ARLINGTON, Texas _ Adrian Beltre's return to the Rangers' lineup won't solve all the team's problems, of course.
Despite that sobering fact, it was an obvious injection of good news when the announcement came down several hours before Tuesday's game against the Tigers at Globe Life Park.
Beltre, who had been on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring since April 25, was back in the lineup, back at third base, back where he belongs.
And he picked up where he left off on April 24, collecting three singles and two RBIs in the Rangers' 7-4 loss to the Tigers. It was Beltre's second three-hit game of the season and first since April 6.
The offense, however, couldn't overcome the Tigers being spotted a 5-0 lead on the strength of three home runs in the first two innings against Mike Minor.
To his credit, Minor withstood the early barrage and lasted seven innings. He allowed seven hits, walked none and struck out four. He took the loss, his first since his first start of the season on April 1.
Beltre, who tied Tony Perez for No. 27 all time with 1,652 RBIs, tried to carry most of the offensive load and help Texas mount a late comeback for the second consecutive night. But the Tigers tacked on an unearned run in the eighth against Alex Claudio and another run against Kevin Jepsen in the ninth to build a three-run cushion.
Rangers manager Jeff Banister said the club will monitor Beltre's days off closely with hopes of preventing another leg injury. But getting the necessary days off didn't contribute to Beltre's hamstring issues, which have occurred multiple times in recent years.
"I think it's one of those situations where we continue to look at playing, the time on his legs, and how he feels," Banister said. "When he (hurt) the hamstring this time, he was feeling as good as he's felt in a long time. Obviously, we'll continue to look at it, try to be as smart as we can be on when he does need days (off)."
Part of the plan the past few seasons was to give Beltre, 39, more days as the designated hitter. In his first 24 games, he DH'd only twice. But the Rangers have had three days off since the start of the season and get their fourth on Thursday before starting a three-game series against the Astros in Houston on Friday.
"It came to the point where we needed to DH him, we had to take one of our left-handed bats out of the lineup," he said. "The calendar doesn't always present the best of options for us to find the best DH days for him. It's part of my job to find the best, opportune times to do that, for not only him but for our team."
