David J. Phillip / AP Photo
Neither of last year’s World Series contenders could take the final step to make it back to the fall classic. And so instead it will be the Texas Rangers against the San Francisco Giants in Game 1 on Wednesday. The Giants secured their spot Saturday night with a late 3-2 victory over the Phillies in Game 6 in Philadelphia. As their bullpen posted scoreless inning after scoreless inning—it finished the night with six—the Giants hung in the 2-2 game until the top of the eighth when Juan Uribe’s solo home run gave them the lead for good. The Phillies, National League champions in 2008 and 2009, had no reply. The game ended with their slugger Ryan Howard looking at a called third strike. The Giants have not been to the World Series since 2002. The Rangers have never made an appearance in the World Series. In fact, before this October, they had never even won a postseason series.