ARLINGTON, Texas _ Adrian Beltre returned to Texas Rangers' lineup about two weeks ahead of schedule Thursday.
Beltre will start at designated hitter against Seattle at Globe Life Park. It will be his first start since Aug. 31, when he strained the left hamstring. At the time, the club expected Beltre to be out for about four weeks.
"I believe I'm good enough to be out there and contribute," Beltre said. "Obviously, the situation is not ideal for us. There's no tomorrow. A lot of my teammates are playing injured."
Beltre has not fully recovered from the injury, but he wanted to play because of the time of the season and the Rangers' plight.
The Rangers began play having lost four of the previous five games and had dropped to four games behind Minnesota in the race for the second wild-card spot in the American League playoffs. The Rangers were 6-6 since Beltre's last start, at third base.
"We know that we need to play with a sense of urgency," Beltre said. "A lot of teams are in the hunt. We are behind. It's not going to be easy, but it's doable.
"We need to find a way to do better."
Beltre will be limited to DH for at least the short term. He will also be conservative on the bases to avoid aggravating the hamstring.
Beltre has done this before. He played through a bowel obstruction down the stretch in 2012 and a torn thumb ligament throughout the second half in 2015. He missed only two games in the 2015 American League Division Series because of a back injury that the club thought had ended his season.
Beltre wanted to start on Wednesday, but manager Jeff Banister took the cautious route and limited him to one at-bat as a pinch-hitter.
"He's been at that doorstep just about every day," Banister said.
