The Giants won the first game of the World Series. In doing so, they not only beat the Rangers, but throttled their No.1 starter, Cliff Lee.
Juan Uribe's three-run homer off Rangers reliever Darren O'Day capped San Francisco's six-run fifth inning and sent the Giants to a 1-0 lead in the World Series over the Texas Rangers.SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants sent Cliff Lee and the Texas Rangers tumbling off their postseason pedestal Wednesday night at AT&T Park in the first game of the World Series.
Lee suffered the first postseason loss of his career in resounding fashion as the Giants scored six runs in the fifth inning on the way to a 11-7 victory. The Giants are trying to win their first World Series since they left New York for the West Coast in 1958.
The Texas left-hander, on a postseason run of near invincibility, allowed seven runs, six earned, in 4 2/3 innings. In Lee's first eight postseason games, dating back to last season with Philadelphia, he went 7-0 and allowed nine earned runs in 64 1/3 innings.
The victory went to Tim Lincecum, 3-1 this postseason. Lincecum wasn't at his best, but he was better than Lee.
"They got to Cliff and we couldn't get to Lincecum," said Rangers manager Ron Washington. "They worked Cliff pretty good. He threw 32 pitches in the third inning and kind of ran out of gas after that."
The Rangers did not look like the confident team that dispatched the Yankees in the ALCS to reach their first-ever World Series. Along with Lee's problems, they committed four errors, including two by DH Vlad Guerrero, who was making his first start in right field since Oct. 2.
Washington said Guerrero's two errors would not stop him from playing him right field again tonight in Game 2. The DH is not used in National League parks.
The Giants, who completed the beating with three runs in the eighth, finished with 14 hits. Half went for extra bases.
Ron Washington removed Cliff Lee in the fifth inning after the Rangers fell behind the San Francisco Giants, 5-2. The situation got worse quickly, however, as reliever Darren O'Day allowed a three-run homer to Juan Uribe."We don't have a lot of games like this where we out-slug the other team," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "We put up some quality at bats against great pitcher, who was not at the top of his game."
Texas scored three runs in the ninth to make the score respectable, but this game ended when Lee didn't make it out of the fifth.
Andres Torres and Freddy Sanchez started the fifth-inning rally with consecutive one-out doubles. Torres scored on Sanchez's drive to center for a 3-2 lead. Lee struck out Buster Posey, but lost a long duel with Pat Burrell, walking him on a 3-2 pitch.
That seemed to take the steam out of Lee as he allowed consecutive RBI singles to Cody Ross, the Giants' NLCS MVP, and Aubrey Huff for a 5-2 lead. That was it for Lee as Darren O'Day relieved. Lee threw 104 pitches, 69 for strikes.
Juan Uribe, whose homer in Game 6 against the Phillies in the NLCS put the Giants in the World Series, greeted O'Day with a three-run homer to left.
The Rangers made it 8-4 with two runs in the sixth. Along the way they knocked Tim Lincecum out of the game. Bengie Molina doubled home Ian Kinsler with two out. Mitch Moreland singled off Lincecum's leg. It was the second time he was struck by a hit in the game.
He stayed on the mound, but gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitter David Murphy and was lifted by Bochy.
"Timmy is fine," said Bochy.
Texas took a 1-0 in the first. Elvis Andrus extended his postseason hitting streak to 12 games with a leadoff single against Lincecum. He took second on Michael Young's walk, went to third on Josh Hamilton's groundout and scored when Vlad Guerrero singled off Lincecum's leg.
The Rangers made it 2-0 in the second. Molina singled and Lee doubled him to third. Almost any player except the rotund Molina would have scored, but he barely made it to third. Andrus' sac fly scored Molina, with Lee alertly going to third on Torres' off-line throw. Lincecum, however, retired Young to end the inning.
The Giants tied it with two runs off Lee in the third. Edgar Renteria opened by reaching on an error by Young at third. Lee hit Torres with one out and Sanchez singled to left to score Renteria, for the first run scored against Lee in 16 innings this postseason.
Posey blooped a single into center to score Torres from second with the tying run. Lee, who had allowed just two earned runs this postseason before Wednesday, struck out the next two batters.
The Giants looked like they were suffering from stage fright in the first inning. After Guerrero's RBI single, Nelson Cruz sent a slow roller to Lincecum. Young, coming home on the play, was an easy out, but from some reason Lincecum never threw to third and the Rangers had the bases loaded.
"Timmy thought there were two runners on third and just walked Young back to the bag," said Bochy.
The potential rally ended when Ian Kinsler grounded into a double play.
Sanchez doubled with one out in the first, but he was trapped off second on Posey's pop to second to end the inning.
Fortunately for the Giants, it did not take long for them to shake the stars out of their eyes and zero in on Lee.