ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Corey Seager never made any excuses when he was struggling early this season, even after the World Series MVP shortstop missed most of spring training with the Texas Rangers.
“When you’re out on the field, you’ve got to do what you can to get hits and be productive,” Seager said again this week. “And I just wasn’t.”
Well, he is certainly producing now.
Seager has eight home runs in his last eight games and will end May with his most homers ever in a single month — he has 11 already this month with one game remaining. He has reached base in 22 consecutive games and his 12-game hitting streak is the longest in his three seasons with Texas.
Manager Bruce Bochy said he is running out of things to say about Seager, who overall is hitting .260 with 13 homers and 29 RBIs in 51 games. His teammates often prophetically joke in the dugout about what is about to happen when he goes to the plate.
“Oh, he’s due for another homer. And he hits another homer,” first baseman Nathaniel Lowe said. “A week straight of hitting homers. … It’s really cool.”
The Rangers had Thursday off before opening a three-game weekend series at Miami.
After surgery in January to repair a sports hernia, Seager played only the final three spring training games. He was hitting .219 with two homers and eight RBIs after his first 29 regular-season games, but has reached base in all 22 games since, including his current homer-a-game streak.
“Even at the start of the year struggling a little bit, his work ethic, his routine, it’s so dialed in. He does everything the same every day. He has his plan,” Texas pitcher Dane Dunning said. “When you see it come to life as this stretch has been, it’s a lot of fun to watch.”
In a two-game World Series rematch at home this week against Arizona, Seager was intentionally walked in both games. After both of those free passes, he homered on the first pitch of his next at-bat.
“We passed on him and walked him when we had a base open,” said eighth-year Arizona manager Torey Lovullo, who saw plenty of Seager in the NL West when the shortstop was with the Los Angeles Dodgers before his $325 million, 10-year deal in free agency with Texas.
“When he’s hot, it’s just there’s very little room for error. He impacted both games, and that’s why he’s a great player. Sometimes I think there’s another league he should be playing in,” Lovullo said. “I know he’s getting hot. And it’s tough when you’re sitting in the dugout and you’re in that situation, because he comes through a lot.”
Seager’s homer streak began May 19 for the only Texas run in a loss to the Angels, and he also hit solo shots in the next two games at Philadelphia before sitting out that series finale. After another homer in the opener at Minnesota, but without one Saturday, he went deep twice in Sunday’s finale before the Rangers went home to face Arizona.
“When he gets right, he’s a tough out. This guy’s as good as anybody in the game,” Bochy said. “Got off to a slow start, but you have to look at why. He missed spring training, he had surgery, and it takes time. There was never any thought that he would get on track.”
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