This is a viewing guide to help prepare you for Game 1 of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants. Click here for the complete World Series schedule.
World Series Game 1, Rangers Vs. Giants: Keys To The Game, And TV Information
Time: 7:57pm ET
Starting Pitchers: LHP Cliff Lee vs. RHP Tim Lincecum
Series: 0-0
TV: FOX
TV Announcers: Joe Buck and Tim McCarver
Radio: ESPN Radio
Radio Announcers: Jon Miller and Joe Morgan
Umpires: Sam Holbrook, Bill Miller, John Hirschbeck, Gary Darling, Mike Winters, Jeff Kellogg
MLB.com Gameday: Link
Team Blogs: Lone Star Ball, McCovey Chronicles
Situation
We’ve made it to the end of it all, facing what just feels like a really fresh World Series showdown. In one corner, we have the Giants, who haven’t made the Series since 2002. In the other corner, we have the Rangers, who previous to 2010 had accumulated all of one playoff win, ever. The Rangers are as fresh as it gets, while the Giants have a completely different feel from the edition that wore the same jerseys eight years ago. While it may not end up a winner in the ratings, this year’s World Series is compelling, and new, and evenly balanced, and could prove to be the best World Series we’ve seen in some time.
Worth noting is that, while the Giants had to duke it out and didn't clinch a playoff spot until the final day of the regular season, the Rangers had their first five-game division lead on July 7, and had it up to eight by the end of the month. So the Rangers knew they were going to make the postseason for a while. But the Giants have actually played one fewer game through the first two rounds, after making quick work of the Braves in the NLDS. Each of these teams has faced difficult challenges, and they come in with about the same momentum.
Three Keys
(1) Cliff Lee has made easy work of his postseason opponents to date, throwing 24 innings over three starts, with two runs, one walk, and 34 strikeouts. He and Bob Gibson are the only pitchers ever to string together three consecutive playoff starts with at least 10 strikeouts. So it’s safe to say that Lee is coming in riding something of a hot streak. One of the reasons he’s doing so well? He’s thrown 69% first-pitch strikes in the playoffs, while batters have swung at just 34% of his first pitches. So Lee’s been able to get ahead and establish control. I say it every time, but the Giants should try to be aggressive. All but two of Lee’s opponents this month have gotten a first-pitch fastball or cutter. Almost all of them to lefties have been down and away. Almost all of them to righties have been over the outer half of the plate. If the Giants hitters can zone in on those pitches and take confident early hacks, they might be able to drill some hard hits.
(2) Of the eight position players the Rangers will send to the plate against Tim Lincecum, six are right-handed, which to some degree reduces the impact of his phenomenal changeup - pitchers prefer to use their changeups against opposite-handed hitters, and Lincecum is no different. However, the biggest bat he'll face is the left-handed Josh Hamilton. And here, it's interesting to note that Hamilton has historically struggled against changeups more than any other pitch. The league-average hitter makes contact with a changeup on 74% of his swings. Hamilton comes in at 62%. And he's done the least damage when he has put the ball in play. Lincecum does a very good job of burying his change down and away against lefties, and that could be his key to success against the Rangers' top slugger.
(3) Vladimir Guerrero is getting the start in right field over the left-handed David Murphy. There's no guarantee that this arrangement will carry over into Game 2, but it's the definite plan for Game 1, as Ron Washington wants to have his regular cleanup hitter in the lineup. The problem? Guerrero is right-handed and immobile, while Murphy is left-handed and rather fleet of foot. It's true that Vlad can still hit a little bit. He delivered the clutch double in Game 6 of the ALCS, and he's always posted a good OPS against right-handed pitchers. Murphy, though, has a career .842 OPS against righties, and runs a lot better than Guerrero does. Right field in AT&T Park is tricky. Washington will have to hope that Guerrero doesn't see many fly balls or line drives. If he does, the Giants could end up with an extra baserunner, or an extra base.
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