Josh Hamilton will miss his fourth straight game tonight after being hospitalized Friday with an intestinal virus. The good news, at least for the Rangers, is that he appears to be close to returning.
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Hamilton participated in an early workout this afternoon, which included shagging flyballs and taking batting practice. It shouldn’t be much longer, but Leonys Martin will start in his place in center field this evening against the Padres.
Hamilton, is hitting .330/.390/.674 with 22 home runs, 62 RBI and a 1.064 OPS this season. Adam Dunn passed him for the major league home run lead over the weekend, but the impending free agent still leads the majors in RBI.