Rangers Shut Out, but Not Psyched Out

Despite the Texas Rangers’ vaunted hitters pulling another el foldo in the playoffs against the New York Yankees, Ranger pitcher Rick Helling insists his team is not psyched out by the defending World Series champions.

Besides, the Rangers’ Game 2 starter said, this American League division series is still young, despite the Yankees’ 8-0 victory over Texas Tuesday night.

“I don’t think really anybody expected us to win this series anyway,” Helling said. “To me, all the pressure’s on the Yankees. They won the first game.

“Nobody expects us to win, so there’s not really pressure on you when you’re not expected to win. It’s when you’re expected to win there’s pressure.”

That’s not to say that the Rangers themselves don’t expect success.

Even though Texas has scored but one run in its last 42 innings of division series play--all against New York--and the Rangers have gone 22 consecutive playoff innings without a run, Helling believes his team can break out at any moment.

“Our team has traditionally gotten that big hit when we needed it, and eventually it’s going to happen,” Helling said. “I have a ton of faith in our offense, so it doesn’t put pressure on me. I’m trying to throw zeros on the board anyway. What the offense does, I don’t worry about . . . More times than not, they’re going to score runs for us.”

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While Bucky Dent is one of the most revered figures in Yankee lore, he is one of the most reviled in Boston. In Texas, however, he’s simply known as the Rangers’ dugout coach.

Dent’s clutch home run over the Green Monster at Fenway Park in a one-game playoff in 1978 gave the Yankees the AL East title and propelled them to a second consecutive World Series title over the Dodgers while sending the Red Sox home for the winter.

And though his current employers have had a seemingly endless offensive drought against the Yankees in the last two postseasons, Dent does enjoy returning to New York.

“I have nothing but good memories coming back here,” Dent said. “The people always talk about the ’78 year, the home run against Boston, the game against Boston. Those are things that are real positive for me.”

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Yankee bench coach Don Zimmer, 68, played 12 seasons in the majors, including six with the Brooklyn and L.A. Dodgers. One of them, 1956, ended when he was hit in the head by a pitch.

Tuesday night a line drive went foul and ricocheted off his noggin as he sat in the dugout.

“As many times as I’ve been hit in the head, I do pay attention,” said Zimmer, who suffered a bloody ear and spent the latter innings holding an ice bag to the left side of his head. “And if I hadn’t been paying attention, the ball might have hit me solid and I could have been hurt.”

TONIGHT’S PITCHERS

RANGERS’ RICK HELLING (13-11, 4.84 ERA) vs. YANKEES’ ANDY PETTITTE (14-11, 4.70 ERA)

Yankee Stadium, New York, 5:15 PDT

TV--Channel 11.

* Update--Helling and Pettitte engaged in a pitching duel in last season’s Game 2 at Yankee Stadium, a 3-1 New York win. Helling pitched well, striking out nine, but made two mistakes that cost him the game, giving up a solo home run to Shane Spencer and a two-run blast to Scott Brosius. Pettitte, meanwhile, worked seven innings and gave up only three hits. This season, Helling went 1-1 with a 3.18 earned-run average in two starts against the Yankees and Pettitte went eight innings in winning his lone start against the Rangers. In 1999, Helling led the AL in starts with 35 and was seventh in innings pitched with 219 1/3. Pettitte has won 69 games over the last four seasons. Only Pedro Martinez (72 wins) and Greg Maddux (71) have won more.