Top 20 Rangers Posteason Moments - Updated For World Series Game 2

Josh Hamilton: 'I Would Be On The DL In Regular Season'

Before Game 2 of the World Series last night, Josh Hamilton admitted to reporters how serious his groin injury was:

Hamilton said he will play with the groin injury throughout the remainder of the World Series with the problem but that "if this were the regular season, I'd probably be on the DL."

"It has for a while," he said. "I haven't been able to create the kind of torque I'd like to. I'm doing what I need to do. If that's move a runner up or hit a double, that's what I will do. There have been some pitches to drive that I've ended up popping up because I can't create that torque. I don't feel any pressure to hit homers.

Hamilton, the 2010 AL MVP, has yet to hit a home run in these playoffs. He is hitless so far through the World Series, though his sacrifice fly in the ninth inning scored the tying run and was crucial to the Rangers improbable 2-1 comeback.

By revealing the extent of the injury, Hamilton seems to have invited the St. Louis pitchers to challenge him. But last night, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa pulled his hard-throwing closer Jason Motte and inserted soft-tossing lefty Arthur Rhodes to face Hamilton in the game's most pivotal at-bat. 

WIth Hamilton firmly entrenched in the No. 3 spot in the Rangers line-up, it's something both teams will be keeping a close eye on through the rest of the World Series.

2011 World Series Game 2: Morning After Thoughts

2011 World Series Game 2 Recap: Double Play Tandem Of Legend

Magic Number: 3

Four runs. That is all the Cardinals could muster in their two games against the Rangers. Significantly less than Texas averaged in a season offensively, and yet it was enough for St. Louis to manage a crushing 2-0 series lead.

This was the narrative being written as the Rangers began the ninth inning of game two, their chances of evening up the series appearing bleak (just look at the graph!).

Instead: magic.

This was a game marked by horror. The offense could not muster anything about Jaime Garcia. Garcia is good, but he is not seven strikeouts and three hits through seven shutout innings against the Rangers good. The ballpark, the weather, the Hamilton injury, NL ball and probably some stuff like luck and being overly-amped for a big game conspired to make the Texas lineup a shadow of its typical self, and Garcia took advantage.

Thankfully, the Cardinals' lineup experienced the same thing, and Colby Lewis was up to the challenge. The only thing standing in the way of another great season from Colby Lewis this year was his outrageous fly ball rate, but cold weather in a massive ballpark made those flies non-factors. Lewis got four strikeouts, allowed two walks and little hard contact, and left with two outs in the sixth and no runs allowed.

The problem was, he left with two outs and two on, thanks to a David Freese single, followed by a good old fashioned Past A Diving Michael Young®. Playing to hold the runner, Young failed to get in to proper position on a Nick Punto ground ball, and runners were at the corners when Alexi Ogando was brought in to face a pinch hitting Allen Craig for the second straight night. And for the second straight night, David Craig came through, giving the Cardinals a late 1-0 victory, seemingly all the Cardinals would need.

There are more heroes than Colby Lewis on this night, though, and those heroes are the Rangers' incredible double play tandem. For most of the game, Ian Kinsler was the Rangers offense. He represented fully half of the Texas baserunners, with a walk and two singles. Elvis Andrus struggled at the plate for most of the evening, but he excelled in the field. The young shortstop had two thrilling grabs behind second base, with glove flips to Kinsler, the first in the fourth for a double play, and the second in the fifth to save a run with two on. The duo were pure magic in perhaps the biggest game of their career.

The ninth was close thanks to their defensive performance, and was lead off by the pair. Ian Kinsler started against closer Jason Motte with a soft fly ball that Rafael Furcal could not run down. It was said in the series preview that the two teams -- on paper -- are dramatically different defensively, and that could well be what makes a difference in the series. Tonight, that was seen directly. Two of Kinsler's hits came because Cardinals infielders could not get to balls that a Rangers infielder likely would, while Kinsler and Andrus had repeatedly turned in great plays up the middle to save the game. Now, Furcal's inability to run down a pop fly had the tying run on base.

The magic continued. With Andrus up and showing bunt, Kinsler stole second just under the tag. A pitch after Tim McCarver called the exact thing due to a poor defensive alignment, Andrus roped a ball to right, and thanks to Pujols deflecting the throw in, collected second base with Kinsler at third. He had struggled at the plate, but with one of the biggest hits in the history of the Rangers and some incredible glove work, Elvis Andrus had become a hero.

Next came outs, but good outs. Josh Hamilton brought in Kinsler with a sac fly, advancing Andrus, and Young redeemed himself with one of his own. In the last inning, the Rangers had suddenly -- and finally -- taken the lead in astounding, tight, and dramatic fashion. Neftali Feliz walked the first batter (perhaps due to not being given enough time to warm up), but then retired the Cardinals with ease to end it. Without a lucky hit, a close steal, or Albert Pujols being out of position twice, the Young and Hamilton fly balls are harmless outs leading to a two game deficit. Instead, the Rangers go in to the off-day in great position.

These are words of a recap. They cannot capture the emotion that just came out of probably the most dramatic game in the history of a franchise. A frustrating and miserable experience became a victory seemingly out of nowhere, in tremendously unbelievable fashion. On the strength of its middle infield and a disappointing pitcher, the Rangers won when at times it felt impossible.

This is what people want in the postseason. Fans of 28 other teams have seen a thrilling open to the series. Rangers fans, meanwhile, are breathing a collective sigh of relief, and Cardinals fans are stressing about how close they were to an incredible start.

Without Young and Andrus's play, Texas is needing a minor miracle to win the series. Instead, they have gotten a split on the road against their opponents' two best pitchers, and go home with an even more comfortable position in the series than they could have expected before the games had been played.

That is the difference a good defense can make. That is the difference great baserunning can make. That is the difference putting your pitcher in the best situation can make. It is the difference between being on the side of a narrow margin between despair and joy.

The Cardinals and Rangers both have tremendous pitching and hitting. The Rangers, however, take the idea of complete team beyond those two factors, and Thursday night it brought them a step closer to a World Championship.

GAME CHARTS

Source: FanGraphs

Biggest Contributions (What is this, I don't even. . . ?)

1. Colby Lewis 35%
2. Ian Kinsler 26%
3. Neftali Feliz 19%

Greg Gibson's Strikezone from Brooks Baseball

VOTE FOR THE PLAYER OF THE GAME!

World Series Rangers Vs. Cardinals: Rangers Tie Series 1-1 After A Two-Run Ninth Inning To Win, 2-1

The Texas Rangers made game two of the World Series come down to a dramatic finish. The St. Louis Cardinals were looking to go up 2-0 in the Series as their pitching dominated the Rangers through eight innings. Cardinal starting pitcher Jaime García had one of his best performances of the year. García pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked one and struck out seven batters. Fernando Salas and Marc Rzepczynski each struck out a batter in a combined effort for one inning.

The Texas Rangers pitching was lead by Colby Lewis and while he was not as dominant as García was, Lewis only allowed one run in tonights game on a pinch-hit RBI single by Allen Craig for the go-ahead run. On the night Lewis allowed four hits, walked two and struck out four, he was not dominant but he had a good performance this evening.

With the Rangers down 1-0 and facing Jason Motte who had been dominant this post season by striking out seven, giving up zero runs and allowing only one hit in nine innings. Then in tonight's game he gave up two hits and two runs in the top of the ninth.

The inning started off with Motte allowing consecutive singles by Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus then sacrifice flies by Josh Hamilton and Michael Young to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Then in the bottom of the ninth the Rangers had a perfect ninth inning to seal the come from behind win.

Player Of 2011 World Series Game Two

World Series Rangers Vs. Cardinals Score: Michael Young Gives Rangers 2-1 Lead

The Rangers finally have their first lead of the World Series.

After tying the game on a sacrifice fly from Josh Hamilton, the Rangers took the lead on a sacrifice fly by Michael Young, scoring Elvis Andrus in the ninth inning.

Lance Lynn then retired Adrian Beltre on a ground out to third, ending the top half of the ninth inning for the Rangers. 

Rangers closer Neftali Feliz will enter the game for the bottom half of the ninth. The Cardinals have Yadier Molina, Nick Punto and Skip Schumaker due up in the ninth.

World Series Rangers Vs. Cardinals Score: Josh Hamilton's Sac Fly Ties Game In Ninth

It took the Rangers eight plus innings, but they're finally on the board in Game 2 of the World Series. 

Trailing 1-0 into the ninth against St. Louis closer Jason Motte, Ian Kinsler led off the inning with a bloop single. Kinsler then stole second base off of Motte, as Motte allowed a massive jump to Kinsler, and even a perfect throw from Yadier Molina wasn't enough to catch Kinsler stealing.

Elvis Andrus then singled into center field, with an errant throw from Jon Jay allowing Andrus to advance to second.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa then went to Arthur Rhodes to face Josh Hamilton, who hit a sacrifice fly, tying the game at 1-1. Andrus advanced to third on the play, putting the winning run just 90 feet away from scoring.

Michael Young and Adrian Beltre will face off against Lance Lynn for St. Louis.

Cardinals Vs. Rangers Score: Allen Craig Gives St. Louis 1-0 Lead

Stop me if you've heard this before. Allen Craig's pinch hit single off Alexi Ogando has given the Cardinals the lead late in the World Series. 

In Game 1, Craig hit a line drive into right field, just beyond the reach of Nelson Cruz, giving the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. On Thursday night in Game 2, Craig had an encore performance, lining an 0-1 pitch into right center field, scoring David Freese from second base, giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

The Cardinals were set up with runners on first and second, after Michael Young failed to corral a tricky hop on a grounder from Nick Punto. Ron Washington then decided to remove Colby Lewis from the game, in favor of Ogando.

Once again, though, the decision by Washington backfired, though you can hardly blame Washington for bringing Ogando into the game.

Ogando did get Rafael Furcal to ground out to third to end the inning.

St. Louis will be going to their bullpen as the game heads into the eighth inning. Lewis is currently on the hook for the loss as it stands, and Jaime Garcia is in line to pick up the win if the score holds. 

World Series Cardinals Vs. Rangers Score: Scoreless Still Through Six

Pitching is still the name of the game in the 2011 World Series. Game 2 is scoreless through six innings between the Cardinals and Rangers, as both Colby Lewis and Jaime Garcia have been brilliant.

Each team has only been able to muster up two hits. Ian Kinsler has reached twice for the Rangers, as he's walked and singled. The Rangers did have a rally going in the fourth, as a Michael Young single advanced Kinsler to third with two outs. Adrian Beltre struck out to end the winning, and Texas' rally. 

Texas' defense has been spectacular as well, as Elvis Andrus robbed Rafael Furcal in the bottom half of the fifth inning, saving a hit and a run, and ending the inning in the process. With runners on first and second and two out, Furcal hit a hard grounder up the middle, but Andrus ranged to his left, dove, made a sensational stop and then flipped the ball to Kinsler from his glove perfectly, forcing Jaime Garcia at second and ending the inning.

Lewis has thrown 86 pitches through six innings, allowing just two hits and two walks. He's struck out three batters on the night. 

Ron Washington does have some bullpen activity, though, as Alexi Ogando was seen warming in Texas' bullpen.

Cardinals Vs. Rangers Score: Scoreless Through Four Innings

Starting pitching is coming up roses once again in the World Series, as Game 2 between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers is scoreless through four innings. 

The first hit in the game didn't come until the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Rafael Furcal lined a double down the right field line off of Colby Lewis, but Jon Jay grounded out weakly to Michael Young to end the inning.

Texas finally had a rally in the top half of the fourth. Ian Kinsler walked to leadoff the inning, before Elvis Andrus flew out to right field and Josh Hamilton flew out to left. Young then guided a soft liner into centerfield for a hit, advancing Kinsler to third.

Jaime Garcia, though, would retire Adrian Beltre on strikes, ending the threat for Texas.

The Rangers will have Nelson Cruz, Mike Napoli and Craig Gentry due up in the top half of the fifth inning. 

World Series: What To Expect From Cardinals Starter Jaime Garcia

Cardinals Vs. Rangers: World Series Game 2 Lineups

Ron Washington has decided to make a change in his Game 2 lineup, as the Cardinals send left hander Jaime Garcia to the mound. Not surprisingly, David Murphy is out of the starting lineup with Garcia on the hill. The ailing Josh Hamilton has been moved to left field, where he spent most of this season playing.

Ian Kinsler, 2B
Elvis Andrus, SS
Josh Hamilton, LF
Michael Young, 1B
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Nelson Cruz, RF
Mike Napoli, C
Craig Gentry, CF
Colby Lewis, SP

Cruz remains ahead of Napoli in the order, which is something that paid dividends twofold last night, as Napoli homered to tie the game up, which scored Cruz. Cruz also received an extra at bat out of it as well, as he flied out to end the game. It's not the result you look for of course, but at least Cruz did have a chance to tie the game in the ninth inning.

For the Cardinals, the lineup is identical to Game 1's, except Tony La Russa switched Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday in the batting order. Berkman has much more power against right handers than he does against lefties, as he hit 27 of his 31 homers against righties, so the move makes sense. 

Rafael Furcal, SS
Jon Jay, CF
Albert Pujols, 1B
Lance Berkman, RF
Matt Holliday, LF
David Freese, 3B
Yadier Molina, C
Nick Punto, 2B
Jaime Garcia, SP

On Josh Hamilton's Injury

World Series Game 2: Rangers Look To Even Series Against Cardinals

Game 2 of the World Series is on Thursday night, as the Rangers look to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole.