San Francisco @ Texas preview
Choctaw Stadium
Last Meeting ( Oct 31, 2010 ) San Francisco 4, Texas 0
It took a spectacular September from a talented, young pitching staff just to get the San Francisco Giants into the playoffs.
Now that same pitching staff has the Giants on the brink of the franchise's first World Series title since the New York Giants won it all in 1954.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum will get a chance to put it away Monday night when the Giants take on the Texas Rangers in Game 5 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
The Giants were 6 1/2 games behind San Diego in the National League West as late as Aug. 25, but they went 18-8 in September on the strength of the pitching staff's 1.78 ERA that month and managed to win the division by two games despite losing two of three to the Padres over the final weekend of the regular season.
San Francisco's arms have been just as good in the playoffs, and they've been especially dominant against Texas. Matt Cain combined with two relievers on a four-hit shutout in Game 2 and rookie Madison Bumgarner went one better in Game 4, throwing eight scoreless innings and watching closer Brian Wilson finish off a three-hit shutout.
The Rangers are the first team since the 1966 Dodgers to be shut out twice in the same World Series.
It's conceivable that Lincecum could make it three.
The Rangers dinged the 26-year-old right-hander for four runs in 5 2/3 innings in Game 1, but he still managed to beat Texas ace Cliff Lee, who will start opposite him again today.
It was the first sub-standard start of the postseason for Lincecum, who is 3-1 with a 2.79 ERA in four starts and a relief appearance in these playoffs, including a two-hit shutout against Atlanta in Game 1 of the NL Division Series.
Texas desperately needs Lee to return to his dominant form after suffering the first postseason loss of his career in Game 1. He is 7-1 with a 1.96 ERA in nine career playoff starts, but the Giants had his number in the opener. They roughed him up for seven runs - six earned - in 4 2/3 innings.
The offense that was long considered a weakness has been a strength for the Giants in the World Series. They've hit .257 as a team - 46 points higher than the Rangers, who led the majors with a .276 average in the regular season - and have blasted six home runs.
Veteran Aubrey Huff and rookie Buster Posey hit home runs in Game 4. Four San Francisco players - Huff, Freddy Sanchez, Andres Torres and Edgar Renteria - have at least five hits in the series. Texas' Nos. 3-5 hitters - Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz - have six hits between them.
Renteria had three hits in Game 4, making him the first player in history with three-hit games in the World Series for three different teams. He did it with the Florida Marlins in 1997 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004.