Favored Rangers See Pitching, Bats Fizzle In World Series
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBS / AP) -- Everything that carried the Texas Rangers into the World Series fizzled against the San Francisco Giants.
The best pitcher. The big bats.
Nothing seemed to work when it mattered most.
Ace left-hander Cliff Lee lost again and the Rangers' bats remained silent in a 3-1 loss in Game 5 on Monday night that gave the title to the Giants.
Photo Gallery: San Francisco Giants 2010 World Series Championship Run
"The guys are a little down," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "They beat us soundly. They played better baseball than we did."
Lee, the prized mid-season acquisition Texas got to win games like this, was definitely better than in the Series opener, when he had his worst postseason outing ever. Still, it wasn't good enough to beat Tim Lincecum.
But no matter how well the free agent-to-be might have pitched in maybe his last start for Texas, Lee got no help from a potent lineup that went from slugging to slumping in the Rangers' first World Series.
Texas had gone 18 innings — the equivalent of two full games — without scoring until Nelson Cruz homered in the seventh inning against Lincecum. That was after Lee, who struck out six and walked none in seven innings, had thrown his last pitch.
Edgar Renteria, the Giants' No. 8 hitter and World Series MVP, hit a three-run homer in the seventh.
The Rangers were shut out twice by San Francisco. The last team held scoreless twice in a World Series was the 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers, who failed to score in the last three games while being swept by Baltimore.
Texas, which led the majors with a .276 batting average in the regular season, hit a meager .190 with only 12 runs in the World Series.
Josh Hamilton, who led the majors with a .359 average in the regular season, went 2 for 20 in the World Series. The big bats of Michael Young, Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz were a combined 12 for 74 (.162).
"I didn't know they can pitch that well. It was as good as advertised," Washington said.
Lee was 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight career postseason starts going into this World Series. He had won Games 1 and 5 last year for Philadelphia against the New York Yankees, who won the other four games for their 27th championship.
This time, he lost Games 1 and 5 of the first World Series in the 50-season history of the Rangers franchise.
Now, the Rangers are unsure if Lee will be back for No. 51.
The 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner will be one of the most sought-after free agents this winter. While the Rangers, who obviously want to keep him, may have beaten the Yankees in the playoffs, it could be costly to win in free agency for the left-hander.
Before his disappointing World Series, Lee pitched a complete game in the AL division series clincher against Tampa Bay after winning the opener of that series for Texas. Then in his only start against the Yankees in the AL championship series, he struck out 13 and allowed only two hits over eight innings.
The Rangers' best hitter in the series was Mitch Moreland, the rookie first baseman who batted ninth and didn't even join the team until July 27. He went 6 for 13 (.462) and his three-run homer was the big hit for Texas in its only victory, 4-2 in Game 3.
Before Lincecum struck out 10 in eight innings Monday night, the Rangers managed only three singles in eight innings the night before against rookie left-hander Madison Bumgarner.
