Game 5 starter Lee won't make excuses for Game 1

ARLINGTON, Texas - In the moments after his shockingly ineffective outing in Game 1 of the World Series, Cliff Lee used one word several times:

"Unacceptable."

Speaking before Game 4 last night, Lee didn't go beyond talking in generalities about the performance, one in which he allowed seven runs (six earned) and eight hits in 42/3 innings.

Specifically, if there were mechanical issues that hurt him, he wasn't saying.

"Anything I say is an excuse, and I'm not going to sit here and make excuses," said Lee, who will start Game 5 Monday night against the Giants' Tim Lincecum in a rematch of Game 1. "I threw balls down the middle of the plate and they hit them. I can't do that."

The lefthander, who entered that game 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight career postseason starts - including 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA this postseason - was just getting warmed up.

"Regardless of what I say, it's going to sound like an excuse, so there's no point really getting into it," said Lee, who held the Yankees to two singles and struck out 13 in eight innings in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. "I've got to do a better job of locating pitches. The reason why and all that stuff, regardless of what I say, it sounds like an excuse, so I'd rather not say anything."

The Giants lead three games to one after Sunday night's 4-0 victory over Texas, so Lee will be trying to keep the Rangers' season alive and send the Series back to San Francisco.

Lincecum wasn't all that sharp in Game 1, allowing four runs and eight hits in 52/3 innings, but it was Lee's outing that garnered all the headlines after the Giants' 11-7 victory.

Words such as "shocking" and "surprising" made the rounds, though Lee wasn't among those using them - either after Game 1 or before Game 4.

"I know every time I go out there, I expect to be successful, so any time it's anything less than that, you're disappointed," he said. "But I wouldn't say surprised. You never know what's going to happen when you go out there. Those guys swinging the bat are pretty good, too. If you make mistakes, that's what they get paid to hit. That was the main reason I got hit last time. I was throwing a lot of balls over the plate."

Rangers manager Ron Washington saw it pretty much the same way his pitcher did.

"As he said, if you don't put the ball where you want to, major-league hitters get it," Washington said. "There's a couple pitches he wanted someplace else, they weren't [thrown there], and he just got hit. But Cliff Lee is fine. He's only human. He's been so great, so when he's not great, it just opens him up for questions. No, he's fine."

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said his team's success against Lee was a combination of his hitters' approach and a rough night for the lefthander.

"A little bit of both," he said. "I thought we had a good approach, but also he probably wasn't on top of his game."

What probably would be most shocking of all would be if Lee had a second straight poor outing in Game 5.

"I get a chance to redeem myself against a team that actually put it to me pretty good last time," Lee said. "I'm looking forward to it. I've been working hard and . . . it's basically the last start of the season for me, and I want to do everything I can to help this team win the World Series."