Major League Baseball: The Rangers Come Back To Win World Series Game 3
After the San Francisco Giants had won the first two games of the World Series, the Texas Rangers finally won one at their home field in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, with a final score of 4-2.
"We wanted to get back home. We felt comfortable here," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "We knew we could finally put a good game together, and we did."
After a pep talk by former President George W. Bush, who was previously a part owner of the Rangers, the Rangers won their first World Series game since the start of the franchise, over 50 years ago.
"I was just really excited to come back home. I knew with these fans out here we had a definite advantage," said ace Colby Lewis. "It was just a thing of comfort-ability."
The crowd at Rangers Ballpark of over 52,000 fans was jazzed up after part-owner and president Nolan Ryan pitched a 68 mph fastball. Not bad for a 63 year old man who was wearing a tie and dress pants.
Washington finally sent in Neftali Feliz, for whom he had been criticized in the first two games. Feliz had been left in the bullpen instead of pitching, and closed the game with a perfect ninth inning for his first postseason save.
"It's a different league, and that's the American League," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Their guy got a big hit."
The Rangers got an early head start, with Jonathan Sanchez pitching for San Francisco in the bottom of the second. Nelson Cruz hit a double to deep center field, followed by Ian Kinsler grounding out to the shortstop, pushing Cruz to third. Jeff Francoeur
then grounded out, followed by Bengie Molina walking. Mitch Moreland then hit a 397 foot home run to right fielding, allowing Cruz and Molina to score. The score was now 3-0, at the end of the second, to Texas.
Texas got even further ahead in the bottom of the fifth, with Josh Hamilton hitting a solo homerun for 434 feet to right field, his fifth of the postseason.
The Giants seemed to be coming back by the starting of the seventh, with Cody Ross hitting a solo 409 foot home run, putting the score at 4-1, still to the Rangers.
San Francisco then had a good eighth inning with Andres Torres hitting a 368 foot homerun to right field, with the score now at 4-2.
Sadly for the Giants, the game would end at 4-2.
With the stadium at 106% capacity, the biggest ever for a Rangers game, Feliz became the second youngest pitcher in history to save a World Series game at 22, the youngest being Bob Welch of the Los Angeles Dodgers who did so at 21 in 1978.
The Rangers are now at 1-2 and the Giants at 2-1. If the Giants win two more games, then they will win the World Series, while the Rangers need three wins.
Game 4 of the World Series took place on Halloween, Sunday October 31, 2010 again at Rangers Ballpark.
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