Rangers History Today: Just One Win Away
On this date in franchise history, the Texas Rangers ended the night one win away from their first World Series appearance.
Game 4 of the 2010 American League Championship Series was on Oct. 19, 2010, at Yankee Stadium, and the Rangers had a 2-1 lead in the series. The Rangers put left-hander Derek Holland on the hill, while the Yankees started A.J. Burnett.
The Yankees opened the scoring in the bottom of the second with a Robinson Cano home run, which came with some controversy. Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz argued that there was spectator interference on the play. Replay showed that a few fans did touch Cruz’s glove over the field of play, but fans didn’t interfere directly with the ball. Curiously, the umpires didn’t use replay and the home run stood.
But, the umpires did use replay a couple of hitters later when Lance Berkman hit a home run down the right field line to determine that the ball was actually foul. That left the score 1-0.
The Rangers scored two runs in the top of the third to take the lead, as Elvis Andrus and Michael Young drove the two runs home. But the Yankees answered with a run in the third and another run in the fourth to retake the lead, 3-2.
In the sixth inning, the Rangers grabbed the lead for good, sparked by Bengie Molina’s three-run home run to give the Rangers a 5-3 lead.
From there, the Rangers’ offense poured it on. Josh Hamilton ended up hitting two solo home runs, while Cruz hit a home run of his own. The Rangers won the game, 10-3, giving them a 3-1 lead in the series and giving them a chance to clinch their first World Series appearance in Game 5, which would be in New York.
Oct. 19, 2011: The Rangers and the Cardinals started the 2011 World Series in St. Louis, with the Cardinals take a 1-0 lead in the series after a 3-2 victory. The Rangers’ offense came from Mike Napoli, who hit a two-run home run. Cardinals pinch hitter Allen Craig broke the 2-2 tie in the sixth with a hit off Rangers reliever Alexi Ogando, and the Cardinals’ bullpen held on for the win.
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