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Freddy Sanchez barely snares a line drive in the second inning of San Francisco's 4-0 win over Rangers in Game 4 of the World Series.

ARLINGTON, Tex._ On Sunday, Freddy Sanchez might have had the most spectacular World Series game ever for a player who went hitless in four at-bats.

None of San Francisco’s four runs Saturday had anything to do with Sanchez.

But the zero scored by Texas did.

“Freddy was unbelievable out there,” said Giants shortstop Edgar Renteria. “He can hurt you offensively, and he can hurt you defensively. Either way, he’s helping us beat the Rangers right now.”

Sanchez was everywhere defensively in San Francisco’s 4-0 win over the Rangers in Game 4 of the World Series.

In the first inning, with Michael Young at first and one out, Sanchez fielded a hard grounder from Josh Hamilton, and quickly fed Renteria to start an inning-ending double-play.

With two outs in the second and a runner on first, Jeff Francouer smashed a ball toward right field. Sanchez, stretching all of his 6-foot-nothing frame, caught it. The force of the ball sent him flying backwards, and it snow-coned in his glove as he hit the turf.

“I didn’t know I had it until the last second, when it was in my glove,” he said. “When I felt it hit, I said, ‘Oh, man, stay in there.’ ”

In the fourth, Sanchez doubled down with back-to-back spectacular plays. On the first, he ranged far to his left, diving to snare Michael Young’s hard grounder into the hole between first and second. The ball escaped his glove when he landed, but he recovered quickly and threw from one knee to Travis Ishikawa, who extended into full splits for the putout—a beat too late, as Young beat it out for a single.

As if Sanchez needed validation from actually retiring a player, the next hitter, Josh Hamilton, hit a liner that deflected off the glove of pitcher Madison Bumgarner. Sanchez, playing back, raced in to field it, managed to tag Young running by, then threw to first in an effort to double up Hamilton. (Like the previous play, the runner beat the throw by a millisecond. The spectacular nature of each effort, however, was hardly less impressive for that fact.)

Then, in the sixth inning, with Mitch Moreland on first and one out, Sanchez smoothly started his second 4-6-3 double-play of the evening.

When the Giants acquired Sanchez via a trade with Pittsburgh last year, people turned to the batting title he won in 2006 as his defining characteristic.

“I take as much pride in my defense as I do my hitting,” said the guy whose hitting has earned him three All-Star berths over the course of his nine-year career. “It’s just so much fun playing defense, trying to make good plays for your pitcher and save some runs.”

Sunday, even his failed at-bats helped the Giants.

In the third inning, facing an 0-2 count with Andres Torres on second after a leadoff double, Sanchez fouled off five straight pitches. Even though he ended up grounding to third—failing to advance the runner—his at-bat wore down Rangers pitcher Tommy Hunter just enough to groove his first pitch to the next hitter, Aubrey Huff.

Huff hit it 407 feet, into the right-field bleachers.

“Tonight was spectacular,” said Sanchez after the game. “As the 2-hole hitter, I have to get the job done better, but as a defense, we’re playing really well. This is a really good defensive team, you know?”