Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers hung on to take a must-win Game 3 by a 4-2 score over the San Francisco Giants before their spirited home fans.

The Rangers Ballpark in Arlington fans saw their hometown heroes come away victorious in their first-ever shot at hosting a World Series game. While the Giants still hold a 2-1 edge and maintain home-field advantage, the Rangers have now made it a series. Indeed, a win Sunday night would knot the series at two-all, with a chance to give Cliff Lee another chance to be, well, Cliff Lee in Game 5.

The Texas Rangers enter Game 3 of the World Series in desperate need of a win as they trail the San Francisco Giants 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.

Someone once said that a playoff series hasn't begun until a road team wins.

Based on that idea, the matchup between the Giants and Rangers is still at the starting line. The next three games of the 2010 World Series will be played in Arlington, and that suits Ron Washington and his ball club just fine.

Down 2-0, the Rangers need a win to reverse the momentum that the Giants established in the pair of games at AT&T Park.

Here are three keys for a Game 3 victory for the Rangers:

After enduring demoralizing defeats at the hands of the San Francisco Giants on consecutive nights at AT&T Park, the Texas Rangers finally get to make their way home. With Texas' magical run on the road coming crashing to a halt, they return to the venue where they constructed the bulk of their 2010 playoff credentials.

The 2010 World Series could not have started worse for the Texas Rangers, who return to Arlington, Texas down 2-0 to the San Francisco Giants.

Returning home for three straight games is the best news for the Rangers right now, and to be fair, the Giants have only won two home games, which is what you're supposed to do.

Cliff Lee will pitch again, and the offense is almost certain to wake up.

The boost the Rangers need may come from their fans, who will no doubt be very wild for Game 3, which will be the first home World Series game in the history of the Texas Rangers.

If the Texas Rangers are going to win the 2010 World Series, it will no longer rest with Cliff Lee (who lost the first game). Instead, it's now squarely on the shoulders of the other ace, Colby Lewis.

Assuming that the two teams were reasonably competitive, San Francisco was going to win at least Game 2 at home against C.J. Wilson in AT&T Park. The fact that the Giants also won Game 1 shows that they are VERY competitive.

Ah, you gotta love Texas and its slang.

Whether the Rangers are sweatin' like a turkey the day before Thanksgiving or not, they ought to be because the Giants have spanked them so far like a rented mule.

Everything is bigger in Texas, they say. But for Rangers fans, players and management, nothing is bigger than Game 3 of this here World Series.

For if'n the Giants find a way to win again, it's all over but the shoutin'.

When the Texas Rangers returned home from New York, having taken two out of three games at Yankee Stadium, the airport was packed with Ranger fans ready to cheer on their team, ready to see them wrap up the ALCS at the Ballpark at Arlington.

Few teams in MLB history have come back from a 2-0 deficit in the World Series. But maybe the Rangers have what it takes to continue their ride through new club precedents.

For a team running through new experiences with each pitch, spotting the opposition a two-game lead must seem like climbing a mountain made of wet soap bars. A serious strategy seems like the remedy, but how do you stop superb pitching and clutch hitting?

Where does a team turn after its ace implodes in Game 1 and its offense turns comatose for Game 2? 

Fake bearded towel waving Giants fans watched as Matt Cain was able to deliver a crushing defeat to the heavy hitting Texas Rangers, and for many fans, the idea of capturing their first World Series since 1954 is but a stone’s throw away.

Cain kept his 0.00 postseason ERA intact going nearly eight as he dazzled and confounded the Rangers’ hitters, while postseason veteran Edgar Renteria did the rest, going 2-4 with a key home-run in the fifth inning that got things going.