Texas Rangers third baseman, Adrian Beltre tied a playoff record by hitting three home runs against the Tampa Bay Rays, beating them 4 to 3 and eliminating the Rays from the American League playoffs. It was easily one of Beltre’s best games as a professional baseball player. His home run performance has only been accomplished seven times before in a playoff game, and puts him on a list with baseball greats like Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, and George Brett.
The toughest part of the night for Rays fans was watching him do it on their home turf at Tropicana Field. As a result, Texas put an end to what was a whirlwind September for Tampa. The Rays started off the month nine games behind the Boston Red Sox for an October wild-card birth and rallied to win the final playoff spot with an amazing month of wins, including the remarkable 7 run comeback against the New York Yankees on the final game of the regular season.
The Rays seemed to have momentum in their favor entering the playoffs; beating the Texas Rangers, in Texas, in Game 1 with rookie pitcher Matt Moore picking up the win in a 9 to 0 rout. But that is where their run ended, as Texas went on to win the next three games in a row to advance to the American League Championship series against the winner of the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers series. Until then, Beltre will be wearing a smile.
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