ARLINGTON — Let's just call it one of baseball's funny coincidences.

That's how Nathaniel Lowe reacted when he learned he had been selected for a routine, league-mandated drug test after the Texas Rangers beat the San Diego Padres 7-0 at Globe Life Field on Tuesday night.

The random test came after Lowe hit two two-run home runs as part of a Rangers salvo that set a season record with eight extra-base hits. The last time the Rangers had more than eight extra-base hits was 10 (six doubles, four home runs) against the Mariners on June 3, 2023.

“I'll stay here and give him a rehearsal every night if I have to,” Lowe said.

Absolutely, he said, if it helps him continue to hit as hard as he did last week.

Lowe has hit a home run in two of his last three games and four home runs in his last six games. Lowe, who had 38 doubles and 17 home runs in 2023, has been slow to regain strength after missing most of spring training and the first 21 games of the season with an oblique strain.

He had just two home runs in his first 58 games of 2024, including a 29-game stretch between May 10 and June 13 when Lowe posted a .196 batting average with just one double and one home run and 10 RBIs.

“I'm just at a point where I can hit the ball, I guess,” Lowe said. “First basemen who don't hit home runs don't often stick around. I value my job and my team values ​​that job. And the team needs me to hit the ball and win games. So it was nice that I came through last week and got the ball out of the field.”

His four RBIs on Tuesday are a season high, and he has scored multiple runs in the last three games. Tuesday night was his fifth career multi-home run game and first since July 1, 2021 in Oakland.

“It's obvious he's seeing the ball pretty well right now,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “It's nice to see one of our starters getting back on his feet. He's just gotten better and better over the last few weeks.”

Lowe, who tied with Mitch Moreland for sixth-most hits as the Rangers' first baseman with 533, said he hasn't felt any pressure to perform recently. But he is well aware of the team's offensive struggles in 2024 and knows he has underperformed compared to his previous seasons.

“You take stock when things aren't going your way,” said Lowe, who has a .269 batting average with six home runs, 11 doubles and 33 RBIs in 64 games. “The batting average isn't great, but it's OK. And the league's offense is sluggish, so you have to take everything into account. But it's nice to get in the seats.”

And it's not just Lowe. The Rangers have 22 extra-base hits in their last three games. In the previous 25 games in June, they had a total of 50 extra-base hits.

“Good at-bats are contagious. Bad at-bats are contagious, too. So if we get two or three guys going, I think there's no limit to our offense,” he said. “You've seen glimpses of that all year, but we haven't had that consistent stretch where we really had a chance to roll over teams. And to get a lot of earned runs tonight against a top starter (Padres right-hander Dylan Cease) was a really good sign.”

“I feel so [past] “This week I've been better prepared to pitch well and the results are showing now,” said Lowe, who hit two home runs on a night when the first 15,000 spectators received Nathaniel Lowe bobbleheads to celebrate his 2023 Gold Glove.

“I was wondering when I would get a chance to make a play,” Lowe joked. “But routine plays are a good way to do it. And yes, hitting two home runs is super cool.”

You can follow Stefan Stevenson on X @StefanVersusTex.

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