Rangers Pound Astros 10-1, Win Record 8th Straight Series

Josh Hamilton (above) extended his career-high hitting streak to 21 games and the Rangers as a team tied a franchise-record with it's eighth straight series victory. (AP Photo/Cody Duty)

With one swing of the bat, Josh Hamilton has the ability to bring an entire stadium to it's feet. He showed it in the 2008 home run derby and he showed it again Sunday night as he absolutely crushed a Roy Oswalt (L, 5-10) pitch that, last seen, was headed somewhere toward South America.

"You feel those. I got all of it," said Hamilton, whose home-run was measured at 468 feet and landed several rows into the upper deck in right-center field - the second longest home run in Ballpark in Arlington history. "I see it go, I feel that it's going out, and I put my head down and run. I've never been one to watch where they land. I let everybody tell me when I get back to the dugout."

"It was so loud," said Nelson Cruz, who was waiting to bat in the on-deck circle.

Even Rangers' starter Tommy Hunter (W, 4-0) heard the blast, and he wasn't even paying attention from in the dugout.

"I wasn't even watching, and I was like, 'Yes!'," said Hunter, who gave up one earned run on five hits and six innings. "It gives you little tingles in your stomach."

Hamilton finished the game, going 1 for 5 with three RBI, extending his career-high hit streak to 21 games. Texas finished with 11 hits for the game as team and five batters knocked in at least one run.

The only negative you could take out of this game, as a Rangers' fan, was that Oswalt, whom the Rangers have coveted through trade, was the pitcher completely lit up by this offense. This was by far his worst outing of the season as he gave up eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits in only 4 2-3 innings, also his shortest start of the season.

"I was missing spots, throwing it over the middle of the plate," said Oswalt. "It was more location than anything."

All-in-all, a great win for the Rangers and a great way to go into a day off Monday with the division-rival L.A. Angels waiting in the wings.

News and Notes:

• Along with his two-run homer, Hamilton also made some great plays defensively. A diving catch, a sliding catch, hitting a runner on his way to the plate - Ham-Bone was a monster on both sides of the baseball.
• Texas finished interleague play with a 14-4 record.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)