Giants knock out Lee in fifth, take 1-0 Series lead

SAN FRANCISCO - This can't-do Giants lineup keeps doing it.

The latest accomplishment was its most impressive, bludgeoning the unbeatable Cliff Lee in the Giants' 11-7 victory over the Rangers in Game 1 of the World Series in front of a frenzied, orange pom-pon-waving crowd of 43,601 at AT & T Park.

The light-hitting Giants, who upset the heavily favored Phillies in the NLCS with mostly timely hitting, knocked out Lee, a presumed-to-be Yankee who suffered the first postseason loss of his career, after 42/3 innings.

"I missed up, I missed over the plate,'' Lee said. "Professional hitters don't miss that stuff.''

The duel of aces never developed as the Giants' Tim Lincecum, who entered 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA this postseason, while better than Lee, wasn't great, allowing four runs and eight hits in 52/3 innings.

Lee, who came in 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight career postseason starts - including 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA this postseason - allowed seven runs (six earned) and eight hits. It was by far his worst postseason outing, eclipsing his Game 5 World Series start last year against the Yankees, when he allowed five runs in seven innings in an 8-6 Phillies' victory.

"In the fifth inning I have to do a better job of damage control,'' Lee said. "They scored six runs. That's unacceptable.''

Said Giants manager Bruce Bochy: "We faced a great pitcher tonight and he wasn't quite on top of his game.''

The Giants, who trailed 2-0 after two innings, blew a 2-2 game open with a six-run fifth that featured Lee's personal Kryptonite on the night, second baseman Freddy Sanchez, hitting his third double of the game.

"Obviously he's one of the best pitchers in the game, been unhittable in the posteason,'' Sanchez said. "But I don't think there's anything psychological to that. I think we were able to put the bat on the ball today and find some holes. Guys were able to step in and have good at-bats and tried to work the pitch count and put the ball in play.''

Said Bochy of Sanchez: "What a game he had and it seemed to be contagious. We just clicked on all cylinders tonight.''

Juan Uribe, whose solo homer lifted the Giants to victory in Game 6 of the NLCS, greeted Lee's replacement, Darren O'Day, with a three-run home run that made it 8-2.

The Giants, who added three runs in the eighth to make it 11-4, went 9-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

Sanchez had four hits and three RBIs and Aubrey Huff added three hits and an RBI. Bengie Molina and Mitch Moreland each had two hits for the Rangers, who played an overall sloppy game, recording four errors, two by rightfielder Vladimir Guerrero in the eighth.

The Giants look for a 2-0 series lead Thursday night as they send Matt Cain (1-0, 0.00) to the mound against C.J. Wilson (1-1, 3.93).

Elvis Andrus led off the game by lining a 1-and-1 pitch to left for a single. It gave the shortstop a hit in all 12 of the Rangers' postseason games. Michael Young, who hit .333 in the ALCS against the Yankees, then worked a seven-pitch walk. Josh Hamilton, dribbled a grounder to first that advanced the runners.

The 35-year-old Guerrero, playing in his first World Series, followed with a ground smash that deflected off the area just below Lincecum's knee. The ball trickled away, allowing Andrus to come in to make it 1-0. After Lincecum had a brain freeze on Nelson Cruz's grounder - the pitcher fielded the ball and had Young caught in a rundown but never threw the ball to third - he got out of the 22-pitch inning when Ian Kinsler grounded into a 5-5-3 double play.

The Rangers made it 2-0 in the second, an inning that featured a double by Lee.

The Giants tied it in the third, a 32-pitch inning for Lee, getting an RBI double by Sanchez and an RBI single from Huff.

"Our team scored seven runs,'' Lee said. "That should be enough to win.''