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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nelson Cruz took a slow trot around the bases after hitting a towering three-run homer in his return to Texas.
The Baltimore Orioles slugger wasn't really savoring the moment. He was cramping so bad that he almost didn't even take that final at-bat in the eighth inning.
Cruz hit the first pitch thrown by Shawn Tolleson, the fourth Rangers reliever, an estimated 404 feet deep into the left field seats to cap a tiebreaking six-run outburst as the Orioles won 8-3 on Tuesday night.
''We were debating, he and I were,'' manager Buck Showalter said. ''He go about halfway down the first, and that was a cramp trot.''
Likening his first game against the Rangers to one of his first days in the big leagues, when everything went so fast, Cruz said he just tried to stay in the moment and stay focused.
''Kind of weird. Going from the other side of the plate is totally different than coming around like I used to,'' Cruz said. ''It was overall a good day.''
Cruz was the 2011 AL championship series MVP on the way to the Rangers' second consecutive World Series. When introduced before drawing a walk in the first, Texas fans responded with an extended ovation. While there were some boos, those seemed to be outnumbered by fans who called ''Cruuuuuzz!'' like they used to do when the left fielder was on their side the previous eight seasons.
Heading into free agency last year, Cruz missed the final 50 regular-season games for the Rangers for violating baseball's drug agreement.
Cruz turned down a $14.1 million qualifying offer in November from the Rangers, who likely would have used him primarily as a designated hitter if he had accepted. He went through the entire offseason before signing an $8 million, one-year deal with the Orioles early in spring training.
''I haven't seen him in a while and I got to see him and talk to him, playing around a little bit. It was a great feeling. I didn't like anytime he popped one,'' Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus said. ''I've seen too many when he was on this side, but he's a talented guy. Whenever he's on, he can carry a team.''
Through 55 games with the Orioles, Cruz is hitting .313 and leads the majors with 21 homers and 55 RBI.
