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.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS