Giants beat Rangers in opener
San Francisco batters come out on top in first match of World Series with 11-7 win over visiting Texas.
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| Juan Uribe’s three-run homer in the fifth put the Giants in sight of a win in the first game of the series [GALLO/GETTY] |
The opening game of the World Series was expected to be a pitching duel but batters ruled supreme as the San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers 11-7 to take an early lead in the best-of-seven Fall Classic.
The Wednesday match-up of aces Cliff Lee of Texas and San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum left a final linescore that totalled 18 runs and 25 hits, including 10 doubles.
“We faced a great pitcher tonight and he wasn’t quite on top of his game, and Timmy wasn’t quite as sharp either,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.
“It’s not quite the game we thought it would be, but certainly a huge game for us.”
San Francisco made a shaky start and trailed 2-0 before denting Lee’s aura of invincibility with two runs in the third inning followed by a six-run outburst in the fifth.
Freddy Sanchez had three doubles among his four hits, while Juan Uribe hit a three-run homer off reliever Darren O’Day that capped the scoring in the fifth and made a winner of Lincecum.
| World Series 2010 |
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Wednesday October 27 Best-of-seven series can be won from Game 4 onwards |
Game 1: Giants 11-7 RangersThe Giants scored three more runs in the eighth for extra breathing room, which came in handy as Texas rallied for three runs in the ninth before closer Brian Wilson made Ian Kinsler fly out to right to end the game.
Lee had posted a 3-0 record this postseason with a microscopic 0.75 earned run average after going 4-0 for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 playoffs.
Crafty
But the crafty left-hander failed to hold down the Giants despite being handed a 2-0 lead after two innings.
An RBI-double to left by Sanchez in the third inning sliced the lead in half and Buster Posey’s single tied the game.
The Giants sent 11 batters to the plate in the game-breaking sixth inning that chased Lee from the mound.
Back-to-back doubles by Andres Torres and Sanchez, who became the first player to double in his first three World Series at-bats, scored one run.
After a two-out walk to Pat Burrell, Cody Ross singled sharply to center to score Sanchez and Aubrey Huff stroked another RBI single through the middle to knock Lee out.
O’Day took over and Uribe, whose eighth-inning homer clinched the National League Championship Series triumph over Philadelphia, belted a 2-0 pitch into the seats to make it 8-2 for the Giants, who are seeking a first Series crown since 1954, when they were the New York Giants.
Game Two is in San Francisco on Thursday with Matt Cain, who has yet to yield an earned run in the postseason, starting for the Giants against C.J. Wilson of the Rangers.