By FRED GOODALL
AP Baseball Writer
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Adrian Beltre hit three straight home runs and the Texas Rangers powered themselves back into the AL Championship Series, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 Tuesday to win their playoff matchup.
Beltre became just the seventh player to homer three times in a postseason game. He led the Rangers to victory in Game 4 of the best-of-five Division Series.
Texas ended the Rays' remarkable run to the AL wild-card spot, and will play for the pennant against the Tigers-Yankees winner.
Ian Kinsler led off the game for Texas by homering on the second pitch from rookie Jeremy Hellickson.
Matt Harrison, who made a relief appearance in the Rangers' loss in the series opener, pitched five innings to get the win in his first postseason start. Neftali Feliz gave up a run in the ninth inning before closing for his third save of the series.
Stay tuned to Newschannel 6 for more coverage of the Rangers' playoff run!
