World Series!

Before the San Francisco Giants defeated the Texas Rangers 11-7 in last night's World Series Game 1, this year's Fall Classic already surprised baseball fans worldwide.  The Giants and Rangers each entered the playoffs as slight underdogs, but after some furious pitching, both teams are on the cusp of a World Series Championship.

Game 1 in San Francisco featured two dominant pitching forces in Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee.  These two pitchers entered the World Series with a combined 5-1 record and 1.34 ERA in the 2010 Playoffs.  What many expected to be a tight pitching duel, though, quickly became a batter's heaven.  Giants hitters rocked Lee for seven runs in 4 2/3 innings, and Lincecum limped out after allowing four runs in just 5 2/3 innings.

The real story of the night, however, was the Giants bats. Lincecum and Pat Burrell were the only San Francisco starters without a hit. The Giants lit up Lee for six earned runs on eight hits.  In Freddy Sanchez's first three World Series at-bats, he stroked three doubles, a World Series first.

Any ideas that the Giants cannot hit should be gone after tonight.  They always manage to squeeze out just enough runs, whether it be against Lee, Derek Lowe, or Roy Halladay.  Lincecum may not have been in tip-top form tonight, but the hitting and defense more than made up for him.

This series has all the makings to be a great one.  The Giants are sitting pretty with a 1-0 lead, but there is still plenty of baseball to be played.