Game 2: Apr 6, 1999 (W: 6-0)[ Previous Game | Next Game ]
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Game 2: Apr 6, 1999 (W: 6-0)
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Game Commentary
Game Photos
Box/Line Score
Game Recap
Game Log
Rangers Media Notes
Commentary (by me)
As I put this page together, it's 1AM, and I'm kinda tired. I'll write my
commentary tomorrow when I get into work.
Still.. No errors - nice. Roberto Kelly came within two feet of two home runs for the night - nice. Aaron Sele - awesome!
Commentary (by Jim Meeks)
What a terrific rebound for the Rangers. The Rangers really were horrible on Monday
but Tuesday's vengeful affair was sweet. Aaron Sele, who has been projected as a pitcher
who won't be nearly as effective this year as last, was dominating Tuesday as the Rangers
shut out the bewildered Detroit Tigers, 6-0.
Sele was stingy, allowing only 7 baserunners in his 7 shutout innings, with 6 strikeouts.
70 of his 111 pitches were for strikes.
Setup men Tim Crabtree and Danny Patterson pitched the final two innings as the Tigers
managed only 8 total baserunners and one extra base hit, a Tony Clark double that lead off
the 9th.
The Rangers offense got it going early. Johnny Oates' special lineup against lefties,
which has Royce Clayton leading off, saw the first 2 hitters reach. Rusty Greer drove
Clayton and catcher Pudge Rodriguez both in with a stinging double to the left-center
alley.
Oates' tough decision-making came into play again the 7th. After two quick outs, Juan
Gonzalez smoked a single through the left side of the infield. Surprisingly, he stole
second. A passed balled later, he was on third. Then a wild pitch scored him. Later in the
inning, Oates' stuck with Roberto Kelly even though a right-hander was in the game and Tom
Goodwin available to hit. Kelly promptly delievered a towering 2-run homer. Four batters
later, Luis Alicea drove in the final run of the ball game with a bloop single that scored
Todd Zeile, who had barely missed a home run earlier.
The defense played well, with Clayton and Zeile both making tough plays to throw out
runners.
As stinky as the Rangers were yesterday, Tuesday had them smelling like a rose.
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| Pudge scores on a Rusty Greer double | Luis Alicea slides in as Damion Easley converts a double play | Hey Todd, it's a baseball! | Roberto Kelly after his home run | Tigers pitcher Justin Thompson is visted by catcher Bill Haselman and the Tigers pitching coach |
Line Score
AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DETROIT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
TEXAS 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 x 6 12 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: DET - JUSTIN THOMPSON, MATT ANDERSON (6TH), CJ
NITKOWSKI (7TH), MASAO KIDA (7TH), TODD JONES
(8TH) AND BILL HASELMAN, BRAD AUSMUS (7TH)
TEX - AARON SELE, TIM CRABTREE (8TH), DANNY
PATTERSON (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ
WP - AARON SELE (1-0)
LP - JUSTIN THOMPSON (0-1)
SAVE - NONE
HOME RUNS: DET - NONE
TEX - ROBERTO KELLY (1) OFF KIDA IN THE 7TH, 1 ON
TIME: 2:57 ATT: 28,329
PROBABLES: DET - WILLIE BLAIR (NR)
TEX - MARK CLARK (NR)
Box Score
DETROIT (0) AT TEXAS (6) - FINAL
DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Encarnacion lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .333
Higginson dh 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .250
Easley 2b 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .222
To Clark 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .333
Palmer 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .375
K Garcia rf 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 .400
Kapler cf 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .250
Haselman c 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000
a-Jefferies ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Ausmus c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
D Cruz ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
Totals 33 0 7 0 1 9 11
a-fouled to third for Haselman in the 7th.
BATTING: 2B - Higginson (1, Sele); To Clark (1, D Patterson).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Haselman 1, Easley 1,
Kapler 1. GIDP - Haselman. Team LOB - 7.
FIELDING: PB - Ausmus. DP: 2 (D Cruz-Easley-To Clark,
Palmer-Easley-To Clark).
TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
Clayton ss 5 1 1 0 0 1 7 .125
I Rodriguez c 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 .250
Greer lf 5 0 2 2 0 0 1 .250
J Gonzalez rf 5 1 1 0 0 1 3 .375
Palmeiro dh 3 1 0 0 1 0 2 .167
R Kelly cf 4 1 2 2 0 0 1 .500
Zeile 3b 3 1 2 0 1 1 0 .429
L Stevens 1b 3 0 1 0 1 0 3 .286
Alicea 2b 2 0 1 1 2 1 1 .200
Totals 34 6 12 5 6 4 18
BATTING: 2B - Greer 2 (2, J Thompson 2); Zeile (1, Kida). HR -
R Kelly (1, 7th inning off Kida 1 on, 2 out). RBI - Greer 2 (3),
R Kelly 2 (2), Alicea (1). 2-out RBI - R Kelly 2, Alicea. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - R Kelly 1, Palmeiro 1,
J Gonzalez 1, Clayton 3. GIDP - Clayton, Greer. Team LOB - 10.
BASERUNNING: SB - J Gonzalez (1, 2nd base off Nitkowski/Ausmus).
FIELDING: DP: 1 (Zeile-Alicea-L Stevens).
DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
J Thompson (L, 0-1) 5 7 2 2 1 3 0 3.60
M Anderson 1 2/3 2 1 1 2 1 0 5.40
Nitkowski 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 27.00
Kida 1/3 3 2 2 1 0 1 45.00
T Jones 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
Sele (W, 1-0) 7 6 0 0 1 6 0 0.00
Crabtree 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
D Patterson 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Nitkowski pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.
WP - Kida. IBB - L Stevens (by Kida). Pitches-strikes: Sele 110-70;
Crabtree 8-6; D Patterson 18-10; J Thompson 97-66; M Anderson 48-29;
Nitkowski 6-2; Kida 17-6; T Jones 10-5. Ground balls-fly balls:
Sele 11-4; Crabtree 0-2; D Patterson 1-0; J Thompson 6-6; M Anderson
0-4; Nitkowski 0-0; Kida 1-0; T Jones 2-1. Batters faced: Sele 27;
Crabtree 3; D Patterson 4; J Thompson 22; M Anderson 9; Nitkowski 1;
Kida 5; T Jones 3.
UMPIRES: HP--Ken Kaiser. 1B--Jim Joyce. 2B--Terry Craft. 3B--Jim
Mckean.
T--2:57. Att--28,329. Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 14 mph, out to left.
Game Recap
ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- Aaron Sele, Tim Crabtree and Danny Patterson combined
on first shutout in the major leagues this season as the Texas Rangers blanked the Detroit
Tigers, 6-0.
Coming off a 19-win season, Sele (1-0) allowed a double and five singles over the first
seven innings, walking one and striking out six. He improved to 6-1 in his career against
Detroit.
Crabtree struck out one in a scoreless eighth before Patterson recorded the final three
outs to complete the seven-hitter.
"The guys played great defense tonight," Sele said. "I threw a lot of
strikes on the inside part of the plate. (Catcher Ivan Rodriguez) kept calling for them
there and I kept working it there. I moved my fastball in and out and got a lot of
groundballs."
Rusty Greer had a pair of doubles and two RBI and Roberto Kelly added a two-run homer in
the seventh as Texas pounded out 12 hits and avenged an 11-5 loss on Opening Day. Every
Ranger except Rafael Palmeiro had a hit and Rodriguez and Todd Zeile joined Greer and
Kelly with two hits apiece.
"I think the big story of the game is Aaron Sele," said Greer. "He gave us
a big lift. He had control of all of his pitches and threw the ball well."
"Pitching, good defense and we made plays that will never show up in the
boxscore," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. "If this was July, nobody would be
talking back about bouncing back from a loss. You get crushed that first or last game and
people remember it."
Detroit starter Justin Thompson (0-1) allowed two runs and seven hits over five innings,
walking one.
"The key is to get the leadoff man out and they seemed to get the leadoff hitter on
every inning and that made it tough for me all night," said Thompson, who fell to 0-3
lifetime against the Rangers. "I felt strong and think I tried to do too much. I left
a lot of balls up."
Texas struck for two runs in the first against Thompson. Royce Clayton and Rodriguez
singled and Rusty Greer followed with a two-run double.
Detroit had a chance to get on the board in the second inning when Karim Garcia singled
and Gabe Kapler walked. But Sele got Bill Haselman to fly out to the warning track in
right.
The Tigers had a runner in scoring position in the third but Sele struck out Damion Easley
to end the threat. Detroit had its best chance to score in the fourth when they loaded the
bases with one out. But Sele induced Haselman to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
Thompson settled down and kept the Rangers at bay after the first inning. But the bullpen
faltered after getting the first two batters in the seventh. Juan Gonzalez singled and
C.J. Nitkowski came on for Matt Anderson.
Gonzalez stole second and went to third on a passed ball. Palmeiro walked and Japanese
pitcher Masao Kida came on for Nitkowski and immediately uncorked a wild pitch, allowing
Gonzalez to score. Kelly made it 5-0 by ripping a 3-1 pitch over the center-field wall.
The Rangers were not through. Todd Zeile doubled and Lee Stevens was intentionally walked.
Luis Alicea singled to shallow center, scoring Zeile.
Patterson allowed a leadoff double in the ninth but struck out Dean Palmer and Garcia
before getting Kapler to bounce out.
Texas has won nine of the last 13 meetings between the teams.
Game Log
Detroit Starting Lineups -- Juan Encarnacion LF, Bobby Higginson DH, Damion Easley
2B, Tony Clark 1B, Dean Palmer 3B, Karim Garcia RF, Gabe Kapler CF, Bill Haselman C, Deivi
Cruz SS, Justin Thompson LHP.
Texas Starting Lineups -- Royce Clayton SS, Ivan Rodriguez C, Rusty Greer LF, Juan
Gonzalez RF, Rafael Palmeiro DH, Roberto Kelly CF, Todd Zeile 3B, Lee Stevens 1B, Luis
Alicea 2B, Aaron Sele RHP.
Umpires -- Kaiser (HP), Joyce (1B), T Craft (2B), Mckean (3B).
Gametime Weather: 75 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind out to left at 14 mph.
DETROIT 1ST: J Encarnacion struck out swinging. Higginson struck out looking. Easley lined
out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 0.
TEXAS 1ST: Clayton singled to right. I Rodriguez reached on infield single, Clayton to
second. Greer doubled to deep left center, Clayton and I Rodriguez scored. J Gonzalez
grounded out to third. Palmeiro flied out to center. R Kelly grounded out to shortstop. (2
Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 2.
DETROIT 2ND: To Clark grounded out to second. Palmer struck out looking. K Garcia singled
to center. Kapler walked, K Garcia to second. Haselman flied out to deep right. (0 Runs, 1
Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 2.
TEXAS 2ND: Zeile singled to center. L Stevens popped out to shortstop. Alicea walked,
Zeile to second. Clayton grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Alicea
out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 2.
DETROIT 3RD: D Cruz grounded out to third. J Encarnacion grounded out to third. Higginson
doubled to right center. Easley struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0,
TEXAS 2.
TEXAS 3RD: I Rodriguez singled to center. Greer flied out to deep center, I Rodriguez to
second. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. Palmeiro flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0
Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 2.
DETROIT 4TH: To Clark struck out swinging. Palmer singled to center. K Garcia singled to
right, Palmer to second. Kapler singled to right, Palmer to third, K Garcia to second.
Haselman grounded into double play, third to second to first, Kapler out at second. (0
Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 2.
TEXAS 4TH: R Kelly flied out to deep center. Zeile struck out swinging. L Stevens reached
on infield single. Alicea struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS
2.
DETROIT 5TH: D Cruz grounded out to second. J Encarnacion reached on infield single.
Higginson struck out swinging. Easley grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, J
Encarnacion out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 2.
TEXAS 5TH: Clayton grounded out to catcher. I Rodriguez grounded out to second. Greer
doubled to left. J Gonzalez flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0,
TEXAS 2.
DETROIT 6TH: To Clark flied out to center. Palmer grounded out to shortstop. K Garcia
grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 2.
TEXAS 6TH: Matt Anderson relieved Justin Thompson. Palmeiro flied out to right. R Kelly
singled to center. Zeile walked, R Kelly to second. L Stevens flied out to shallow center.
Alicea walked, R Kelly to third, Zeile to second. Clayton struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1
Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 2.
DETROIT 7TH: Kapler grounded out to shortstop. Jefferies hit for Haselman. Jefferies
fouled out to third. D Cruz grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0,
TEXAS 2.
TEXAS 7TH: Ausmus catching. I Rodriguez flied out to right. Greer lined out to right. J
Gonzalez singled to left. Cj Nitkowski relieved Matt Anderson. J Gonzalez stole second. J
Gonzalez to third on Ausmus passed ball. Palmeiro walked. Masao Kida relieved Cj
Nitkowski. J Gonzalez scored, Palmeiro to second on Kida wild pitch. R Kelly homered to
center, Palmeiro scored. Zeile doubled to left center. L Stevens intentionally walked.
Alicea singled to shallow right center, Zeile scored, L Stevens to third. Clayton grounded
into fielder's choice to third, Alicea out at second. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT
0, TEXAS 6.
DETROIT 8TH: Tim Crabtree relieved Aaron Sele. J Encarnacion flied out to right. Higginson
popped out to first. Easley struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0,
TEXAS 6.
TEXAS 8TH: Todd Jones relieved Masao Kida. I Rodriguez walked. Greer grounded into double
play, third to second to first, I Rodriguez out at second. J Gonzalez fouled out to first.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 6.
DETROIT 9TH: Danny Patterson relieved Tim Crabtree. To Clark doubled to right. Palmer
struck out swinging. K Garcia struck out swinging. Kapler grounded out to shortstop. (0
Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 6.