Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Adrian Beltre's 3 home runs, Texas beating Rays 4-3 Tampa Bay Rays


ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- This is what Adrian Beltre envisioned when he signed with Texas in the offseason. Balls jumping off his bat in October, the Rangers making another run for the pennant.
Beltre hit three straight home runs and the defending AL champions advanced again, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in Game 4 Tuesday to... win their playoff matchup. Beltre put on a power show that few players in major league history have matched, helping Texas take the best-of-five series and ending the Rays' remarkable run to the wild-card spot. The Rangers next play the Detroit Tigers-New York Yankees winner.
"From my point of view, Texas gave me the best chance to put a ring on my finger," Beltre added, "and I am just two steps away from it. Hopefully that happens."

Texas’ five consecutive division series road wins matches the second-longest streak in big league history. The Atlanta Braves won a record eight straight from 1995-99 and the Yankees won five in a row from 2003-05. Moore stymied the powerful Texas lineup by working seven scoreless inning in the opener at Arlington. The Rays brought him on again in hopes of holding the Rangers to a 3-2 lead, and it looked like the move might work. The 22-year-old lefty retired the first six batters he faced before Beltre led off the seventh with an opposite-field shot into the stands in right. “It’s always painful, especially being around the league for this long,” said Rays designated hitterJohnny Damon, finishing his 17th season. “We had a good enough team to win, and keep on winning. It just seemed Texas definitely had our number.”

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