Adrian Beltre climbs one hit from 3,000 as Rangers fall to Orioles

Take a deep breath, Texas Rangers fans.

Sunday could be one of the most historic days in franchise history.

Adrian Beltre is one hit from reaching the 3,000-hit milestone and Pudge Rodriguez enters the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Beltre moved one hit closer with a single in Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Orioles.

The Rangers’ series finale against the Baltimore Orioles begins at 2:05 p.m. Sunday. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., begins at 12:30 p.m. Rodriguez could be making his induction speech at the same time Beltre is experiencing his iconic moment.

The 38-year-old Beltre singled in the fourth inning on a crisp ground ball through the left side to move to within one hit of the milestone. In his first chance at 3,000 in the sixth, nearly 45,000 in attendance roared with anticipation as he entered the batter’s box and then sighed when he grounded out softly to shortstop Ruben Tejada on the first pitch. In the ninth, Beltre hit into a 5-4-3 double play, started by a nifty short-hop pickup by third baseman Manny Machado, to finish the game 1 for 4.

Tejada made a backhanded stop in the hole towards third base to retire Beltre in the first.

The Orioles scored twice on solo homers by Trey Mancini and Caleb Joseph in the second and twice in the third to take a 4-0 lead against Rangers’ starter Austin Bibens-Dirkx. A double and two walks loaded the bases with one out for Mancini. Bibens-Dirkx got the potential double play grounder he was looking for but it was too slow and the Rangers were unable to complete the inning-ending double play, which allowed a run to score. Seth Smith lined a single to right to drive in another run to make it 4-0.

The Rangers’ offense was stymied all night by Orioles’ starter Kevin Gausman. Even when they did connect well, the Orioles had an answer. Center fielder Adam Jones went up over the wall to rob Joey Gallo of a home run in the third.

Gausman (8-7) allowed seven hits and three walks  8 2/3 innings to earn the win. Zach Britton, the Weatherford High School graduate, got Carlos Gomez to ground out to second for the final out and his seventh save of the season.

Bibens-Dirkx (3-1) was tagged with his first loss after allowing four runs on six hits and three walks in five innings. Tony Barnette pitched three innings of scoreless relief, holding the Orioles without a hit and walking two.

Beltre’s bona fides

Here’s where Beltre ranks all-time in some of baseball’s all-time offensive categories on his way to 3,000 hits:

This story was originally published July 29, 2017 at 10:19 PM with the headline "Adrian Beltre climbs one hit from 3,000 as Rangers fall to Orioles."