The Giants entered their third 2010 postseason series as the underdog, again. Everybody was told the Giants can't score runs. The Rangers will light up Giants pitching.
In two games, the Giants have outscored the Rangers 20-7. San Francisco had only scored 30 runs in their first 10 games leading up to the World Series.
The most glaring problem for Texas has been their miscues and the Giants' ability to capitalize on them. San Francisco has built the entire postseason on taking advantage of miscues.
The Giants received a victory after Braves second baseman Brooks Conrad committed three errors in one game. They continued to take advantage of errors against the Phillies, mostly bobbles by Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley.
With the Rangers, they started to pile on the runs by hitting the ball towards Vladimir Guerrero. He looks older than his 35-year-old body says he should be. Guerrero having played a mere 16 games in right field did not help the Rangers.
The implosion of the Rangers bullpen has also been a huge factor. On Thursday night, the Giants led 2-0 going into the eighth inning. The Rangers were able to get the first two outs but then allowed the Giants to bat around.
Much of this was keyed on walks and location of pitches.
Whatever the case, the Giants continue to take advantage of mistakes and limit the opportunities of their opponents. But there is more to their success against Texas.
The pitching the Giants have seen prior to the World Series was some of the best pitching in all of baseball.
In the NLDS and NLCS, the Giants faced Derek Lowe twice, Tim Hudson, Roy Halladay twice, Roy Oswalt twice and Cole Hamels. Tommy Hanson is no slouch either.
Their bullpens are just as good. Jonny Venters, Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Craig Kimbrel.
To say the least, by name, the Giants have seen the best.
Then came the Rangers and Cliff Lee who had not lost in the postseason, ever. We saw how that worked out. C.J. Wilson came as advertised.
The drop off in quality pitching is huge when you think about what the Giants have already seen, and this is why they have been so successful.
Because they have seen pitchers that make so few mistakes, when they face guys who are not as sharp, they are able to attack more easily.
They have started to wait out the Rangers pitching, letting them make the mistakes.
A perfect image of that was the eighth inning of Game 2. On a normal day, in a normal game, I would not have been surprised to see Juan Uribe or Edgar Renteria strike out swinging on a pitch a few inches outside or in the dirt.
They were patient (wait, these guys patient?) and waited for their pitch. In Uribe's case, he was able to take a walk, another thing he does not do often.
The Giants have scored 20 runs with Buster Posey and Pat Burrell going a combined 2-for-14 in the first two games of the World Series. If these guys heat up in any way, the Giants will be in very good shape heading into Texas.
San Francisco will have big questions to answer before the start of Game 3. Who will be the DH? Will Pablo Sandoval play against the right-handers Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter?
Will there be a game that actually involves torture?
Aubrey Huff has offered his services as the DH. Burrell would rather not relive the debacle that was his career as a DH. How important will defense be?
Travis Ishikawa or Nate Schierholtz could also end up in the lineup. Maybe Sandoval plays third, Uribe at short, and Renteria is the DH. Bruce Bochy will have plenty of options.
The Giants are in a great position heading into Arlington with a 2-0 lead in the series. Eleven teams have come back from a 2-0 deficit to win the World Series. A team has never come back from a 3-0 deficit to win.
Game 3 is a crucial game for both teams and is a make-or-break game for Texas.
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