ARLINGTON -- After playing five straight games following his return from the disabled list with a strained hamstring, Carlos Gomez got the day off on Wednesday to rest and recover. Whatever he did on that off-day evidently did wonders, as his career day catapulted the Rangers past the Blue Jays on Thursday, 11-4.
Gomez hit two home runs, the fifth time in his career he's had a multi-homer game, and he drove in five RBIs, matching his career high. His three-run homer in the third inning put the game out of reach, clinching a split with the Jays and ensuring the Rangers finished their seven-game homestand at the .500 mark (36-36).
"Yesterday, I had a day off," Gomez said. "I had time for recovery, I come here today and put some work in the cage and start getting loose. I've been feeling really well at the plate the last couple of games, and I've been keeping up the good work."

In the six games since he's returned from the DL, Gomez has five home runs. In the 38 games prior to being sidelined, he'd hit just four. Gomez is on a 10-game hit streak, in which he's also batted .432 with four doubles and 15 RBIs.

The Rangers' offense seems to be locking in as well. Over the homestand, Texas scored double-digit runs in three of its seven games, and on Thursday the Rangers recorded 11 hits, all but four of which went for extra bases. Gomez is leading the charge, but it's nothing new to Rangers manager Jeff Banister.
"I've seen this before with Carlos, when he's locked in, he's extremely challenging," Banister said. "He's a true professional hitter with a ton of power. ... I think the effort by which he got himself back the way he did, but continued to swing the bat while he was down, seemed like he hadn't missed a step, and today was one of those days that prove it.

"We talked to him about taking the day off after the five days, after coming back from the disabled list, and I think if we continue to do some things like that to keep him fresh, keep the legs fresh and strong, obviously we can keep him engaged and going forward."
With a 10-game road trip up next, Texas has a tall task ahead to stay afloat before the All-Star break in a few weeks, but Gomez believes anything is possible now that the offense is back together.

"The only feeling we know is that for the first time in the last week and a half, the team is together," Gomez said. "That's why you've seen the last five or six games, we produce five, six, seven runs every game that we play. Now we're together, we have the best lineup probably in baseball, and we're going to continue to swing the bat."