Editor's note: The temperature gauge is a Bill James-created statistic that measures how hot or cold hitters are. We will spotlight Red Sox and opposing team temperatures on game days.
Adrian Gonzalez' first half numbers couldn't have been more out of the norm. He struggled to hit at or above his usual .300 mark in the first three months of the season, but the second half has been much friendlier to him.
The first baseman has a nice seven-game hit streak going into Wednesday afternoon's game against the Texas Rangers. Since the calendar flipped to August, he is hitting .462 with a homer and seven RBIs.
July was very kind to Gonzalez as well and that's why he is the hottest hitter on the team.
Fortunately for the Red Sox, they have not had to deal with Mike Napoli, the usual Red Sox-killer. Instead, Nelson Cruz has been the challenge for Red Sox pitchers. Cruz is a hot 5-for-8 in the series but is only 1-for-14 in his career against Wednesday's starter Josh Beckett.
Check out the Red Sox and Rangers temperatures for August 8.
Red Sox
Adrian Gonzalez 91
Cody Ross 80
Dustin Pedroia 79
Carl Crawford 79
Pedro Ciriaco 73
Will Middlebrooks 72
Ryan Lavarnway 69
Jacoby Ellsbury 68
Mike Aviles 66
Nick Punto 61
Jarrod Saltalamacchia 57
Ryan Kalish 57
Kelly Shoppach 56
Rangers
Nelson Cruz 87
David Murphy 86
Ian Kinsler 82
Mitch Moreland 81
Elvis Andrus 78
Craig Gentry 72
Adrian Beltre 72
Michael Young 71
Alberto Gonzalez 71
Josh Hamilton 68
Mike Olt 67
Geovany Soto 60
Mike Napoli 54
