DALLAS, May 23 (Reuters) - The American League champion Texas Rangers were expected to regain some muscle in the middle of the batting order Monday with the return of sluggers Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz.
Hamilton, last season's AL Most Valuable Player, has missed six weeks since fracturing a bone in his right arm on a head-first slide into home plate in a game in Detroit.
Cruz has been sidelined since May 3 when he came out of a game in Seattle with a strained right quadriceps muscle.
Texas has felt the effects of their absence, hitting at a .244 clip in their last 26 games and averaging 3.8 runs while losing 16 of those games.
The Rangers (24-23), however, still cling to a half-game lead in the AL West over the Los Angeles Angels (24-24) as their starting pitching has remained strong.
"It's really hard," Cruz, who has been on the disabled list four times in the past two years with leg injuries, told reporters.
"Last night I was checking the scoreboard and trying to watch what was going on in the (Rangers) game. It's hard when you can't help the team."
With speedster Julio Borbon also on the disabled list with a hamstring injury, the Rangers have been without their entire starting outfield.
"Will I get hurt again? Only the Lord knows that," Hamilton, who has been on the DL three times in the last three seasons, told reporters Sunday after his final tune-up game with the Triple-A Round Rock Express.
"One thing I do know. He made me to play hard and to show off my ability to the fans. That's what I'm going to do ... maybe just not dive into home plate head-first anymore."
The 30-year-old Hamilton, who belted 32 home runs and drove in 100 runs while batting .359, was hitting .33 with no home runs and seven RBIs in just 39 at-bats this season.
Cruz, 30, had hit seven home runs with 18 RBI before getting injured. Last season, he hit .318 with 22 home runs.
Hamilton, last season's AL Most Valuable Player, has missed six weeks since fracturing a bone in his right arm on a head-first slide into home plate in a game in Detroit.
Cruz has been sidelined since May 3 when he came out of a game in Seattle with a strained right quadriceps muscle.
Texas has felt the effects of their absence, hitting at a .244 clip in their last 26 games and averaging 3.8 runs while losing 16 of those games.
The Rangers (24-23), however, still cling to a half-game lead in the AL West over the Los Angeles Angels (24-24) as their starting pitching has remained strong.
"It's really hard," Cruz, who has been on the disabled list four times in the past two years with leg injuries, told reporters.
"Last night I was checking the scoreboard and trying to watch what was going on in the (Rangers) game. It's hard when you can't help the team."
With speedster Julio Borbon also on the disabled list with a hamstring injury, the Rangers have been without their entire starting outfield.
"Will I get hurt again? Only the Lord knows that," Hamilton, who has been on the DL three times in the last three seasons, told reporters Sunday after his final tune-up game with the Triple-A Round Rock Express.
"One thing I do know. He made me to play hard and to show off my ability to the fans. That's what I'm going to do ... maybe just not dive into home plate head-first anymore."
The 30-year-old Hamilton, who belted 32 home runs and drove in 100 runs while batting .359, was hitting .33 with no home runs and seven RBIs in just 39 at-bats this season.
Cruz, 30, had hit seven home runs with 18 RBI before getting injured. Last season, he hit .318 with 22 home runs.
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