Tampa Bay Rays fall 3-4 against Adrian Beltre’s Texas Rangers in ALDS Game 4 – MLB Update
The Tampa Bay Rays crashed out of the post-season, losing 3-4 to an Adrian Beltre inspired Texas Rangers in game four of the American League Division Series on Tuesday, October 4 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Needing a win to stay in contention, the Rays failed to halt Beltre’s motion. The slugger smashed three solo home-runs to wipe out the Wild Card entrants and register a berth for the Rangers in the Championship Series.
Tampa Bay’s starter Jeremy Hellickson could not last long in the game and was removed after leaking three runs in four innings. Ian Kinsler initiated the scoring for the Rangers with a lead-off home-run in the first inning. Beltre then homered in the second
inning towards left-field to double the lead for the visitors before smashing another to the opposite-side in the fourth inning after Sean Rodriguez had reduced the deficit to one for the Rays in the second.
Expressing his excitement on becoming the first player in the history of Majors to pull off three home-runs in one Division Series game, Beltre said, "I think besides my first big league hit, this is right up there."
Rays made a memorable entry to the post-season, but could last only four games. In a desperate attempt to bolster their chances of coming back in the game, Matt Moore replaced Hellickson on the mound in the fifth. The game one winner pitched two scoreless
innings upfront, but was then belted for a home-run in the seventh by Beltre, who had connected just once in 11 at-bats prior to this game in the series.
Facing a deficit of two runs at the bottom of the fourth, Rodriguez scored his second run of the game for the Rays to keep the home-team in contention, but Beltre’s effort in the seventh helped the Rangers regain a two-run advantage. Rodriguez, showing immense
patience and character, scored for the third time in the ninth inning but failure of other batters in the line-up did not help his cause. Evan Longoria accepted this fact and expressed that the team failed on the offensive front.
Rangers will now either play New York Yankees or Detroit Tigers in the Championship Series, depending on the outcome of game five scheduled for Thursday, October 6 at the Bronx.
Tags: