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Well, now it’s a series. Returning home to Arlington served to be precisely the remedy to cure the Texas Rangers’ woes on the road through the first two games of the World Series.

With a well-played 4-2 victory at home over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night, Texas showed their mettle and fought their way back into the series, and now only trail two games to one.

In Game 1, the Rangers scored seven runs, but couldn’t pitch, and in Game 2, C.J. Wilson pitched a fantastic game but the Rangers couldn’t hit Matt Cain.

Game 3 saw the Rangers put all facets of their game together to earn the first ever World Series victory in franchise history.

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington was a virtual sea of red as the hometown fans vociferously cheered on their team throughout the evening.

The Texas fans have been craving a taste of success for quite some time, and in the franchise’s 50th year, finally have reason to hope.

Texas had multiple heroes in Game 3, from the 31-year-old journeyman starting pitcher living a dream after two years of pitching in Japan to a 25-year-old rookie first-baseman with only 47 Major League games on his resume prior to this postseason.

Josh Hamilton, the team’s star center-fielder, continues his dramatic road to redemption after several years out of the game due to his own harrowing battles with addiction.

The Rangers were able to get to Giants’ starter Jonathan Sanchez for four runs after getting utterly dominated by Matt Cain in Game 3. Colby Lewis, suddenly the Rangers’ ace, continued his brilliant run of performances in the postseason, earning his third win in four starts. 

Perhaps most satisfying, two Rangers’ relievers threw 1.1 shut-down innings after the bullpen had failed spectacularly in the first two games of the series.

With Games 4 and 5 scheduled to take place in Arlington on Halloween and Monday, Nov. 1, the Rangers now have good reason to expect to travel back to San Francisco for a potential Game 6, or even a possible Game 7.

Let’s grade the Rangers’ performances in several key aspects of World Series Game 3.

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Game three of the World Series is in the books and the Texas Rangers are finally on the board.

A Mitch Moreland three-run home run, a solo shot from ALCS MVP Josh Hamilton, and solid pitching from starter Colby Lewis helped the Rangers put a 4-2 win in the books in Arlington on Saturday night.

After two demoralizing losses in San Francisco, fans here in Texas wondered if the Rangers were capable of coming back and tying the series.

When the offense went dormant on Thursday night, a collective fan base dropped their heads and didn’t know if they were ever going to be able to pick them back up again. The team wasn’t hitting, they were making mistakes, and their bullpen was just short of awful.

On Saturday afternoon, as fans began to file into the stadium, they wanted to believe that their team wasn’t ready to quit. They wanted to believe that there was still a little magic left in the Rangers’ tank and they were hoping they would see that come out in game three.

When Moreland lined his three-run shot to right, the fans exploded. It was the first time in three games they were really able to cheer for anything at all. It was the first time they were able to really throw their hands up, yell, and scream.

It was also the first time their team had a lead since game one. They wanted this win, they needed this win, and they got it.

Lewis came in on Saturday night and did exactly what the team needed him to do. But not only that, the bullpen did their job as well. Darren O’Day came in to the game in the eighth inning, an inning that has plagued the Rangers through the first two games, and although it was scary, he got the job done.

Then, in the ninth, it was Neftali Feliz who shut the door on the Giants and made it look easy although it was his first World Series appearance in his career.

With one win under their belt, the Rangers and their fans can rest a little bit easier, knowing that a small chunk of the Giants’ lead is gone.

But with one win comes even more challenges and even more obstacles this team will have to overcome.

They will need to keep themselves grounded. They will need to keep themselves from getting too high on the performance they put in game three. They have a job to do and they still have ground to make up.

Scheduled to go to the mound on Sunday is right-hander Tommy Hunter, a guy who has struggled throughout the playoffs.

That has brought up a whole new set of questions, actually just one question and one that was asked by the media to manager Ron Washington during his post game press conference after game three.

“Ron, is there any thought to bringing Cliff Lee back on short rest to start game four?” Ron’s answer was a simple, “no.”

That question was asked again during the post game show on Fox Channel 4 here in Dallas. The answer to that is simple. Lee’s numbers when pitching on short rest are not good and his performance in game one was not enough to think he’d be any better in a ballpark that plays smaller than AT&T Park in San Francisco.

On one hand, I understand why the question came up and I understand those who think Lee should go on three days rest. However, if you lose game four, then you’re almost forced to come back with C.J. Wilson also on three days rest. You put yourself in a bad situation that way.

Going with Tommy Hunter will give him the confidence to go out there and do what he needs to do to get the job done. This Giants’ offense is a potent one without question, but they’re not unbeatable.

Hunter needs to trust his stuff, he needs to trust that he can get the job done, and he needs to trust the guys behind him. Throw first pitch strike, keep the ball away from the middle of the plate, and throw the right pitches at the right time.

If he can do that and if he can keep his confidence up for at least six innings, he can allow his bullpen to do the rest.

The Rangers got their first win, but they’re a long ways from climbing back in this series. This is a good Giants’ ball club and they’re not going to give up wins. They’ll continue to fight all the way through and not give you an inch.

You hate to use the old cliche but it’s one the Rangers need to use starting Sunday night. “One game at a time, one win at a time.”

Take care of tomorrow, get the win, then worry about what comes next. If they do that, they won’t have to play with their backs against the wall.

Get yourself back into this series, than go and take control of it.

The Texas Rangers have their destiny in their own hands and they know exactly how to handle things from here. As long as they do what they’re capable of doing and putting together the kind of effort we saw from them in the ALCS against the New York Yankees, this series won’t be just tied up, but the Rangers will have the lead going back to San Francisco.

The 2010 World Series isn’t over yet. It’s only just begun.

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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.

So what were the 10 biggest reasons that the Rangers came away with the huge Game 3 victory?  Please read on and examine the factors—some obvious and some more subtle—that enabled the Rangers to make this an interesting series again.

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Game three of the World Series is tonight on Fox. The San Francisco Giants and Jonathan Sanchez will look to bounce up three games to none against the Texas Rangers and Colby Lewis.

The Rangers are in a must-win situation. Yes, if they lose they’re not yet eliminated, but you can count on one hand how many times a team has come back from a three games to none deficit in any playoffs (none come to mind beyond Boston‘s 2004 ALCS victory).

Colby Lewis has two wins against no losses coming into this game, so if anyone can pull it out, it should be him. Granted, the Giants have already shelled Lee. Jonathan Sanchez is 0-1, but nonetheless he has a sub-3.00 ERA, so on the surface this looks to be a pitcher’s duel.

We all know to expect the unexpected in this series though, and this proves to be no exception. I’ll make continuous updates as I watch, complete with immediate reactions, noting anything of major importance that may happen.

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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.

To give a little more insight to the deficit, 40 of the 51 teams in World Series history to take a 2-0 lead have gone on to win the title. The last team to overcome such a deficit was the 1996 Yankees, who dropped the first two games at home to the Atlanta Braves before rattling off four straight wins.

If the Rangers are to start a comeback, they need to get the proverbial ball rolling with a win in Game 3. Seeking such a win, the Rangers will give the ball to a man who could inspire the reeling ball club: Colby Lewis.

Lewis is a comeback story in his own right.

He began his professional career as a first-round selection by the Rangers in 1999. Initially, Lewis was a hard-throwing righty whose M.O. was blowing his 95-mph heater by batters; however, four years and a 6.83 ERA in 33 career starts later, Lewis was waived by the Rangers and claimed by the Detroit Tigers.

That’s when Lewis’ career really began to spiral downward.

Lewis suffered a rotator cuff injury early in the 2004 season and missed most of the year rehabbing from surgery. After just two games with the Tigers, Lewis’ stint with the team was over. He went on to have tours with Washington and Oakland before being out of baseball entirely in the U.S. by 2008.

In 2008, in a last-ditch attempt to resurrect his once-promising career, Lewis went to Japan where he signed with Hiroshima Carp of the Japanese Central League.

Once in Hiroshima, Lewis’ luck seemed to change.

While in Japan, Lewis led the JCL in strikeouts in both 2008 and 2009, and was second in the league in ERA at 2.68 in 2008.

When asked about his turnaround in performance, Lewis said, “When I was young, I didn’t have command of the strike zone, I tried to throw the ball by everybody. I don’t know if you ever master the art of pitching, but I’m able to take a little bit off my pitches, sink the ball. For me, it’s all about being able to locate pitches where you want to locate them. I’ve done that the past couple of years.”

Rather than stay in Japan, where he had gotten his groove back, Lewis opted to capitalize on his late-blooming success and test the free-agent waters of the Majors in 2010.

As it turned out, Lewis’ decision might just have been the best thing to happen for the Rangers.

With several teams jockeying for the services of the former first-round washout, Lewis opted to come back to Texas, signing a two-year deal worth five million dollars on January 14th.

Knowing the risks involved in the signing, Ranger GM Jon Daniels went on record as saying, “We feel this is the type of risk we should be taking. We know the makeup, we know the person, we spent a lot of time watching him. There’s no doubt we were in a position to make this acquisition because of the work our scouts have done over there developing a foundation. They understood what it took to acquire one of these guys.”

The risk paid dividends for the Rangers as Lewis compiled a misleading 12-13 record with a 3.72 ERA in 32 starts. He also led the team in strikeouts and served to stabilize a rotation that resembled a hotel lobby revolving door, with starters Scott Feldman and Rich Harden having proven ineffective.

Following his regular-season success, Lewis has continued to show why he could potentially spark a Ranger rally in the World Series: He pitched valiantly in a loss to Tampa Bay in the ALDS, and won twice against the Yankees in the ALCS, going eight innings in the series-clinching Game 6.

If the Rangers are to dig out of the hole they’ve made for themselves, they’re going to have to start in Game 3.

Again, the Rangers are instilling their hopes in Colby Lewis.

So, while the Rangers look to write their own comeback story in Game 3, Colby Lewis is aiming to add another chapter to his.

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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:

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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.

If you were paying attention all season, you would have known that the Texas Rangers aren’t really the road warriors they’ve been pretending to be throughout the postseason thus far. Before the World Series began, Texas was an impressive 5-1 away from Arlington, beating up on both the Rays and Yankees, outscoring them 36-12 throughout the ALDS and ALCS.

Not bad for a team that was 39-42 on the road during the regular season.

Of course, the Rangers being thoroughly dismantled by San Francisco over the first two games of the series may have come as a slight surprise, but it should be noted that the Giants were 49-32 in their home stadium in 2010.

Baseball has a way of bringing things back to where they should be, of forcing everything to revert to the norm. If you were 39-42 on the road in the regular season, and suddenly you’re 5-1 away from home in the playoffs, the odds are that you have some losing to do in the near future. Aside from the odd outlier, baseball players and teams generally perform according to their rates and averages.

Sure, in any given eight game stretch, a team can get hot and outperform their overall record, but basically, your 39-42 road ledger gave us an idea of what to expect.

The great news for the Texas Rangers is that they’re done with the beautiful city by the bay, for at least a few days. However, if they hope to continue their 2010 season and potentially win the World Series, they know they’ll have to book a return trip.

That can wait for now, as they return to the familiar environs of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington desperately seeking victories. With games scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and hopefully Monday evenings, the Rangers have the opportunity to get themselves back into this series, even if they have a steep hill to climb.

Returning from an 0-2 deficit is clearly not the optimal situation to find yourselves in, but it’s certainly not insurmountable. If they had lost the first two games at home, the story would be altogether different, but thankfully that’s not the case.

Facing a must-win scenario in Arlington, the Rangers will send right-hander Colby Lewis to the mound to face lefty Jonathan Sanchez of the Giants. With Game 3 scheduled for Saturday evening at 6:30 PM Eastern Time, let’s examine some key factors for each team as the Rangers and Giants prepare to do battle.

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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.

Making the “competitive” assumption implies that the Rangers will win at least two out of three in Arlington. Those two games will likely be Game 3 pitched by Lewis and Game 5 pitched by Lee, both at home. Game 4, with Tommy Hunter starting, is the question mark.

If the Giants win one out of three in Texas, they will have a decided advantage, needing only to split the remaining two games and facing Wilson, whom they’ve already beaten in Game 6. If the Rangers win all three games at home, they’d be leading 3-2, but with the onus of playing on the road. Their situation would be like that of a backgammon player leading a “race” by four “pips” (versus an average roll of eight), but with the other player on roll.

Let’s say that the tally is 3-3 at the end of six, either by the Rangers sweeping three at home and losing Game 6, or less likely, winning Game 6 after losing one at home. Then it would be Colby Lewis in Game 7 against Jonathan Sanchez with the Rangers on the road for the tiebreaker.

Having demonstrated why it (almost) HAS to be Lewis, I will now show why it CAN be Lewis. He now has the Ranger starters’ best postseason ERA, 1.45. The Giants have pitched to a 2.46 ERA in the postseason. Lewis can beat this while Lee couldn’t in his meltdown in Game 1.

At age 31, Lewis is the other highly experienced starter on the roster and doesn’t pitch appreciably worse on the road than at home, a sign of that experience. Having spent two years in Japan, he may also have a different experience than the average American pitcher. If anything, that could at least make him harder for batters to “read.”

There are no guarantees that Lewis will pull the Rangers chestnuts out of the fire or that his team will get the World Series to Game 7 to give him the chance. However, if Lewis can’t do it, no one else on the team probably will either.

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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? 

Here are five aspects the Rangers must address to avoid embarrassment in the 2010 World Series.

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It’s half-past midnight here in Ranger land and things are looking bleak. Cliff Lee has shown that he is human, and the Ranger bats seem to have gone into hibernation. To add insult to injury, the bullpen is pitching with the ferocity of a petting zoo, and with Halloween right around the corner, it seems as though the Rangers are dressing up as choke artists.

But before you decide to bury the Rangers remember one thing: The Series is coming to Arlington, and there’s nothing like home cooking to “cure what ails ya.”

I know what most of you are thinking, the Rangers have only won two games at home during the playoffs. True. However, there is one enormous difference that most people will overlook—The Rangers get to play by house rules now.

To say that playing at AT&T Park was hard on the Rangers would be like saying that do-it-yourself-dentistry is easy. It was that painful. But now the World Series shifts to Arlington where the Rangers have three games to get back in the race.

What is so substantial about the change of venue? Everything.

Playing by National League rules meant the Rangers had to sacrifice the DH spot in the order; as such, Ranger manager Ron Washington was forced to make a decision: to play Vlad, or not to play Vlad. If you saw Game 1 then you know the answer to that question, and consequently, you know the result: two errors that lead to three back-breaking Giant runs.

Further, because of the lack of a DH, Ranger pitchers were forced into dawning a helmet and wielding the lumber, which meant the Rangers were essentially guaranteed an out in the nine spot. Additionally—and I am not laying blame on the umpires at all—the games were called by National League umpires, and as any big league pitcher would tell you, the transition between the two strike zones is markedly different.

But now, Texas comes home to play in their park, with the luxury of a DH, and a familiar strike zone for their pitchers to work with.

Think about it like this: With the availability of a DH at their disposal, the Rangers can have Vlad’s bat in the middle of the order to protect Nelson Cruz, which also slides down guys like Kinsler and Molina, but perhaps more importantly, the DH puts Mitch Moreland back in the nine spot, a place where he has frustrated pitchers to Dustin Pedroia-like lengths.

The DH also means that the Rangers can use their platoon of David Murphy or Jeff Francoeur, who have both been decent at the plate. So by merit of one position change, the Rangers can have two meaningful bats in the line-up.

But positions and league rules aside, I get the feeling the Rangers were intimidated by the amped up San Francisco crowd. After having played at Tropicana Field, where the Rays had to give away tickets, and then on to Yankee Stadium where the Yankee faithful (I use that term very loosely) left their team for dead routinely, the Rangers didn’t really face much in the way of noise and hostility.

My hats off to Giant fans, you guys brought it.

The look on Derek Holland’s face during his own personal attempt at the March of Dimes in the eight inning of Game 2 said it all—the Rangers were scared. The noise, the energy, the beard, all of it definitely played a part in making Texas look more like the 2003 Rangers than the Claw and Antler edition that fans have come to love.

So where do the Fightin’ Ron Washington’s go from here?

It’s really anyone’s guess at this point. The Giants have pitched so incredibly well that the Rangers definitely have their work cut out for them. One would think that after Lincecum and Cain the sledding would get easier, but Johnathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgardner have proved they can get it done as well.

With Colby Lewis taking the hill, all the eyes of Texas will loom large on the battle tested righty. Can he do what Lee couldn’t? Will the Ranger bats finally come alive with a Frankenstein-like vengeance?

All of the above are unknowns, but if I do know one thing, its that nothing cures an illness quite like home cooking.

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