World Series Game 1: Giants 11, Rangers 7
So much for the expected pitching duel between Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee. So much for the feirce Texas ball-strikers. So much for the formidability of Lee's 7-0 post-season record. Game one was a tour de force by the gritty hitters in the Giants' lineup, not the Texas bashers who were supposed to fly balls out of the park.Game One had an ominous beginning for the Giants, as Lincecum got into trouble in the very first inning, but survived, allowing just one run. The Rangers tacked on another run in the second, but things began to turn quickly as the Giants tied it with a pair in the third.
Freddy Sanchez knocked in the first Giant run with his second double of the night. In the fifth inning, Sanchez doubled again, breaking the 2-2 tie and starting a Giant uprising that would be the undoing of Lee and eventually see six players cross the plate. Juan Uribe's three-run homer capped it off, putting the Giants ahead 8-2 and essentially ending any argument right there.
Sanchez was the hitting star of the night, with his three doubles, a run-producing single in the 8th, three RBI and two runs scored in five at-bats. The winner of the 2006 NL batting crown, Sanchez hit .344 that season and also led the league with 53 doubles, so his World Series accomplishment was by no means a fluke. He's a bona fide professional hitter.
Lee, taking his first ever post-season loss, lasted only 4 2/3 innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and a walk. Lincecum took the win, though he was barely better, allowing four runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Texas rallied back with two runs in the 6th, and tallied three times in the 9th, but simply were too far behind at both points to make any difference.
The Giants banged out 14 hits, six of them doubles. Sanchez set a World Series mark by becoming the first player ever to have three doubles in his first three World series at-bats.
Game Two is set for Thursday night in San Francisco at 7:57 pm ET.
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