ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ As the Rangers head into September for the stretch run, they may very well do so without their captain and cleanup hitter.
Adrian Beltre was preliminarily diagnosed with a strained left hamstring during Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros. He will undergo an MRI exam on Friday to get a better idea of the severity of the injury.
Beltre, who missed the first 51 games of the season with a calf injury, came up lame while charging a ball on the artificial turf in the seventh inning of the Rangers' final game Thursday at Tropicana Field against Houston. Beltre came in off the dirt and onto the turf while chasing J.D. Davis' slow bouncer. As he got to the ball, he pulled up, stood straight up and walked stiffly.
Manager Jeff Banister came to the field to check on him. Uncharacteristically, Beltre did not lobby to stay in the game. He walked off the field slowly, favoring his left leg.
Beltre has had numerous leg issues in his career. He came to spring training with a sore left calf, but it was the right calf, which he injured after the World Baseball Classic, that led his placement on the DL. He was last on the DL with a left hamstring strain for 39 days in 2011. There is no reason to put Beltre on the DL with this injury as rosters can be expanded to 40 on Friday.
