SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Now the Texas Rangers can put Vladimir Guerrero back in the lineup without worrying about his glove. They sure can use his bat.
When the Rangers play the first World Series home game in the franchise's 50 seasons, with Game 3 on Saturday night, they'll be able to use the designated hitter — and they'll be trying to dig out of a huge hole.
With the big bats a big bust so far, Texas is down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series after losing 9-0 to Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night.
"Well, the challenge is we have to go home and we have to get a win," manager Ron Washington said. "We're certainly confident when we get back to Texas we can turn this thing around. Just as they won two games here in San Francisco we can get back to Texas and do the same thing. We expect to do that."
The Rangers better find some offense fast, especially from the middle of the lineup.
Michael Young, Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz are a combined 3 for 25 (.120) in the World Series, and the Rangers are hitting .227 as a team. They have scored only seven runs, what San Francisco got Thursday night in one inning after they had two outs and nobody on base before breaking loose.
"I expected more out of us," Hamilton said. "The Giants are hitting on all cylinders right now. We obviously aren't."
Texas played Game 2 without Guerrero, their usual DH who has to play in the field in the NL park. He had two errors in right field in the 11-7 loss in series opener, though Washington insisted before Game 2 that the fielding miscues had nothing to do with Guerrero not starting again.
Back at Rangers Ballpark playing by AL rules, Guerrero will be hitting fourth again as the DH.
Guerrero committed both of his fielding errors in the eighth inning after Game 1 had already gotten out of hand. He at least contributed offensively, driving in a pair of runs with an RBI single in the first and later a sacrifice fly.
Washington said Guerrero would be in the outfield again if the series gets back to the West Coast.
That seems like a big if right now.
Talk about Texas toast — teams from the Lone Star State are 0-6 in World Series games. The Houston Astros were swept in four games by the Chicago White Sox five years ago in their only appearance.
The Rangers managed only four hits and went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position in Game 2. Even when Young and Hamilton had consecutive singles in the sixth inning, the Rangers couldn't score.
With Young at third and Hamilton on second after their hits and a wild pitch by Cain, Cruz fouled out to the first baseman. Ian Kinsler, who nearly homered earlier, flied out to end the inning and slammed his helmet in frustration.
"The way we're playing, it's just not us," Cruz said.
Hamilton, the majors' leading hitter in the regular season at .359, is 1 for 8 and hasn't driven in a run in the World Series. Same for Young, the longest-tenured Rangers player in his 10th season and the team's career hits leader. Cruz is 1 for 9 with two RBIs and three strikeouts.
Leadoff hitter Elvis Andrus drew a one-out walk and stole second base in the eighth, when the Rangers still trailed only 2-0. He was stranded there when Young and Hamilton flied out.
"We had some opportunities early in the ballgame to put some runs on the board, and we had the right people up there, and (Cain) made his pitches. That's what he does well," Washington said. "We just couldn't get it done."
San Francisco scored seven runs in the bottom half of the eighth off four relievers.
The game was scoreless when Kinsler led off the fifth with a drive that hit the top of the center-field wall and ricocheted back into play for a double. Kinsler got no farther after the Rangers failed to get another ball out of the infield that inning.
Edgar Renteria, the No. 8 hitter in the San Francisco order, hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth. That was enough for the Giants, though they piled on plenty more later.
The Rangers, who have never won in 11 games at AT&T Park, have to take at least two of three at home to force the series back to the ballpark by the bay next week.
"Honestly, now more than ever, just relax," Hamilton said when asked what the Rangers have to do. "Everybody says the pressure's on us. You can't feel that way. ... We've got to go have fun."
And get some hits.
