Giants vs Rangers; World Series Game 1
If stranding base runners is what the Giants do, then they didn't do it very often. 11 runs and 5 runners stranded on base, all of them in 2+ run innings. That's what you call magic.
Good thing they started now.
Freddy Sanchez knocked in 3 RBI's, scored 2 runs and got the 6-run fifth inning started as the Giants beat the Rangers 11-7. For the first time in his postseason career, Cliff Lee wasn't working. He allowed 6 runs over 4.2 innings and took the loss.
San Francisco didn't look great at the beginning. Elvis Andrus singled, then Michael Young walked. After a Josh Hamilton groundout, the Giants no-longer had a double-play groundout.
Vlad Guerrero came up, and he hit one off of Tim Lincecum. Lincecum couldn't get it, and neither could first baseman Aubrey Huff, giving the Rangers a one run lead. After that Nelson Cruz hit a grounder, and Lincecum fielded it and ran Michael Young back to third to load the bases.
While every Giant fan in America was scratching their heads, Buster Posey signaled for a change-up. Lincecum threw it, and Ian Kinsler hit it. Luckilly, Juan Uribe was right there. HE stepped on third for the force and threw to first to end the inning at 1-0.
San Francisco got a broken-bat double by Freddy Sanchez in the first, and they signaled him to steal 3rd. Posey hit a fly ball into shallow right field, and 2B Ian Kinsler came over to make the play. He doubled off Sanchez at second, ending the inning at 1-0.
In the second things weren't much better. Bengie Molina singled, and after Mitch Moreland struck out chasing a change-up Cliff Lee came up. While fans chanted "Easy Out", Lee thought differently. Lincecum served up a pitch outside, and he hit it into left field for a double.
Then came leadoff Elvis Andrus. He hit a line drive into center field, and Andres Torres made the easy catch. Bengie Molina tried to tag up, and he obviously wouldn't have made it. But Torres' throw was off, and the Rangers led 2-0.
In the second Cliff Lee was still going. He threw a perfect breaking ball that Pat Burrell chased for strike 3, and then he got Cody Ross to fly out. But when Lee started to envision a 1-0 series lead, Aubrey Huff hit a slider into right field for a double. However, it was meaningless, because Juan Uribe struck out swinging at an inside fastball.
Then came the heart of the Texas order, Josh Hamilton, Vlad Guerrero, and Nelson Cruz. All three of the power hitters got the ball out of the infield, but they couldn't hit the sweet spot on Lincecum's pitches. 2 flied out and 1 lined out, ending the inning.
After a long at bat to Edgar Renteria, Renteria finally hit the ball fair. It was a nice grounder to Michael Young, but he didn't get enough for a single. However, Young couldn't handle the ball, and Renteria reached.
Lincecum looked to bunt Renteria into scoring position, but he couldn't do so. He bunted the ball into the sky, and it was caught by Bengie Molina. However, Andres Torres was hit by a pitch, making Lincecum's miscue meaningless.
Freddy Sanchez, who already had a double, was looking for another one. And when he saw what pitch was coming, it made it a lot easier. Lee went for a slider low and inside, and Freddy Sanchez ripped it down the left field line. Renteria scored, and Andres Torres got to third. The Giants only trailed 2-1.
Then came Buster Posey. Posey had been amazing in 2010, and he looked to keep that going. He hit a curveball for a single, and the Giants had tied the game at 2.
Pat Burrell came up, and he went down watching a pitch hit the inside corner. Then came Cody Ross, who struck out watching a pitch hit the outside corner. Now Lincecum had to do some damage.
Lincecum was working, and he was working well too. He got Ian Kinsler and Bengie Molina to ground out, then he surrendered a double to Mitch Moreland. Cliff Lee was up next, and Lincecum wasn't ready to surrender anything else. Lee grounded out as well, bringing up the Giants.
But the Bay Area team couldn't get anything going either. Aubrey Huff flied out, then Juan Uribe struck out on a high fastball. Edgar Renteria couldn't get anything going for the Giants, and the score was tied 2-2.
With the top of the order up, the Rangers looked to energize something. But Tim Lincecum wouldn't surrender any. He had gained control of his pitches, and he had retired every batter at least once.
And in the bottom of the inning, Lincecum got the support he needed. After he grounded out, Andres Torres came up, and he doubled. Freddy Sanchez was up next.
Cliff Lee failed on pitches low against Sanchez, so he tried to go high. But Sanchez knew what was coming. He blasted a double into left center field, and Torres scored. However, Buster Posey struck out for the 2nd out of the inning.
Pat Burrell, 0-2 with 2 strikeouts, developed some patience. He kept his bat firm and walked on a full count bringing up Cody Ross. Lee decided on a high pitch to Ross, and Ross singled into center field. Freddy Sanchez scored, and it was 4-2.
With 2 strikes again, Cliff Lee went for a slider to Aubrey Huff. Huff connected and sent the ball into shallow center field, scoring Burrell. San Francisco led 5-2, and NLCS hero Juan Uribe came up.
After getting ahead in the count 2-0, Uribe knew he had a couple pitches to play with. But when sidearmer Darren O'Day went for a cut fastball on the inside part of the plate, Uribe wanted the pitch.
He swung and hit the ball a mile high and into the left field seats for a 3 run homer. The Giants now had more momentum, and a 6 run lead. And after Edgar Renteria was hit by a pitch and Tim Lincecum reached on an infield single, the Giants still looked good. But Andres Torres struck out, ending the 6-run inning.
In the sixth Lincecum placed his fastball in the right spots (inside), and Vlad Guerrero and Nelson Cruz struck out swinging. However, after that Ian Kinsler walked, and Bengie Molina knocked him in with a double down the right field line. It was now 8-3.
Mitch Moreland looked to add to that, and he helped by reaching on an infield single. Then David Murphy came up to pinch-hit, and he singled. That ended Lincecum's night. He allowed 8 hits and 4 runs over 5.2 innings.
Santiago Casilla came on, and he started to get going. Casilla fell behind 2-0, but then he threw 3 straight strikes, including a great inside fastball to Elvis Andrus to strike him out.
In the sixth, middle reliever Alexi Ogando came on. He was on fire, but it didn't matter. He shut down San Francisco for 2 innings, but the Giants returned the favor to Texas. Michael Young grounded out to short, then Josh Hamilton was retired on a liner to Torres. After Vlad Guerrero reached on an error by Aubrey Huff Nelson Cruz hit a pop-up to second, which Freddy Sanchez easily caught.
In the top of the eighth Sergio Romo came on in middle relief, and Ian Kinsler came up. Kinsler hit a grounder into the hole at first and second, and he reached. However, he forget to tag the base, and Huff got him out. Then Bengie Molina struck out chasing a pitch outside, and Javier Lopez came in to face Jorge Cantu. Cantu grounded out, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth Edgar Renteria hit a single off the end of the bat, and a fielding error by Vlad Guerrero got Edgar to third. Travis Ishikawa hit a pitch right over the plate into left for a double, scoring Renteria. Freddy Sanchez hit a pitch on the outside corner for a double, then Nate Schierholtz hit an RBI single. The Giants led 11-4.
However, the first 2 Ranger runners reached base. After a flyout Josh Hamilton walked, and Vlad Guerrero hit a sac fly. Nelson Cruz hit a 2 run double to make it 11-7, but he couldn't score as Ian Kinsler didn't get enough of a change-up. Nate Schierholtz caught the liner, and the Giants took a 1-0 series lead!
Good thing they started now.
Freddy Sanchez knocked in 3 RBI's, scored 2 runs and got the 6-run fifth inning started as the Giants beat the Rangers 11-7. For the first time in his postseason career, Cliff Lee wasn't working. He allowed 6 runs over 4.2 innings and took the loss.
San Francisco didn't look great at the beginning. Elvis Andrus singled, then Michael Young walked. After a Josh Hamilton groundout, the Giants no-longer had a double-play groundout.
Vlad Guerrero came up, and he hit one off of Tim Lincecum. Lincecum couldn't get it, and neither could first baseman Aubrey Huff, giving the Rangers a one run lead. After that Nelson Cruz hit a grounder, and Lincecum fielded it and ran Michael Young back to third to load the bases.
While every Giant fan in America was scratching their heads, Buster Posey signaled for a change-up. Lincecum threw it, and Ian Kinsler hit it. Luckilly, Juan Uribe was right there. HE stepped on third for the force and threw to first to end the inning at 1-0.
San Francisco got a broken-bat double by Freddy Sanchez in the first, and they signaled him to steal 3rd. Posey hit a fly ball into shallow right field, and 2B Ian Kinsler came over to make the play. He doubled off Sanchez at second, ending the inning at 1-0.
In the second things weren't much better. Bengie Molina singled, and after Mitch Moreland struck out chasing a change-up Cliff Lee came up. While fans chanted "Easy Out", Lee thought differently. Lincecum served up a pitch outside, and he hit it into left field for a double.
Then came leadoff Elvis Andrus. He hit a line drive into center field, and Andres Torres made the easy catch. Bengie Molina tried to tag up, and he obviously wouldn't have made it. But Torres' throw was off, and the Rangers led 2-0.
In the second Cliff Lee was still going. He threw a perfect breaking ball that Pat Burrell chased for strike 3, and then he got Cody Ross to fly out. But when Lee started to envision a 1-0 series lead, Aubrey Huff hit a slider into right field for a double. However, it was meaningless, because Juan Uribe struck out swinging at an inside fastball.
Then came the heart of the Texas order, Josh Hamilton, Vlad Guerrero, and Nelson Cruz. All three of the power hitters got the ball out of the infield, but they couldn't hit the sweet spot on Lincecum's pitches. 2 flied out and 1 lined out, ending the inning.
After a long at bat to Edgar Renteria, Renteria finally hit the ball fair. It was a nice grounder to Michael Young, but he didn't get enough for a single. However, Young couldn't handle the ball, and Renteria reached.
Lincecum looked to bunt Renteria into scoring position, but he couldn't do so. He bunted the ball into the sky, and it was caught by Bengie Molina. However, Andres Torres was hit by a pitch, making Lincecum's miscue meaningless.
Freddy Sanchez, who already had a double, was looking for another one. And when he saw what pitch was coming, it made it a lot easier. Lee went for a slider low and inside, and Freddy Sanchez ripped it down the left field line. Renteria scored, and Andres Torres got to third. The Giants only trailed 2-1.
Then came Buster Posey. Posey had been amazing in 2010, and he looked to keep that going. He hit a curveball for a single, and the Giants had tied the game at 2.
Pat Burrell came up, and he went down watching a pitch hit the inside corner. Then came Cody Ross, who struck out watching a pitch hit the outside corner. Now Lincecum had to do some damage.
Lincecum was working, and he was working well too. He got Ian Kinsler and Bengie Molina to ground out, then he surrendered a double to Mitch Moreland. Cliff Lee was up next, and Lincecum wasn't ready to surrender anything else. Lee grounded out as well, bringing up the Giants.
But the Bay Area team couldn't get anything going either. Aubrey Huff flied out, then Juan Uribe struck out on a high fastball. Edgar Renteria couldn't get anything going for the Giants, and the score was tied 2-2.
With the top of the order up, the Rangers looked to energize something. But Tim Lincecum wouldn't surrender any. He had gained control of his pitches, and he had retired every batter at least once.
And in the bottom of the inning, Lincecum got the support he needed. After he grounded out, Andres Torres came up, and he doubled. Freddy Sanchez was up next.
Cliff Lee failed on pitches low against Sanchez, so he tried to go high. But Sanchez knew what was coming. He blasted a double into left center field, and Torres scored. However, Buster Posey struck out for the 2nd out of the inning.
Pat Burrell, 0-2 with 2 strikeouts, developed some patience. He kept his bat firm and walked on a full count bringing up Cody Ross. Lee decided on a high pitch to Ross, and Ross singled into center field. Freddy Sanchez scored, and it was 4-2.
With 2 strikes again, Cliff Lee went for a slider to Aubrey Huff. Huff connected and sent the ball into shallow center field, scoring Burrell. San Francisco led 5-2, and NLCS hero Juan Uribe came up.
After getting ahead in the count 2-0, Uribe knew he had a couple pitches to play with. But when sidearmer Darren O'Day went for a cut fastball on the inside part of the plate, Uribe wanted the pitch.
He swung and hit the ball a mile high and into the left field seats for a 3 run homer. The Giants now had more momentum, and a 6 run lead. And after Edgar Renteria was hit by a pitch and Tim Lincecum reached on an infield single, the Giants still looked good. But Andres Torres struck out, ending the 6-run inning.
In the sixth Lincecum placed his fastball in the right spots (inside), and Vlad Guerrero and Nelson Cruz struck out swinging. However, after that Ian Kinsler walked, and Bengie Molina knocked him in with a double down the right field line. It was now 8-3.
Mitch Moreland looked to add to that, and he helped by reaching on an infield single. Then David Murphy came up to pinch-hit, and he singled. That ended Lincecum's night. He allowed 8 hits and 4 runs over 5.2 innings.
Santiago Casilla came on, and he started to get going. Casilla fell behind 2-0, but then he threw 3 straight strikes, including a great inside fastball to Elvis Andrus to strike him out.
In the sixth, middle reliever Alexi Ogando came on. He was on fire, but it didn't matter. He shut down San Francisco for 2 innings, but the Giants returned the favor to Texas. Michael Young grounded out to short, then Josh Hamilton was retired on a liner to Torres. After Vlad Guerrero reached on an error by Aubrey Huff Nelson Cruz hit a pop-up to second, which Freddy Sanchez easily caught.
In the top of the eighth Sergio Romo came on in middle relief, and Ian Kinsler came up. Kinsler hit a grounder into the hole at first and second, and he reached. However, he forget to tag the base, and Huff got him out. Then Bengie Molina struck out chasing a pitch outside, and Javier Lopez came in to face Jorge Cantu. Cantu grounded out, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth Edgar Renteria hit a single off the end of the bat, and a fielding error by Vlad Guerrero got Edgar to third. Travis Ishikawa hit a pitch right over the plate into left for a double, scoring Renteria. Freddy Sanchez hit a pitch on the outside corner for a double, then Nate Schierholtz hit an RBI single. The Giants led 11-4.
However, the first 2 Ranger runners reached base. After a flyout Josh Hamilton walked, and Vlad Guerrero hit a sac fly. Nelson Cruz hit a 2 run double to make it 11-7, but he couldn't score as Ian Kinsler didn't get enough of a change-up. Nate Schierholtz caught the liner, and the Giants took a 1-0 series lead!
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