The biggest revelation of this first World Series game is that no matter how much confidence a team may place on their starting pitcher, the Ace cannot win the game alone. In the first inning the Rangers were all over Lincecum and he looked unnerved and frazzled. Lee, on the other hand, mowed the Giants down. It appeared this was going to be a game between "the kid" and the "super hero." Lee's confidence continued in the second inning, with an amazing 2-base run and eventually scoring. Lincecum made an odd fielding error. The Giants' bats were silenced. The fan next to me, a retired military man visiting from Salinas, exhorted the Giants to hit. He had bought our expensive Stubhub ticket and wanted to see his money's worth.
He got his wish: the third inning was a turning point. Renteria reached on an error, Torres was hit by the pitcher, and Sanchez and Posey started hitting against Lee. These small glitches, and Giants' success in taking advantage of them, turned the entire game's dynamics. Lincecum regained his composure in the following inning and Lee began to lose his. But this was not destined to be a game of dueling Aces. Lee was gone by the 5th inning, Lincecum by the 7th. The game was won by the Giants' bats. Final score: 11-7.
Riding BART home after the game, a beat writer from Seattle told me how he was caught unawares by the end-of-season surge by the Giants. An uncanny bunch of beards, but it is what it is.
More excitement to follow: the Rangers lost to the Yankees with lopsided scores in the Division Series and have come right back. Torture is forecast.
