DETROIT -- Preliminary X-rays of Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton's strained right shoulder showed no separation or dislocation, but the slugger also had an MRI and results of that exam won't be known until Wednesday. It's unclear if Hamilton will have to go on the disabled list.
“
It was just a stupid play. I definitely shouldn't have done it.
”
-- Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton
Hamilton, who was wearing a sling after the game, came out of Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Tigers after the first inning. Hamilton said third base coach Dave Anderson sent him home when he noticed the pitcher wasn't covering home plate on a pop up by Adrian Beltre in foul territory just in front of the Tigers' dugout. Hamilton was not happy with the decision, calling it "stupid."
"It was just a stupid play," Hamilton said. "I definitely shouldn't have done it."
Hamilton added: "I listened to my third base coach. That's a little too aggressive. The whole time I was watching the play I was listening. [He said], 'Nobody's at home, nobody's at home.' I was like, 'Dude, I don't want to do this. Something's going to happen.' But I listened to my coach. And how do you avoid a tag the best, by going in headfirst and get out of the way and get in there. That's what I did."
Anderson said the club tries to take advantage of every opportunity they can to be aggressive and try to score a run.
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"There was nobody covering home plate, so we tried to steal a run there," Anderson said. "He made a pretty good play. That's a tough play for a catcher running away and shovel pass and try to tag a guy. There was an opportunity with two outs and we tried to take advantage of it."
Anderson said just after the game that he hadn't had a chance to talk the play over with Hamilton because the slugger was getting tests done. But Anderson said it was a play he would have tried with any of the club's speed guys, like Hamilton.
"You go to home plate and see what happens," Anderson said. "He can run, so you take a chance."
Anderson said he would have preferred Hamilton slide feet first on the play.
"There is no situation I wouldn't want him to slide headfirst in," Anderson said. "I always want him to slide feet first no matter what he does. You play this game long enough and I've gone through it too sliding headfirst and have had some injuries. Sometimes you can't help it, your instinct just tells you to dive and try to get there. But most of the time you try to go feet first if you can to try to stay away from injuries."
Hamilton said he heard two pops in his shoulder when he dived into home.
"I'm a little worried," he said.
The play came after Hamilton hit a triple in the first inning and was on third with Beltre up and one out. After Hamilton was tagged out at the plate, he walked to the dugout with his arm behind his back. He then tried to take some swings and said he could swing, but when he stopped his swing he felt a lot of pain.
"He just came up and told me he couldn't go and that was it," manager Ron Washington said.
Ian Kinsler took Hamilton's place as the designated hitter for the rest of the game. Should Hamilton be out for an extended period of time, the club can insert David Murphy in the lineup in left field. The 2010 AL MVP is batting .333 and extended his hitting streak to eight games with the triple. He was scheduled to have Wednesday off, and the Rangers do not play Thursday before opening a three-game series with New York at Yankee Stadium.
Hamilton has had injury issues during his career. He missed most of last September after hitting a wall at Target Field in Minnesota and cracking a few ribs. He was healthy in time for the postseason and was the ALCS MVP in the club's six-game win over the Yankees.
