Texas @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( Oct 27, 2010 ) Texas 7, San Francisco 11
The San Francisco Giants beat the unbeatable ace and now they look like the team to beat in the World Series.
A night after handing Texas ace Cliff Lee his first loss in nine postseason starts, the Giants have a chance to grab a two-game lead when they take on the visiting Rangers in Game 2 on Thursday night at AT&T Park.
With Lee out of the way, the Giants would seem to have the upper hand in Thursday's pitching matchup, as they send right-hander Matt Cain to the mound. In two starts this postseason, Cain has allowed one unearned run over 13 2/3 innings.
Cain was especially good in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series win against the Philadelphia Phillies, throwing seven scoreless innings and allowing only two hits and three walks while striking out five.
In his only start against Texas, Cain allowed just one run on three hits over eight innings but settled for a no-decision in a 2-1 win last year. No Rangers player has more than two career hits against Cain.
The Rangers had the best team batting average in baseball during the regular season, and the offense showed signs of life in Game 1, smacking 11 hits. Bengie Molina and Mitch Moreland had two hits apiece, but the heart of the order - Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz - combined to go 2-for-17.
Texas will need to get more from its big bats in support of left-hander C.J. Wilson, who gets the Game 2 start.
Wilson made a solid transition to the starting rotation this season, winning 15 games during the regular season, but he has been inconsistent in the playoffs. He shut out Tampa Bay for 6 1/3 innings in the AL Division Series, but the Rangers lost both of his starts in the AL Championship Series against the Yankees, and he surrendered three home runs in those two games.
Wilson will have to deal with a Giants lineup coming off its best offensive showing in more than a month. San Francisco racked up 14 hits in Game 1 and its 11 runs were the most it has scored since Sept. 23.
Second baseman Freddy Sanchez did his share of the damage, going 4-for-5 with three doubles and three RBIs.
After chasing Lee in the fifth inning, the Giants broke it open against the Rangers' bullpen. Juan Uribe greeted Darren O'Day with a three-run homer to left, and San Francisco roughed up Mark Lowe for three runs in the eighth.
San Francisco's bullpen was far more effective, at least until the Rangers scored three runs in the ninth. Santiago Casilla struck out leadoff man Elvis Andrus to get out of a jam in the sixth and three relievers combined for 2 1/3 innings of one-hit ball before the ninth-inning rally.
The Rangers were determined to keep Guerrero's big bat in the cleanup spot despite the lack of a designated hitter in the NL park, so they started him in right field in the opener. He drove in two runs but also made two of Texas' four errors.