Rangers Advance To ALCS For Second Straight Season

Tuesday afternoon, before a non-sellout crowd in Tropicana Field, the Rangers had an opportunity to eliminate the Rays in four games. They seized that opportunity, winning 4-3 and becoming the first team to advance to the second round.

An inning later, Hellickson made another mistake. This time - again on his second pitch of the frame - he threw a thigh-high fastball over the inner half to Adrian Beltre, and Beltre crushed it out to left. That doubled the Rangers’ lead, and, of course, it wasn’t the last we’d hear from Beltre on the day.

Babe Ruth. Reggie Jackson. George Brett. Hall of Famers, every one of them.

They all do. Until Tuesday afternoon, those five men were the only players in major-league history to hit three home runs in a postseason game. The Babe did it twice, in the 1926 and 1928 World Series.

Just like Friday night, the Baseball Nation staff live-blogged the game. If you missed it, here’s a few of the highlights.

The Rays escaped unharmed, and after a scoreless first, Tampa Bay headed back to the dish and took advantage of Holland’s shaky control. With one on and two out, Matt Joyce tagged Holland, giving his Rays a 3-0 lead.

Along the way, the Baseball Nation staff live-blogged the matchup, narrating the twists and turns of Game 1. Here are a few of the highlights.

Game 1 started off slowly enough, with both pitchers recording scoreless first innings. Texas starter C.J. Wilson probably had the better inning, and it may have been the best part of his night.

Things are going well for Tampa Bay.

Things are going freaky well for Tampa Bay.

Maybe that’s why the Rangers are big favorites among the bettors.

The big difference, of course, is between these teams’ respective hitting attacks. The Rangers scored 855 runs this season, trailing only the Yankees and Red Sox; nobody else scored even 800 runs. The Rays scored 707 runs, good for eighth in the American League.

Prior to this season, Moore had led the minors in strikeouts two years running, but hadn’t pitched above High-A. There was a lot more to love than not, as his fastball lived in the mid-90s, and his curve, as described by BP’s Kevin Goldstein, was a “plus power curveball with heavy late break,” but his command would occasionally vanish thanks to inconsistent mechanics. Still, it’s hard to complain about a pitcher who’d struck out 384 batters in his last 267 innings.

Moore kept things going at Double-A, striking out 131 batters in 102 innings and 18 starts. That came against just 28 walks, too, giving Moore a 4.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio, easily his best at any level, and helping to reassure those that were worried about his mechanics that he had this thing under control. ESPN’s Keith Law bumped Moore from #16 to #2 in his mid-season prospect rankings, and Goldstein moved him from 10 to 2.

Tom Verducci wrote a really good article in last week’s Sports Illustrated. You probably saw the cover, which is designed to appeal to every known gender. But Verducci’s article -- “The New Moneyball: The Art of Winning an (Even More) Unfair Game” -- is even better than the nifty cover.

In fact, there’s just one eensy-weensy problem with the piece ...

It should be interesting to see if the Rays are able to build on the momentum they ended the regular season with after narrowly squeaking into postseason in what was one of the most spectacular days of baseball -- ever. They only had one day to refocus their efforts before heading to Texas, though, so that could also play a part in the opening game of the MLB Playoffs.

For a Beyond the Boxscore perspective of the game, be sure to check out Bill Petti’s preview of the game. To join in the discussion, it would also make sense to check out our Tampa Bay Rays blog DRaysBay as well as the always excellent Rangers blog Lone Star Ball.

Rays name Moore and Shields to start Games 1 and 2

Moore is one of the best prospects in the game, and, according to Kevin Goldstein, has some of the easiest upper-90s velocity in the game. Still, he’s only made one start in the majors.

The Rangers haven’t yet figured out which of Lewis and Harrison will go in Game 3, and which will go in Game 4, but the order isn’t as important as the names.