The San Francisco Giants took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven World Series by blanking Texas 9-0 on Thursday behind the pitching of Matt Cain and an eighth-inning meltdown by the Rangers relievers.
Cain held the Rangers to four hits in seven-and-two-thirds shutout innings, as he extended his post-season streak to 21-and-a-third innings without yielding an earned run, in a taut pitchers’ duel that turned into a stroll for San Francisco.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good situation,” Cain said about the Giants moving within two more wins of claiming the World Series crown.
Photo: AFP
Edgar Renteria homered in the fifth inning and Juan Uribe singled home another run in the seventh to spoil a strong effort by Rangers starter C.J. Wilson, who left in the seventh inning because of a blister on his left middle finger.
Four straight walks by Rangers relievers in the eighth inning launched a seven-run outburst that turned the game for the Giants.
“We benefited from the walks, we know it and we kept the line moving.” Giants manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “You take all the runs you can get.”
The tight 2-0 contest dissolved when Texas manager Ron Washington brought left-handed reliever Derek Holland into the game with two out and a runner on first.
Holland walked three straight batters, one on four pitches, to force in one run before giving way to Mark Lowe, who walked Juan Uribe to let in another run.
A single by Renteria, a triple by pinch-hitter Aaron Rowand and a double by Andres Torres completed the humiliation.
“I thought he would correct himself,” Washington said about staying with Holland. “I felt like he could finally get back in the groove. I didn’t expect 12 balls ... but it happened.”
The series now shifts to Texas for Game Three today, with Game Four and a Game Five, if necessary, also to be played in Arlington.
Following an opening night surprise in which ace pitchers Cliff Lee of Texas and San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum started a game that ended up 11-7, Cain and Wilson delivered a tense battle.
The Rangers came close of scoring the game’s first run in the top of the fifth inning when lead-off hitter Ian Kinsler’s towering fly hit the very top of the wall in center and bounced back onto the field holding him to a double.
Kinsler could not budge from second as David Murphy lined out to short, Matt Treanor grounded to short and after an intentional walk to Mitch Moreland, Wilson grounded to first.
Renteria’s blast in the bottom of the fifth put the Giants ahead 1-0, but the Rangers mounted a bigger threat in the sixth.
After one-out singles by Michael Young and Josh Hamilton, a wild pitch by Cain moved them to second and third.
However, Cain preserved his slender lead by getting Nelson Cruz to foul out to the first baseman and then induced a fly to right from Kinsler.
San Francisco scratched out another run in the seventh on a walk, an out and a bloop single to right by Uribe.
The crowd of nearly 44,000 waved their orange rally towels and sang along with Journey’s lead singer and Giants fan Steve Perry in a rendition of Lights before the home team came to bat in the eighth.
The Giants then proceeded to light up the scoreboard to the delight of a packed stadium.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
RSS