Hamilton hits four home runs in Rangers' MLB win

Josh Hamilton turned in one of the top hitting performances of all time by blasting four two-run homers off three different pitchers to power the Texas Rangers to a 10-3 win over Baltimore on Tuesday. Hamilton tied a Major League Baseball record for most home runs in a game and also drove in eight runs at Camden Yards stadium. "Obviously it's, other than being in the World Series, the highlight of my big-league career," said Hamilton, who became the 16th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game. "I was saying after I hit two I've never hit three in a game before, and what a blessing that was. Then to hit four is just an awesome feeling, to see how excited my teammates got." Hamilton is the first to accomplish the feat since Carlos Delgado in 2003 and is the sixth player in the American League to do so. Hamilton smacked four two-run homers and finished the game batting five-for-five. He had eight RBI and each time he hit a homer he scored teammate Elvis Andrus. Hamilton hit home runs off Jake Arrieta in the first and third innings. He hit his third off Zach Phillips in the seventh. Hamilton made the most of his last at-bat as he tied the record in the eighth inning with a shot over the center-field wall, scoring Andrus and extending the Rangers lead to 10-1. He swung and missed at a Darren O'Day pitch then hit a foul to the right side seats before hammering the third pitch over the outfield wall. "It reminds you of when you're in Little League and a little kid, and just the excitement and why we play the game," Hamilton said. "Things like that. You never know what can happen. It was just an absolute blessing." Hamilton leads the American League with 14 home runs and 36 RBI. He is batting .406 and has five home runs in his last six plate appearances. He set an American League record with 18 total bases in the game, one shy of the major league record of 19 established by former Los Angeles Dodger Shawn Green in 2002. Nick Markakis and JJ Hardy belted solo shots for Baltimore, who have dropped seven consecutive games to the Rangers. "Obviously, Hamilton had a big night," said Baltimore manager Buck Showalter. "He's one of the best players in the game and you can see why." Pitcher Neftali Feliz struck out a season-high eight batters and Adrian Beltre hit a solo homer for the Rangers who have won back-to-back games. Arrieta (2-3) took the loss for Baltimore as he was charged with six runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings of work.