elvis Andrus turned into a single by beating Joe Crede's throw to second, Hamilton shot a grounder through the infield to center, scoring Andrus and making it a 5-3 game. All three runs had come courtesy of Hamilton's bat, reminiscent of any number of 2008 games. In the bottom of the seventh, Kinsler swung wildly at a two-strike pitch that nearly hit him, a tailing Bobby Keppel fastball that was a foot inside. Hamilton led off the eighth looking at strike three from lefthander Jose Mijares, capping off a 3-for-4 night without further heroics. In the ninth, Kinsler, the would-be tying run, ended the game walking back to the dugout as Mauer squeezed a pop-up behind the plate. Those first two Kinsler at-bats looked so good. MUTRIHOF (8-2, 3.83) gets a chance to help even the series tonight against Twins righthander Scott Baker (7-7, 5.42). Kinsler is a lifetime 2 for 7 with a walk off Baker, both hits for singles. I'd very much like to see a couple more singles and a walk tonight. Grab the extra bases on foot rather than with the bat. Leave the slugging to Hamilton, for instance, who in one career game against Baker (April 26 last year) singled the opposite way, doubled the opposite way with the bases loaded, and walked with a man on. Lots of good stuff from the farm last night. I won't steal Scott's thunder by running it all down, but of relatively immediate interest are two things: Neftali Feliz came in on the eighth inning of Oklahoma City's 9-7 win (with the RedHawks down at the time, 7-3), and threw 17 pitches, 11 for strikes. He retired Round Rock's 4-5-6 hitters in order, on a strikeout swinging, a grounder to first, and another strikeout swinging. Notably, it was Feliz's first time to pitch on a second straight night. On Thursday he'd given up a single to start the eighth before holding Express first baseman Mark Saccomanno on well enough to allow catcher Kevin Richardson to gun him down on an attempted steal, then coaxed a popout to second and a groundout to shortstop. Ten pitches, six strikes. Two quiet eighth innings. Having passed the consecutive nights test, pretty soon Feliz is going to be showing up, maybe not immediately in the eighth inning but soon thereafter, wearing a cap with a "T" on it. Chris Davis, through five innings last night, drew a walk, struck out on a hit-and-run, and grounded into a double play started by the shortstop. Not a great start to his game, but I added the placement of the double play grounder for a reason. In Davis's next three at-bats, Davis doubled to left. Doubled to left. And doubled to left. Davis is now hitting .395/.455/.684 since returning to AAA, not only with hits in eight of his nine games but in fact just about two hits per game in those eight. He's obviously seeing the ball well and has something straightened out mechanically, as he's going the opposite way again, just like he did with regularity in 2008. When I tune into Rangers-Twins tonight, I'll be looking for a little more of that "just like he did with regularity in 2008," from the leadoff hitter and the number three man. =========================================================== To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar. (c) Jamey Newberg http://www.newbergreport.com Twitter @newbergreport If you want to be removed from this list, please e-mail me at newbergreport@sbcglobal.net