Kinsler, Andrus spark Texas rally

ST. LOUIS The Texas Rangers showed they can beat teams with more than the long ball Thursday night in Game 2 of the World Series. St. Louis held the powerful Texas lineup in check for eight innings before the top of the Texas batting order took things into their own hands - or feet. Aggressive base running by Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus triggered a rally in the 2-1 victory for the Rangers, allowing them to even the World Series at one game apiece. A stolen base by Kinsler and Andrus going to third on a fly ball paved the way for the Rangers to score both of the runs they needed on sacrifice flies. It certainly wasn't the way the people expect the Rangers to score in a season in which they had five players hit at least 25 homers, but it had Texas manager Ron Washington all smiles after the game. "Be aggressive on the bases once the ball is put in play," Washington said. "We're going to continue to go first to third. The only way we'll have an opportunity to steal a bag is if the pitcher gives us that opportunity and tonight (Jason) Motte gave us that opportunity. And we exposed and took advantage of it." Both Kinsler and Andrus were the offensive triggers all season for the Rangers, accounting for 217 runs scored and 67 stolen bases. But you can't score if you can't get on, which was the case for Texas early. The Rangers had only had three hits through eight innings. But Kinsler started the ninth with a blooper over the head of Rafael Furcal off Motte, who hadn't allowed a run in the postseason. Andrus tried to bunt but couldn't get it down. Kinsler took care of putting himself in scoring position by stealing second, beating a throw from St. Louis Gold Glove catcher Yadier Molina. Andrus then accomplished his job of getting Kinsler to third by spraying a single to right. That made things easier for the heart of the order as Josh Hamilton tied the game with a sacrifice fly to right. Even on that play the running Rangers made things happen as Andrus tagged from second and went to third, setting the stage for Michael Young to bring in the winning run with a sacrifice fly to center. Kinsler had two of the five Texas hits and was on base three times. His ninth was an adventure though as he just beat the Molina on the throw to second and was almost caught too far off third base while rounding it on the Andrus single. The throw in from right couldn't be fielded cleanly by Albert Pujols, which may have saved Kinsler as Pujols was charged with an error and Andrus went to second on the play. "I was thinking about scoring right there and I rounded the bag pretty far, saw (third base coach) Dave Anderson pretty late and luckily he didn't come up with and it was a non-issue," Kinsler said. "It was a little scary, kind of stranded out there." A little scary is how opposing defenses should feel when Andrus and Kinsler get on base. The problem is they haven't been able to string much together in the postseason. Kinsler came into the game with a .295 playoff average but Andrus was hitting .190 with just five runs scored and was 0 for 3 Thursday before the ninth. "After Kinsler stole the base, I was looking middle all the way," Andrus said. "After I fouled off a couple of pitches, I was ready. I was trying to stay with my approach. I saw that breaking pitch and I reacted." While Andrus moved Kinsler to third, he thought the stolen base was the difference. He also delivered a message for those who may not have seen the Rangers play much this year. They don't have to win with the home run. "That's the way we play," Andrus said. "We're not going to change our game. We're really aggressive on the bases. We're going to fight and that's the way we play." Now the series returns to Texas where the home run normally reigns. But after Thursday night, the Rangers have given the Cardinals something new to worry about. The ninth inning impressed St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa. "They caught a big break with a blooper, but after that they did some good classic baseball stuff to make two guys come around and score," he said. "They deserve credit for how they played the game in the ninth inning offensively." Its credit the Rangers will take, but the speedy duo means nothing if they can't capitalize when the series returns to Texas Saturday. "We need to go home with the same mentality," he said. "We have to keep battling and take the home-field advantage."