The legend of Carlos Beltran is growing to epic proportions. The 36-year-old entered the 2013 post-season with a 1.154 OPS in 151 post-season plate appearances. He hit his 15th career playoff home run in Game 1 on Thursday, tying Babe Ruth for the eighth-most all-time.
Beltran passed the Bambino with his 16th career playoff home run with a solo shot to right-center off of Pirates reliever Mark Melancon to lead off the top of the eighth inning, tying the game at 3-3. Beltran took a cutter for a called strike before turning on a 93 MPH four-seamer.
Melancon has been the Pirates’ most reliable reliever all year, finishing up the regular season with a 1.39 ERA in 71 innings.