Hamilton remains confident he will find his timing

ANAHEIM -- We're 57 games into the season, and Josh Hamilton is still trying to figure it out at the plate.

It's never quite taken him this long.

"Never, ever -- from the first time I picked up a ball to now, no," he said after going 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Astros.

Two days into June, Hamilton's slash line is at .216/.227/.380, with eight homers, 18 RBIs and 61 strikeouts -- on pace for 173, which would top last year's career high by 11. On Sunday, he hit two lineouts, one of which resulted in a tumbling catch by right fielder Jimmy Paredes, but manager Mike Scioscia admitted Hamilton is still "searching for some things" and his "timing's a little bit off."

Hamilton is miffed by how long it's taking but continues to convey confidence he'll get out of whatever funk he's in.

"Take a poll of every player in this clubhouse and see if I'm going to come out of it or not," he said. "The proof is in what's gone on in the past. I've struggled at times and always come out of it."

Asked once again if this slump is a connection to last year's second half, when he batted .259 with 86 strikeouts in 69 games while the Rangers' division lead crumbled, Hamilton said: "Your guess is as good as mine. I hit 43 home runs, had [128] RBIs last year. I don't know."