Yo Adrian!

Beltre joined elite company Tuesday with
3 solo home runs at the Trop.

With the Texas Rangers one win away from their second straight trip to the American League Championship Series, offseason acquisition Adrian Beltre carried the load with a Reggie-esk performance Tuesday afternoon in Tampa Bay.

Beltre homered on his first three trips to the plate against two Rays' rookie hurlers, almost single-handedly punching Texas' ticket to the next round.

The 32-year-old native of Santo Domingo came into the game 1-11 in the series and a .214 lifetime hitter in the postseason, never recording an extra-base hit. That all changed in St. Pete after accumulating 12 total bases in the team's 4-3 victory. Beltre is the sixth player in postseason history to hit three home runs in a single game and it's only the seventh it has been done. The mystical Babe Ruth is the only player to accomplish that feat twice, both coming in World Series games.

Prior to signing a six-year $96 million contract with the Rangers this winter, Beltre had been coming off one of his best seasons of his career after four sub par seasons in Seattle. Despite batting .321 with 28 home runs, 102 RBIs and a career-high 49 doubles with the Red Sox in 2010, he was pushed out.

After Boston acquired All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez from San Diego and home-grown Kevin Youkilis set to return to his original position at the hot corner, Beltre was the odd man out.

Looks like their loss.

With the Red Sox sitting home after an epic September collapse, Beltre, who has historical has only played well during contract years, has enjoyed a fantastic first season in Arlington. He hit 32 home runs and drove in 105 RBI for Ron Washington's Rangers, making his straight All-Star appearance while playing a Gold Glove third base.

Second baseman Ian Kinsler got the scoring started with a leadoff home run in the first inning, hitting one of the four solo shots by the Rangers in their series-clinching Game 4 victory.

Left-hander Matt Harrison. who was left off the postseason roster a year ago, was sharp earning his first postseason victory with five quality innings and matching his career high in strike outs with nine.

As for the Tampa Bay Rays, the clock finally struck midnight on their Cinderella run.

It is the second straight season the Rangers have ousted Tampa Bay from the postseason in the ALDS. It was the Rays inability to win postseason home games that eventually did them in. With their loss Tuesday, that ultimately ended their fairy tale season, they have now lost five straight home playoff games to Texas dating back to last season.

Beltre and Co. look to continue to ride the postseason wave and await their opponent for the ALCS.

The Bronx Bombers

Teixeira, left and Granderson, right have
combined for 42 home runs this
season.

It has been fifty years since the 1961 Major League Baseball season was played when two New York Yankees took the baseball world by storm. Now two other Yankee teammates are starting to remind those fans how exciting it was to watch. New York's Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle began a historic chase of then-Babe Ruth's single-season home run record he set in 1927.

That season Maris would pass Ruth's mythical 60 home runs with his 61st coming the final day of the regular season in Game 162. Mantle fell off the pace when a hip injury derailed his season, but still managed to slug out 54 long balls.

Maris would win his second consecutive American League Most Valuable Player award that year, but would never hit more than 33 home runs in a season following his record-breaking campaign. The four-time All-Star would never be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but was honored by the Yankees with the retirement of his number 9 jersey on Old Timer's Day in 1984.

As for Mantle, many believed he underachieved with the natural ability he was given. A switch-hitter that could run like the wind and hit a ball a mile long suffered from injury and drinking demons most of his career, leaving many to wonder what he might have accomplished if he took his health seriously. Nonetheless, Mantle was a first ballot Hall of Famer after launching 536 home runs during his eighteen-year career.

Yankees first basemen Mark Teixeira and outfielder Curtis Granderson are the first pair of Yankee teammates since Maris and Mantle to record 20 home runs through the teams first 66 games. With his two home runs in New York's 12-4 victory over the Texas Rangers Wednesday, Teixeira tied Grandserson and Toronto's Jose Bautista for the major league lead with 21.

It was the eleventh time in his career that Teixeira had homered from both sides of the plate.

As of the 14th of June, Teixeira and Granderson had both combined for 40 home runs, the same total as Maris (22) and Mantle (18) in '61, but have since fallen off the pace. Through their first 66 games Maris had hit 27 home runs while Mantle was five behind with 22.

Despite his hot start and hitting as many as 30 home runs in a single-season back in 2009 with the Detroit Tigers, Granderson refuses to call himself a power hitter. "If I hit a 100 in a season, then I'll say I am," Granderson stated Wednesday.

For Teixeira, he has been the definition of a pure power hitter throughout his career. The two-time All-Star has eclipsed 30 home runs in seven of his first full eight big league seasons, hitting a career-high 43 in 2005 with the Rangers. Upon an injury, Teixeira will be sure to reach that total for the eighth time, needing only 9 the rest of the way with the All-Star break a little less than a month away.

Teixeira was the '09 American League home run champion in his first year in the Bronx tallying 39, a title he shared with then-Tampa Bay Rays' first basemen Carlos Pena. He is only the 61st player in major league history to record over 265 home runs through the age of 31 with his 296 career home runs. When he hits his 25th home run of the season, he will become the second player to reach 300 home runs for a career in 2011, Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz was the first launching his 300th earlier this year.

Maris, left and Mantle, right are the last
pair of teammates to each homer 20 times
in their team's first 66 games.

New York currently leads the the majors in home runs with 103 after their five home run outburst on ESPN's Wednesday Night Baseball. The surprising Arizona Diamondbacks are second with 80. It's a good thing the Yankees have found the long ball because the team is only 6-9 when they don't have a ball reach the seats.

While Teixeira and Granderson will never top that '61 season and the excitement it brought back to the Stadium that Summer, they are yet another pair of Yankee switch and left-handed hitting teammates that help us remember the M&M Boys so fondly, so sit back and enjoy the show.