One of the Greatest World Series games of all time. 11th inning walk off home run to end it, forcing a game 7, the first game 7 since 2002. It was one for the ages. Did you see it? Me neither… (more)

The New York Yankees currently rank on top in the AL East with a commanding four-game lead over the Boston Red Sox at 90-58. The 86-62 Sox still have 12 games left on the schedule to catch their longtime rivals before the start of the 2011 post-season. (more)

Red Sox manager Terry Francona just recently gave Jon Lackey the nod to start on the mound in Boston’s Opening contest April 1st in Arlington against the Texas Rangers. Lester didn’t have his most productive showing in his latest Spring Training outing, allowing eight hits and three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. “The first inning was a little rough. I left some balls up,” he said. “I made the adjustment the second through fourth innings. Then it got away from me a little in the fifth.”  C.J. Wilson is set to start for the Rangers, marking his first opening day appearance as well. Lester has earned a 61-25 career record and 3.55 ERA in five years with the Red Sox. In 2010 he racked up 19 wins with a 3.55 ERA and 225 strikeouts. “I think he deserves it,” Francona said. “I think he kinda has that station in the game now where other teams probably look at him as No. 1.” Purchase your regular season Boston Red Sox tickets right here at Ace!

Late Monday night, free agent pitcher Cliff Lee and the Philadelphia Phillies reached an agreement on a five-year, $120 million contract. The deal is said to also include a vesting option for a sixth year. In a move that can arguably be considered the biggest surprise of the free agent period, Lee reportedly turned down the New York Yankees six-year, $132 million offer, with a player option for a seventh year at an additional $16 million. The Yankees had been considered the favorite to land this year’s most coveted pitcher, especially after the Boston Red Sox made news last week by signing Carl Crawford and trading for Adrian Gonzalez. Early Monday, news had broke that a third “mystery team” had entered the Lee sweepstakes, along with the Yankees and Lee’s former team, the Texas Rangers, but it was unknown who this team was or if it was just a ploy by Lee’s camp to attempt to drive up the offers. As it turned out, that mystery team was Philadelphia, the team Lee pitched for in the World Series in 2009 before being traded to Seattle to make room for Roy Halladay. Perhaps Philadelphia should have been considered a favorite all along, as Lee and his wife, Kristen, grew to love the city during his short time there. When news broke that he was traded, a Phillies executive said the couple was “heartbroken” over the move. Now after one year, two teams, and another World Series appearance, they appear to be back where they wanted to be all along. (more)

Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton collected 22 of 28 possible first-place votes to win his first American League Most Valuable Player award. After leaving the game of baseball from 2003-2005 with drug and alcohol problems, Hamilton has since corrected his mistakes while leading the Rangers to their first ever AL Pennant last season.  “It’s awesome, everybody makes mistakes in their lives and everybody deserves a second chance,” said teammate David Murphy. “A lot of people don’t take advantage of that second chance. But he took it and he ran with it.” Hamilton batted .359 with 32 homers and 100 RBI’s this season. “It’s an absolutely great honor,” Hamilton said on a conference call Tuesday. “There’s a lot of players in the league qualified to get this accomplishment — this award speaks volumes. To be voted on by the writers, I really appreciate that.” Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera finished second in the voting with five first-place votes and 262 points. New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano ranked third with 229 points. More MLB offseason updates to come!

Matt Cain pitched seven shutout innings as Edgar Renteria notched two hits and three RBI’s to lead their San Francisco Giants past the Texas Rangers in Game 2 of the World Series yesterday at AT&T Park. Renteria scored first with a solo shot to left in the fifth inning. The score was 2-0 heading into the 7th when the Giants batted around for an additional seven runs. “We’ve put ourselves in a good situation,” said Cain. “We’ve just got to take that confidence and some of the good approaches that we’ve had into these last two games and take them down to Texas with us.” Rangers Ballpark is scheduled to host the next three games starting Saturday at 7:00 PM. The Rangers look forward to their turn at home advantage and remain optimistic despite their recent struggles. “We certainly don’t feel like we’re defeated. We’re heading home,” said manager Ron Washington. “They took care of us in their ballpark; now we’re headed to ours.” Texas will send Tommy Hunter to the mound for Game 3 to go against Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner. Purchase your World Series tickets here at AceTicket.com!

Freddy Sanchez came up with four hits and three RBI’s to lead his San Francisco Giants past the Texas Rangers 11-7 in Game 1 of the World Series last night at AT&T Park. The eight-year veteran infielder contributed in each of the three innings that San Francisco put up runs. The Giants lineup forced the once dominant Cliff Lee to make an early exit in the fifth inning after allowing seven runs on eight hits. “You never think you’re going to have success against a pitcher like that,” said Sanchez. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the game, been unhittable in the postseason.” A game that many predicted to be a pitchers duel quickly turned into an all out slugfest. Tim Lincecum let up four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings pitched. “It wasn’t quite the game we thought it would be,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “Great pitchers, sometimes they’re a little bit off.” Game 2 is set for 8:00 PM tonight with Matt Cain and C.J. Wilson as the projected starters. Games 3, 4 and 5 will shift to Ranger Ballpark in Arlington before moving back to San Francisco for the remaining two games if necessary. Purchase your World Series tickets right here with us at Ace!

Ace pitchers Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum will square off in Game 1 of the 2010 World Series between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, October 27th at AT&T Park. Both players have consistently produced remarkable numbers so far this post-season. Lee is currently 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA after dominating the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS. He is the first person in MLB history to pitch three 10-plus strikeout wins in a playoff run. Lincecum’s stats are right up there in comparison in light of his 2-1 record with 30 K’s and a 1.93 ERA. The Rangers and Giants are both entering unfamiliar territory as both San Francisco and Arlington have never experienced a World Series title. The Giants haven’t won since 1954 when the franchise was still in New York. In their longtime history the Texans were continuously denied by the Yankees, finally ending their playoff woes in this year’s ALCS. The organization has taken strides to focus on pitching to further advance, relying on Lee alongside CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter. “We had to get our pitchers to realize that you could pitch in Arlington and you could be successful,” said team president Nolan Ryan. “And we’ve proven that you can do that. We had been an organization that tried to outslug everybody. Games that we were getting beat 12 to 13, our pitchers didn’t feel like they could be successful there, and we’ve proven that wrong.” The Giants rotation starts with Lincecum and continues through Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and Madison Bumgarner. 2010 Fall Classic Schedule: Game 1: Rangers at Giants, Wednesday, October 27th Game 2: Rangers at Giants, Thursday, October 28th Game 3: Giants at Rangers, Saturday, October 30th Game 4: Giants at Rangers, Sunday, October 31st Game 5: Giants at Rangers, Monday, November 1st Game 6: Rangers at Giants, Wednesday, November 3rd Game 7: Rangers at Giants, Thursday, November 4th

CC Sabathia allowed just two runs in six innings from 11 scattered hits to lead his New York Yankees to a clutch 7-2 victory over the Texas Rangers yesterday at home in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. The AL title will be decided in Arlington with Games 6 and 7 scheduled for October 22nd and 23rd at Ranger Ballpark. “I just wanted to fight,” Sabathia said after the game. “No matter what the situation was, no matter how many runners were on base in any given inning.” New York’s run production began in the second inning with a handful of base hits to bat around the order. Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano each sent one deep in the third to make it 5-0. Curtis Granderson provided the insurance with a home run of his own. The Rangers are prepared to return home with Colby Lewis and Cliff Lee on the hill for the final two matchups. “It’s not disappointing. It’s a seven-game series,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “Those guys over there are champs. We didn’t expect them to lay down, and they came out today and they were very aggressive.” ALCS and World Series tickets are now available!

Texas Rangers ace Cliff Lee continued to show great post-season success in last night’s 8-0 ALCS victory over the New York Yankees, letting up just two hits through eight innings with 13 strikeouts. The eight-year veteran joined Randy Johnson and Bob Gibson as the only pitchers to ever rack up 10 K’s or more in five playoff starts. The Rangers first put runs on the board through John Hamilton’s two-run shot to right in the first inning for the early 2-0 lead. The insurance came in the ninth as they hit around the order for six additional runs. Texas holds the 2-1 advantage with two more games left in the Bronx before the series shifts back to Arlington.  “I’m not satisfied with that,” said Hamilton after the W. “We still have some work to do here. A lot of fun to come into New York and get this first one. Hopefully we can come out here tomorrow and pick up where we left off.” The Yanks remain confident despite their backs against the wall with AJ Burnett scheduled to pitch game 4. “I don’t think we’re in trouble,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. “We’re down 2-1, we’re not down 3-0. It’s frustrating we’ve lost two games in a row, but we’ve lost two games in a row a lot of times before and come back.” Purchase your ALCS and World Series tickets with us at Ace!