Giants crush Rangers to clinch World Series after 56 years (Part 4)
The San Francisco Giants were 56 years apart from the last time they clinched the World Series. It wasn’t much to speak of now, since they amassed their chances in the 1960’s, 1989 and 2002 to reclaim the crown again. Unfortunately,
they lost every attempt through a bad string of performances. The opportunity had to come around again and 2010 saw the National League side move up into contention for the biggest trophy in Major League Baseball. The series was pinned against the Texas Rangers
of the American League and with 4 games decided already the chance to go out of the competition as champions wasn’t a fantasy, but a reality in its own right.
The Giants were leading the series 3 – 1 and since one more fixture victory would grant the squad a long awaited glory since 56 years, there wasn’t much to lose. Manager Bruce Bochy was up to his tricks and his tactics were going
to play a major role in the night as two great pitchers would face off in Game 5. San Francisco needed just one more win and if they got the notes right, the possibility wouldn’t be far from realization. The Rangers were stuck in a rut and manager Ron Washington
knew the problem wasn’t something he could meddle with. The Bullpen was missing Alexi Ogando and Darren O’Day was performing worse than ever on the mound.
Ron’s first choice pitcher, Cliff Lee had messed up his first game against the Giants in the World Series when he went for 7 runs and 8 hits against Tim Lincecum. Lincecum, from San Francisco, had a similar night as he went for
4 runs in the game. The two pitchers were going to meet again and many fans hoped the two would do their best in ousting the other in the competition. Since the 5th
fixture was being held in the Rangers Ballpark, there was a strong Texan supporting crowd sky lining the ambient stadium. Home ground advantage was going out against the visitors and it didn’t seem to matter much.
The Rangers never had a good record at home and the first time they beat any team at their ground in the playoffs was when they recently faced off against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship. The last time
was against the Giants in the 3rd game in the World Series.
The Rangers had a weak chance at winning the rest of their fixtures and as they went into the 5th match against the Giants. There was a glimmer of hope to see the hosts excel in the bid for the World Series trophy. The
two starting pitchers started off well, but the runs were conceded in the top 7th inning by Cliff Lee, who conceded 3 runs off a home run hit by San Francisco veteran, Edgar Renteria. The experienced hitter put the side 3 – 0 up and that meant the
Texans were going to face a big possibility of an exodus.
The Rangers were focused, nevertheless, and when the bottom 7th
inning came into session Nelson Cruz retaliated for the Texans to drive the score up to 1 – 3. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to help the hosts as Tim Lincecum made it hard for the side and ended the game with a run off 3 hits. He pitched 8 innings
and struck out 10 in the process. Brian Wilson came into the last inning to pitch the session out. His ending performance of 0 – 0 ensured the Giants clinched the victory and moved out of the tournament as Champions of Major League Baseball.
The Rangers were heartbroken and Cliff Lee was not looking good at the end as he went for 6 hits and 3 runs in 7 innings. If there was any consolation from 2010 for the Texans, it must have been that they moved to the World Series
for the first time in their club career.
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