Baseball-Giants edge Phillies to reach World Series

PHILADELPHIA, (Reuters) - The San Francisco Giants advanced to the World Series by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 on Saturday to clinch the National League Championship Series.

The Giants won the best-of-seven series 4-2 to take their place in the World Series against the American League champion Texas Rangers starting Wednesday in San Francisco.

San Francisco booked their first trip to the Fall Classic since 2002 on the strength of a solo home run in the eighth inning by third baseman Juan Uribe off reliever Ryan Madson that snapped a 2-2 tie.

The Giants will be looking for their first World Series title since 1954 as the New York Giants, while the Rangers are making their Fall Classic debut in their 50th year as a franchise, born in 1961 as the Washington Senators.