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Wow, in a style befitting their tortuous nature, Brian Wilson pitches the San Francisco Giants into the World Series!

After getting Ross Gload to ground out to open the inning, Wilson allows a 3-2 walk to Jimmy Rollins. He gets Placido Polanco to ground into a fielder’s choice, as Juan Uribe makes a solid throw on the run to get Rollins at second.

Then it got rough.

Chase Utley squeaked out a walk to put the tying run on second.

Then Wilson, facing Phillies clean-up man Ryan Howard, got him looking on a nasty 3-2 curveball to end the game, end the Phils’ season and send the Giants to the World Series.

Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge comes in to pitch the top of the ninth. The veteran righty K’s Nate Schierholtz to lead things off, then allows a bunt single to Andres Torres and another single to left to Freddy Sanchez.

Lidge then gives a free pass to Buster Posey, forcing Giants closer Brian Wilson to come to the plate.

It looked like the Giants were considering pinch-hitting Pablo Sandoval, but it seems to be just a ruse.

Wilson pops out of the dugout, looking about as comfortable as a prostitute in church, and proceeds to ground out to Ryan Howard at first to end the inning.

We’re headed to the bottom of the ninth, with three outs separating the Giants from their first World Series berth in eight years.

And you’ll never guess who just strolled into Game 6 for the visiting San Francisco Giants: two-time Cy Young Award-winning starter Tim Lincecum, who started and went seven strong innings in a Game 5 loss on Thursday.

Lincecum strikes out Jayson Werth to begin the inning, but then allows consecutive singles to right to Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez.

Manager Bruce Bochy comes to get Lincecum, opting instead for the more late-game-seasoned Brian Wilson. Not sure what the thinking was initially in bringing in Lincecum.

And Wilson comes through… though a bit frighteningly.

Carlos Ruiz lines to Aubrey Huff at first, who tosses to second to double off Victorino! Wow, what a letdown for the Phillies and their passionate fans.

We’re headed to the ninth.

After a quiet bottom of the seventh from the Phillies against Giants reliever Javier Lopez, the Giants struck back in the top of the eighth.

Still facing reliever Ryan Madson, Juan Uribe—starting at third base in place of Pablo Sandoval and who had been hit by a pitch in his last at-bat—took the tall righty deep to right and into the first row of seats, giving San Francisco a 3-2 lead and shocking the home crowd into silence.

Madson comes back to whiff Edgar Renteria to end the frame.

The Phillies could now be down to six outs on their season.

As the Texas Rangers embark upon their inaugural trip to the World Series, many have become familiar with household names like Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Vladimir Guerrero, Michael Young, and who can forget Cliff Lee. It was truly a team effort, and while the aforementioned “stars” of the team played a pivotal role in slaying the mighty Yankees, one needs to look deeper to understand how the Rangers pulled off what many have termed an upset.

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With Friday night’s Game 6 win by the Texas Rangers over the New York Yankees, half of the 2010 World Series is now set.

Texas right-hander Colby Lewis threw eight dominant innings and Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz came through with clutch hits in the fifth, as the Rangers dethroned the 2009 World Series champs with a 6-1 win at the Ballpark in Arlington.

The National League champion will be decided this weekend, as the Philadelphia Phillies play host to the San Francisco Giants, who lead the series three games to two. Game 6 of the NLCS is scheduled for Saturday night, while Game 7, if necessary, would be played on Sunday.

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report all day for ongoing discussions and analysis of tonight’s NLCS Game 6 and the potential World Series matchups.

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A phenom who struggled with substance abuse; a manager who endured the same problems; a pitcher who was traded for an upgrade; another pitcher that wasn’t going to make it in the majors; a veteran whose career was declining.

These are just some of the players that make up the now 2010 AL Champions and have led the Texas Rangers to their first World Series in the team’s history.

The Rangers sealed the deal tonight by beating the defending World Series Champion New York Yankees in game 6, winning 6-1.

The 2010 Texas Rangers are a true story of comebacks.

Things hadn’t gotten off to a good start for the rangers at the beginning of their season. News reports had come out about manager Ron Washington‘s cocaine use and how he had tested positive in a 2009 drug test. Rangers management could have fired him at the time but decided against it because of Washington’s admittance of his drug use prior to the test results.

With the talk of Washington’s issues, it was difficult not to remember Josh Hamilton’s similar experience with addiction problems. In his early playing days Hamilton had been indefinitely banned from the MLB for drug and alcohol abuse. Hamilton got his life together and the Rangers decided to give him a second chance. That decision would end up paying great dividends to the Rangers, especially this season with an MVP caliber season.

Another question mark, Vladimir Guerrero, was acquired during the offseason. His old team, the Los Angeles Angels, showed very little interest in re-signing a player who had provided for them during his entire stay there. Guerrero had only 15 homers, had 50 RBIs and played in 100 games for the Angels last year and was thought to be washed up. This season he played in 152 games, had 29 home runs and 115 RBIs, proving that the Angels were too quick to give up on him.

Then in the middle of the season the Rangers made one of there biggest acquisitions by trading for Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners. Lee had been traded to the Mariners from the Phillies because the Phillies were upgrading with star pitcher Roy Halladay. With the Mariners headed to a losing season, the Rangers lucked out and were able to get the staff ace that they were looking for.

Now with all of the pieces together, the Rangers have beaten the Yankees with the most unlikely contribution of all. Pitcher Colby Lewis was playing in Japan last year, with fleeting hope of making it in the MLB.

But the Rangers are a team that believes in giving people chances. The chance with Lewis payed off. Lewis gave the Rangers 8 innings, 3 hits and 1 run in the ALCS clincher to advance the Rangers to the World Series.

In the ultimate story of irony, the Rangers defeated the player that used to be the face of the franchise, Alex Rodriguez. To finish the series closer Neftali Feliz struck out Rodriguez for the final out of the game.

Now a team built on second chances is headed to the World Series. They better hope to win it in their first try though. Not too many teams get a second chance at a championship.

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In their 50th season as the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers franchise, a pennant has finally been won. The Rangers knocked off the Yankees on Friday night 6-1 to take the AL flag in their own home in front of 50,000-plus crazy fans.

The Rangers got on the board first and after the Yankees got a gift run, the Rangers put them away. Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz got the big hits they couldn’t get in Game 5 and the team’s young closer put the hammer down in the ninth.

The Yankees couldn’t hit Colby Lewis as many expected, and although Phil Hughes wasn’t terrible, he wasn’t good enough.

With the win on Friday, Cliff Lee now will be on full rest to start Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday in either Philadelphia or San Francisco. Here’s a report card of how the Rangers won Game 6.

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The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies avoided elimination by winning Game 5, as both teams trailed 3-1 in their respective series. 

The New York Yankees down travel down south to play the Texas Rangers in Game 6 of ALCS Friday night.  If the Yankees can stay alive, Game 7 will take place on Saturday night. 

The San Francisco Giants must head back east to play the Philadelphia Phillies in Citizens Bank Park in Game 6 of the NLCS.  The game will either be played on Saturday afternoon or night, depending on the outcome of Game 6 of the ALCS. 

In order for there to be a rematch of the 2009 World Series, New York and Philadelphia must win three games in a row (two now).  Both teams have a pretty good shot to force a Game 7, but the Phillies have a better chance of advancing to the 2010 World Series. 

Here are five reasons why the Philadelphia Phillies are more likely than the New York Yankees to comeback and advance to the World Series.  

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It’s not going to be a sweep for the Yankees. The Rangers got their first postseason victory at home in their nearly 50 seasons with a 7-2 blowout win over the Yankees.

After a bullpen collapse Friday night, the Rangers were able to hold on to their lead. The Rangers’ bullpen was the complete opposite of what it was in their loss to New York on Friday. The Yankees were only able to obtain one hit in a little over three innings against the Rangers’ bullpen.

Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis pitched well into the sixth inning, and Texas threw in five relievers that completely shut down the Yankees’ star-studded offense. Y

ankees pitcher Phil Hughes had arguably one of the worst outings in ALCS history—the young pitcher had four innings of work, while surrendering 10 hits, along with seven earned runs. He also gave up three walks and struck out three. According to the Bill James Game Score rating system, Hughes had the third-worst ALCS pitching performance in baseball history, only behind Jim Perry (1970 Twins) and Fausto Carmona (2007 Indians). The rating system showed that Hughes scored a 14.

Texas’ Elvis Andrus got the Rangers off to a fantastic start, after an incredible steal of homeplate, putting the Rangers up 1-0. MVP candidate Josh Hamilton also stole second base on the play. 

“Opportunity seemed right, so I took a chance. That’s the way we play. It worked. Got us going,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said about the play.

Outfielder David Murphy would then hit a solo shot in the second inning, putting the Rangers up 2-0. Michael Young would then double later in the inning, scoring Mitch Moreland.

Murphy would come back in the third inning, doubling to right field and scoring Nelson Cruz on the play, while extending the Rangers’ lead to 4-0. Bengie Molina proceeded to double, scoring Murphy on the play.

The Yankees would finally get on the board in the fourth inning when Lance Berkman singled and scored Robinson Cano—Berkman was thrown out at second, trying to extend the play.

In the fifth inning, Ian Kinsler got the lone triple of the night, scoring Cruz, putting the Rangers’ lead at 6-1. Moreland then singled and scored the aforementioned Kinsler. The Rangers were now looking at a blowout, and had the Yankees at a 7-1 lead.

Robinson Cano hit a 448-foot blast in the sixth inning, but it was too late. The Yankees would not get another run, and the game would end at 7-2.

Neftali Feliz came in the ninth inning and pitched near-perfect. He did surrender two walks in the inning, but struck out Derek Jeter to start the inning. That set the tone for the rest of the inning and after walking Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixiera, he was able to get Alex Rodriguez to ground out and Cano to fly out to end the game.

Game 3 will be on Monday at Yankee Stadium. Cliff Lee, who has won his last four starts in New York, will start for the Rangers. Andy Pettitte will start for the Yankees. But, that is Monday night, and the Rangers are looking forward to it.

With their win on Saturday, the Rangers ended their 10-game postseason losing streak against the Yankees. With the momentum on their side, they’re hoping that they can take a 2-1 series lead on Monday.

“That’s what they have been doing for us all year. That’s how we got to this point. (Friday) night, we didn’t get it done. We didn’t make any excuses about it,” Washington said after the game. “We took the whipping, we took a shower…I was going to give the ball back to those guys if it presented itself. It presented itself, they did a great job. I expected that.”

And we expected it, too, Mr. Washington.

By Tyler Ward : Sports Guys Universe; SJ  Contributing Author

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