Teams from the state of Texas have never won a World Series game. Unless the Rangers break that streak tonight or tomorrow, it may be years before a team from the Lone Star State team gets another chance to end that siege of futility.
The Houston Astros were swept out of the 2005 World Series in four games by the Chicago White Sox, and the Rangers find themselves in a 2-0 hole against the San Francisco Giants after absorbing a 9-0 thrashing on Thursday night.
"I expected more out of us," said Josh Hamilton, the Rangers outfielder. "The Giants are hitting on all cylinders right now. We obviously aren't."
The Rangers tonight play the first World Series home game in the history of the 50-year-old franchise. A victory in their debut would be particularly timely.
"We need to go home and get a win. It's as simple as that," said Ron Washington, the Rangers manager.
"We're certainly confident when we get back to Texas we can turn this thing around. Just as [the Giants] won two games in San Francisco we can get back to Texas and do the same thing. We expect to do that."
The Rangers were favoured to win in their first World Series appearance, back before the Giants scored 20 runs against them in two games.
The biggest Texas disappointment so far: the ineffective hitting in the middle of their usually potent line-up, as demonstrated during the Thursday game, when they were neutralized by the Giants right-hander Matt Cain.
Michael Young, Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz have three hits in a collective 25 at-bats, and the Rangers are batting only .227 as a team. They have scored seven runs, or as many as the Giants amassed in one inning on Thursday night.
The Rangers can hope for aid in the form of Vladimir Guerrero, their designated hitter, who returns to the line-up tonight as the series shifts to an American League city.
Guerrero, who is 35 and has bad knees, has become a liability in the field. He made two errors in the first game in San Francisco and was benched for the second game, giving way to the light-hitting David Murphy.
Despite his gaffes with the glove in Game 1, Guerrero at least contributed with the bat, driving in a pair of runs.
Washington said Guerrero would be in the outfield again if the series returns to California for what could be the sixth and seventh games of the series.
That seems like a big if right now.
The Rangers managed only four hits and were hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position on Thursday. Even when Young and Hamilton had consecutive singles in the sixth inning, the Rangers could not score. With Young at third and Hamilton on second after their hits and a wild pitch by Cain, Cruz fouled out to the first baseman. Ian Kinsler, who missed a home run by inches earlier, flied out to end the inning and slammed his helmet in frustration.
"The way we're playing, it's just not us," Cruz said.
Hamilton, Major League Baseball's leading hitter in the regular season at .359, has one hit in eight at-bats and has not driven in a run in the World Series, and Young's statistics are identical. Cruz has one hit in nine at-bats with two runs batted in but three strikeouts.
The Rangers, who have never won in 11 games at AT&T Park, have to take at least two of three at home to force the series back to San Francisco.
"Honestly, now more than ever, just relax," Hamilton said when asked what the Rangers have to do. "Everybody says the pressure's on us. You can't feel that way. We've got to go have fun."
* Associated Press
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20synchronous%20electric%20motors%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E646hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E830Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETwo-speed%20auto%20(rear%20axle)%3B%20single-speed%20auto%20(front)%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh552%2C311%3B%20Dh660%2C408%20(as%20tested)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 420 bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: from Dh293,200
On sale: now
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
