ARLINGTON, Texas – Back in Texas. Back in the World Series.

The Rangers, behind emerging October ace Colby Lewis, came home and threw themselves the biggest tailgate party of them all, beating San Francisco 4-2 on Saturday night and cutting the Giants’ Series edge to 2-1.

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Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers hits a home run in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the World Series against San Francisco on Saturday. Texas won, 4-2. The Associated Press

Longhorns, Aggies, Horned Frogs — sorry. This was a night to celebrate baseball.

“We wanted to get back home. We felt comfortable here,” Texas Manager Ron Washington said. “We knew we could finally put a good game together, and we did.”

Psyched by pep talks from former president George W. Bush and spurred by a heater from Nolan Ryan, the Rangers became the first team from Texas to win a Series game.

Rookie Mitch Moreland hit an early three-run homer, Josh Hamilton later launched a 426-foot shot and the Rangers posted a Series win that took the franchise 50 years to achieve.

And just in time, coming off two thumpings in San Francisco.

“We’re still down one game, but it’s shifted,” Hamilton said.

Game 3 marked the first time the Series visited the Metroplex. On a college football weekend, the parking lots filled early with flying footballs, fine barbecue smoke and fans checking the scores of their alma maters.

But Lewis and the Rangers showed there was still a place in the Lone Star State for another sport.

“I was just really excited to come back home. I knew with these fans out here we had a definite advantage,” Lewis said. “It was just a thing of comfortability.”

Bush, previously a Rangers part-owner, toured the Texas clubhouse before the game and visited with individual players.

Ryan, a current part-owner and Hall of Famer, jazzed the largest crowd in the history of Rangers Ballpark by cranking up for the ceremonial first pitch, a 68-mph fastball, pretty swift for a 63-year-old guy wearing dress pants and a tie.

Lewis took over after that. He worked around a seventh-inning home run by Cody Ross, the fifth of the postseason for the NL championship series MVP, and another homer by Andres Torres in the eighth. The Giants eventually brought the tying run to the plate, but reliever Darren O’Day retired Buster Posey to end the eighth.

Washington finally brought in Neftali Feliz, and the closer pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the postseason. Washington was criticized in the first two games at San Francisco for leaving Feliz in the bullpen while the Giants broke away.

The Rangers looked more like themselves with Vladimir Guerrero back in the DH spot. Texas’ other big bats chimed in, with Hamilton hitting his fifth home run of the postseason.

Moreland homered from the ninth spot in the lineup, connecting in the second for a 3-0 lead.

“It’s a different league, and that’s the American League,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “Their guy got a big hit.”

No team in World Series history has overcome a 3-0 deficit, and now Texas won’t have to try. Rangers starter Tommy Hunter, especially good at home, faces rookie Madison Bumgarner in Game 4 tonight.

Lewis picked up where he left off in the AL championship series, where he finished off the defending champion New York Yankees in Game 6. He’s 3-0 this postseason, all of his wins coming after a Texas loss.

Lewis allowed five hits in 72/3 innings and struck out six. He stopped a Giants team that had become the first NL team to score at least nine runs in back-to-back Series games.

“We needed a well-pitched job,” Washington said.

Moreland, promoted to the majors in late July, won a tough at-bat against Jonathan Sanchez and homered on the ninth pitch.

“I knew I had a runner in scoring position, so he was going to try to pitch me tough and I fouled off some offspeed stuff and just tried to battle back, and I got the fastball,” Moreland said.

“It obviously takes some wind out of your sails, but the game’s still early right there,” Ross said. “We have to keep battling.”

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