Texas Rangers outfielder Kole Calhoun entered Thursday’s game with the Houston Astros coming off an incredible homestand, particularly against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Rangers ended that series on Wednesday night by sweeping the Angels, giving the Rangers their first three-game series sweep this season.
Calhoun was a huge part of not just that sweep but the entire homestand, during which the Rangers went 6-3 and climbed to two games under .500.
Kole Calhoun
Kole Calhoun
How good was it? Let’s break it down:
Calhoun hit .444 during the nine-game homestand. That pairs well with his month of May, which includes 14 games — 341/.412/.773/1.185. His OPS during the homestand was 1.537.
Calhoun had seven extra-base hits in the homestand, but the home runs stood out. He had four home runs in the final four games, which included a two-home run game in the series finale against Boston on Sunday — the eighth multi-home run game of his career.
But Calhoun has been building to this since he went without a home run for the season’s first 23 games. He’s posted five home runs in his last 11 games, which is tied for the MLB lead since May 8.
He scored seven runs but he also posted 11 RBI in the homestand. Attached to that is a five-game streak with at least one RBI, which is the third-longest streak of Calhoun’s career. He’s had streaks of eight and six.
Just in the month of May, Calhoun is among American League leaders in home runs (tied for seventh with five), extra-base hits (tied for eighth with eight), total bases (tied for ninth with 34), and RBI (tied for 10th with 12).
Kole Calhoun
Kole Calhoun
Adolis Garcia
Now that Calhoun is on the road and the Rangers are facing the Astros, his production could keep rolling. Why?
Calhoun has played 14 games at Minute Maid Park since the start of 2019. His hitting slash is .345/.393/.764/1.157, and has seven home runs and 13 RBI. The only player with more home runs at Minute Maid Park in that same span doesn’t play baseball anymore — former Mariners infielder Kyle Seager, who happens to be the brother of current Rangers shortstop Corey Seager.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and Twitter
More must-reads: