BALTIMORE -- Josh Hamilton returned from a month-long stint on the disabled list Tuesday night and helped produce a win.
The Rangers reinstated the veteran Tuesday, put him in left field, and Hamilton went 2-for-4, scored a run and made a nice sliding catch in Texas' 8-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Hamilton said he had a hamstring injury eight years ago but this one was a bit different. He was talking a lot with third baseman Adrian Beltre and other teammates who have dealt with hamstring problems to figure the right ways to handle it.
"You try to remind yourself when you're out here when to go, when not to go and play through it," Hamilton said before the game. "What (Beltre) said yesterday was that he feels better when he plays with it and is in game situations. It actually helps the muscle itself recuperate faster. That's the approach I'm going to take."
Hamilton said afterward that Beltre told him the right way to handle it is to use caution. That was why Hamilton made a sliding catch in left on first baseman Chris Parmelee's sinking shot in the sixth.
"You play up to when you feel it and you stay right below that," Hamilton said his teammate told him.
The Rangers re-acquired Hamilton from the Los Angeles Angels on April 27 while he was on the disabled list recovering from Feb. 4 surgery on his right shoulder.
Hamilton didn't make his season debut until May 25, and he hurt the hamstring a few days later.
He has had a rough time with off-the-field issues since the end of the 2014 season, but now Hamilton is back in the lineup and wants stay there. The Rangers have been one of baseball's surprises, and Hamilton wants to help out.
"The goal is to stay healthy for the long haul and get back to 100 percent," he said.
The Rangers certainly were glad to have him back Tuesday night.
