ARLINGTON, Texas — Cliff Lee gets to pitch in an even bigger game for the AL champion Texas Rangers with the New York Yankees out of the way.
The ace left-hander didn’t have to beat the defending champions again to put Texas in its first World Series, so the Rangers’ prized midseason acquisition is set to start Game 1 on the biggest stage Wednesday in San Franciso against the NL champion Giants.
Lee is no stranger to the World Series. He won Games 1 and 5 for Philadelphia against New York last fall before the Phillies traded him to Seattle the same day they acquired Roy Halladay — the Phillies were eliminated by the Giants on Saturday night.
But the Rangers are newcomers, making the Fall Classic in the franchise’s 50th season despite plenty of unexpected pitching changes along the way.
“We all started having a certain feeling at some point in time. They just kept fighting back and fighting back, and we started believing in them,” said Rangers icon Nolan Ryan, the team president and part-owner. “They were determined to get it done.”
The Rangers clinched their first AL pennant with a 6-1 victory over the Yankees in Game 6 of the ALCS on Friday night before a frenzied crowd of 51,404 at Rangers Ballpark — in the shadow of Cowboys Stadium, where the attention is usually focused in the fall.
Colby Lewis dominated over eight innings, winning for the second time in the series, before Neftali Feliz closed it out.
“This group of guys, it’s a great feeling,” said Lee, who was ready to pitch Game 7 if needed, after a 13-strikeout performance against the Yankees in Game 3. “If we keep playing the way we have, things are going to work out.”
