Game 3: Apr 7, 1999 (W: 10-7)[ Previous Game | Next Game ]
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Game 3: Apr 7, 1999 (W: 10-7)
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Game Commentary
Game Photos
Box/Line Score
Game Recap
Game Log
Commentary (by me)
First off, what was with Fox Sports Southwest last night? At least here in
Garland, I was shown the Astros Cubs game. Everything said it was to be FSS, but the
Astros game was on there. What's more annoying was that it was also on ESPN, too!
CRAP! I suspect someone was asleep at the wheel either at FSS or my cable
company and was showing the wrong feed. At least I got to hear it, but I was all
ready to watch the game. Grrrr....
Mark Clark started the game off well, I thought he was going to repeat what Sele had done the night before. It went that way until the fourth. Actually, if you count all three games played so far, the Rangers held the Tigers scoreless for 15 innings, as they didn't score in the final three of the opening day fiasco, either. Clark gave up two home runs, which seemed to be his undoing. I didn't think he was all that bad, but he didn't do as good as Sele did last night. Still, it's only his first game, I'm not gonna blast him yet. Crabby, though, is not pitching very well so far. Tonight it was no outs, and three earned runs. At this rate, he might end up back in the minors, and we could bring up Zimmerman (Jim says more or less the same thing below). Mike Morgan continued to impress, but he may be hurt now (as is Clayton, too). It ended up that Mark Clark got the win, his 10th different club he got a win for. There was some talk on the radio that a ball might go to the Hall of Fame with the hat that went there from opening day.
Raffy finally hit a home run (would have been nice to see it, FSS!), and our offense just kept battling back. Was nice to see a come from behind win, and to hang on to it, even though some of our pitching was trying to give the Tigers the game. Lee Stevens had another great night, pushing four runs across the plate. Also, Todd Zeile had another good night with two doubles. One run last night was a gift - you always like to see bases loaded with a 3-0 count on your batter. Yup, we got the free pass. Only thing more embarrassing than that would be a bases loaded balk. :)
The Tigers look much improved over last year so far, and I'd like them to have some success this year (just not enough so it's a problem for the Rangers). :)
Commentary (by Jim Meeks)
The Rangers' offense brought out the big bats Wednesday to thrash the Tigers, 10-7.
The Boys from Arlington pounded out 18 hits including 6 doubles and a home run.
Starter Mark Clark pitched well for three innings then completely lost control of the ball
game. His line stats were similar to Rick Helling's on Monday but not quite as bad. He
still gave up 2 homers, 2 bases on balls and 2 wild pitches, not to mention the 4 earned
runs and 6 hits in a span of 1.1 innings.
Fortunately, the Rangers were bailed out again by Mike Morgan, who's sweaty cap was
recently turned over to Cooperstown. He pitched brilliantly, inducing a double play ball
on the first batter he faced in the fifth to clean up a messy Clark jam.
While the game was close at times, the Tigers' bullpen just couldn't stop the Rangers'
relentless hitting attack. The bats took on dimensions seldom seen last year, as the
Rangers showcased the team's newly-found (and 67% left-handed) power from designated
hitter Rafael Palmeiro, first baseman Lee Stevens and third baseman Todd Zeile. Palmeiro
led off the 7th with a very important solo home run that cleared the Rangers' bullpen and
made the upper deck in right-center. Amazingly, only two balls were hit into the Home Run
Porch last year by Ranger hitters; Stevens did so early in the year and Will Clark
accomplished the feat late in the '98 campaign.
Stevens rapped out 3 hits and drove in 4 runs, all which were important when he drove them
in. He drew a bases-loaded walk off lefty CJ Nitkowski and singled off Sean
Runyan and made the Tigers' relievers pay for walking Zeile to face him with a lefty. If
Stevens can hit left handers like this, then the team can survive the loss of Mike Simms
quite easily.
Zeile, known for his notoriously slow starts, had 2 more doubles (he already has 3 on the
young season) and 3 hits and is hitting over .600. In the field he shined as well, as he
dove to his right to snare a screaming liner off the bat of suddenly-scary-to-see-him-come-up
Juan Encarnacion in the 5th.
The Rangers somehow found a way to finally shut down the Tigers' offense, which
looks to able to score a bunch of runs this year. In what can only be described as a
l-o-n-g (it lasted about 19 minutes) and gut-wrenching top half of the 8th inning, the
Rangers' bullpen was both effective and ineffective. When the Rangers needed the
outs, they managed to get them. Otherwise, it was nail-biting and cover-your-eyes time for
Rangers' fans.
Tim Crabtree was simply terrible. If he has another outing like last night's (see box score), there's a chance he could go to AAA since
he still has a Minor League option left. The Rangers could then call up Jeff Zimmerman.
Eric Gunderson threw one pitch and retired the lone hitter he faced, otherwise they might
still be playing at The Ballpark. Ok, there's a curfew, but you get the point.
Danny Patterson was only slightly better than Crabtree - and I use the word better
quite loosely.
John Wetteland finally put a cap on the scary 3-run Detroit eruption in the 8th and nailed
down the save in the 9th. He certainly seemed like his old self.
The Rangers, in fact, were their old offensive selves too as they completely leveled the
visiting Tigers with impressive precision.
 |
 |
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| Johnny takes Mark Clark out of the game | Wetteland pitches in the 9th | Brad Ausmus (R) is congratulated by Brian Hunter after his two run home run off of Mark Clark |
Line Score
AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DETROIT 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 0 7 12 0
TEXAS 0 1 1 0 3 0 3 2 x 10 18 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: DET - WILLIE BLAIR, CJ NITKOWSKI (5TH), FELIPE LIRA
(6TH), SEAN RUNYAN (7TH), DOUG BROCAIL (8TH)
AND BRAD AUSMUS
TEX - MARK CLARK, MIKE MORGAN (5TH), TIM CRABTREE
(8TH), ERIC GUNDERSON (8TH), DANNY PATTERSON
(8TH), JOHN WETTELAND (8TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ
WP - MIKE MORGAN (1-0)
LP - WILLIE BLAIR (0-1)
SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (1)
HOME RUNS: DET - TONY CLARK (1) OFF M CLARK IN THE 4TH, 1 ON
BRAD AUSMUS (1) OFF M CLARK IN THE 5TH, 0 ON
TEX - RAFAEL PALMEIRO (1) OFF LIRA IN THE 7TH, 0 ON
TIME: 3:07 ATT: 25,004
PROBABLES: DET - BRYCE FLORIE (NR)
NYY - DAVID CONE (NR)
ANA - CHUCK FINLEY (NR)
TEX - JOHN BURKETT (NR)
Box Score
DETROIT (7) AT TEXAS (10) - FINAL
DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Encarnacion lf 5 0 0 0 0 0 4 .214
Jefferies dh 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 .222
Easley 2b-ss 4 2 2 0 1 0 0 .308
To Clark 1b 5 2 3 3 0 0 2 .429
Palmer 3b 4 1 0 0 0 2 1 .250
Higginson rf 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .182
D Cruz ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .300
a-Catalanotto ph-2b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1.000
Ausmus c 4 1 3 2 0 0 1 .571
Bl Hunter cf 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 .167
Totals 38 7 12 7 2 3 14
a-singled for D Cruz in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - D Cruz (2, Morgan); To Clark (2, Wetteland). 3B -
Easley (1, Crabtree). HR - To Clark (1, 4th inning off M Clark 1 on,
1 out); Ausmus (1, 5th inning off M Clark 0 on, 0 out). RBI -
To Clark 3 (3), Ausmus 2 (2), Jefferies (2), Catalanotto (1).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Ausmus 1, J Encarnacion 1,
Palmer 1. GIDP - To Clark. Team LOB - 7.
TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
T Goodwin cf 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 .222
I Rodriguez c 5 0 2 1 0 1 1 .308
Greer lf 5 1 2 1 0 0 2 .308
J Gonzalez rf 5 2 3 1 0 0 3 .462
R Palmeiro dh 5 1 2 1 0 1 1 .273
S Green pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Zeile 3b 4 1 3 1 1 0 1 .545
L Stevens 1b 4 1 3 4 1 0 0 .455
Alicea 2b 5 0 0 0 0 2 7 .100
Clayton ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125
Shave ss 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 .333
Totals 41 10 18 10 2 4 15
BATTING: 2B - J Gonzalez (1, Blair); L Stevens 2 (2, Blair, Brocail);
T Goodwin (1, Blair); Zeile 2 (3, Blair, Lira). HR - R Palmeiro
(1, 7th inning off Lira 0 on, 0 out). S - Shave. RBI - L Stevens 4 (5),
Greer (4), I Rodriguez (1), J Gonzalez (3), R Palmeiro (2), Shave (1),
Zeile (1). 2-out RBI - L Stevens 3, Greer, Zeile. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - Alicea 6, J Gonzalez 1. Team LOB - 10.
FIELDING: DP: 1 (Morgan-Shave-L Stevens).
DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
Blair (L, 0-1) 4 8 5 5 0 2 0 11.25
Nitkowski 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 6.75
Lira 1 4 2 2 0 0 1 18.00
Runyan 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 9.00
Brocail 1 4 2 2 0 1 0 13.50
TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
M Clark 4 1/3 6 4 4 2 0 2 8.31
Morgan (W, 1-0) 2 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Crabtree 0 2 3 3 0 0 0 27.00
Gunderson (H, 1) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
D Patterson (H, 1) 1/3 2 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Wetteland (S, 1) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Blair pitched to 3 batters in the 5th.
Lira pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.
Crabtree pitched to 3 batters in the 8th.
WP - M Clark 2, Runyan. IBB - Zeile (by Nitkowski). HBP - Palmer
(by Crabtree). Pitches-strikes: M Clark 74-46; Morgan 25-16;
Crabtree 13-8; Gunderson 1-1; D Patterson 10-7; Wetteland 15-10;
Blair 73-46; Nitkowski 22-8; Lira 20-13; Runyan 17-10; Brocail
19-14. Ground balls-fly balls: M Clark 7-6; Morgan 4-3;
Crabtree 0-0; Gunderson 0-1; D Patterson 0-0; Wetteland 2-1;
Blair 3-7; Nitkowski 2-0; Lira 3-0; Runyan 3-0; Brocail 1-1.
Batters faced: M Clark 21; Morgan 8; Crabtree 3; Gunderson 1;
D Patterson 3; Wetteland 5; Blair 20; Nitkowski 6; Lira 7; Runyan 4;
Brocail 7.
UMPIRES: HP--Jim Joyce. 1B--Terry Craft. 2B--Jim Mckean. 3B--Ken
Kaiser.
T--3:07. Att--25,004. Weather: 74 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 13 mph,
right to left.
AL DETROIT AT TEXAS
NOTE: TEXAS SHORTSTOP ROYCE CLAYTON LEFT THE GAME AFTER THE
FIRST INNING WITH TIGHTNESS IN HIS RIGHT SHOULDER.
Game Recap
ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- The season is less than a week old and Mike Morgan
already is making his mark.
Morgan, who set a professional sports record by appearing for his 11th team when he
pitched in relief on Monday, tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings tonight to lead the Texas
Rangers past the Detroit Tigers, 10-7.
It was the first relief victory for the 39-year-old Morgan since June 27, 1989 when he was
with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He picked up his 122nd win in 292 career decisions despite
having his night cut short by a strained right hamstring.
"I said that Mike Morgan might be the biggest signing (general manager) Doug Melvin
makes all year," said Rangers manager Johnny Oates. "You get into a foxhole and
Mike Morgan is one of those guys you want in there."
Oates then prepared himself for the possibility of losing the veteran.
"We'll know tomorrow (about the hamstring). He said he did it stretching and not
pitching. He will have treatment tomorrow and hopefully we will know more then."
Lee Stevens had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and four RBI for the Rangers, who
pounded out 18 hits. The first seven batters in the Texas lineup all had at least two hits
and all but Ivan Rodriguez scored once.
After starter Mark Clark was tagged for four runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings, Morgan
came on and surrendered just a double. Tim Crabtree nearly blew the victory, allowing
three runs without retiring a batter, but Eric Gunderson, Danny Patterson and John
Wetteland held the Tigers scoreless over the final two frames.
Wetteland allowed a two-out double to Tony Clark in the ninth but struck out Dean Palmer
to notch his first save of the season.
Texas has won 10 of the last 14 meetings between the teams.
The Rangers broke on top with single runs in the second and third but Detroit countered
with a two-run homer by Tony Clark in the fourth. Mark Clark's troubles continued in the
fifth when Brad Ausmus led off with a homer and Gregg Jefferies added an RBI single.
"I hung a split-finger pitch to Tony Clark," Mark
Clark said. "I got the guy 1-2 and I've got to put that pitch in the dirt and not
leave it upstairs. I did the same thing with Ausmus. I went from being in a nice groove to
trying to be to fine."
Texas took a 5-4 lead with three runs in the fifth. Jon Shave, Tom Goodwin and Rodriguez
opened the inning with singles to produce one run. C.J. Nitkowski came on for Willie Blair
and got Rusty Greer to bounce into a forceout at second. Juan Gonzalez knotted the contest
with a base hit up the middle.
After Rafael Palmeiro bounced out, Todd Zeile was intentionally walked to set up a
lefty-lefty matchup with Stevens, who worked out a walk to force home the go-ahead run.
Palmeiro's homer leading off the seventh, an RBI single by Stevens and a squeeze bunt by
Shave later in the inning extended the Rangers lead to 8-4.
Crabtree took over for Morgan to start the eighth and gave up a triple to Damion Easley
and a single to Tony Clark before hitting Palmer with a pitch. Pinch-hitter Frank
Catalanotto had an RBI single off Patterson later in the inning before a base hit by
Ausmus got Detroit within 8-7.
But the Rangers tacked on two runs against Doug Brocail after two were out in the eighth.
Zeile had a run-scoring single and Stevens an RBI double.
"We had some nice comebacks tonight," said Tigers manager Larry Parrish.
"We just couldn't keep them from scoring. These guys can swing the bats and there is
really not much a manager can do."
Game Log
Detroit Starting Lineups -- Juan Encarnacion LF, Gregg Jefferies DH, Damion Easley
2B, Tony Clark 1B, Dean Palmer 3B, Bobby Higginson RF, Deivi Cruz SS, Brad Ausmus C, Brian
L Hunter CF, Willie Blair RHP.
Texas Starting Lineups -- Tom Goodwin CF, Ivan Rodriguez C, Rusty Greer LF, Juan Gonzalez
RF, Rafael Palmeiro DH, Todd Zeile 3B, Lee Stevens 1B, Luis Alicea 2B, Royce Clayton SS,
Mark Clark RHP.
Umpires -- Joyce (HP), T Craft (1B), Mckean (2B), Kaiser (3B).
Gametime Weather: 74 degrees, Cloudy, wind right to left at 13 mph.
DETROIT 1ST: J Encarnacion grounded out to third. Jefferies flied out to deep right.
Easley grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 0.
TEXAS 1ST: T Goodwin fouled out to third. I Rodriguez grounded out to second. Greer flied
out to deep left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 0.
DETROIT 2ND: Shave at short. To Clark flied out to right. Palmer grounded out to
shortstop. Higginson flied out to deep center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS
0.
TEXAS 2ND: J Gonzalez doubled to right. R Palmeiro struck out looking. Zeile flied out to
deep left. L Stevens doubled to right center, J Gonzalez scored. Alicea struck out
looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 1.
DETROIT 3RD: D Cruz grounded out to third. Ausmus singled to left. Bl Hunter flied out to
left center. J Encarnacion grounded into fielder's choice to third, Ausmus out at second.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 1.
TEXAS 3RD: Shave flied out to left. T Goodwin doubled to right center. I Rodriguez
grounded out to shortstop. Greer singled to left center, T Goodwin scored. J Gonzalez
popped out to shallow left. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 2.
DETROIT 4TH: Jefferies grounded out to second. Easley singled to shallow center. To Clark
homered to left center, Easley scored. Palmer flied out to deep right. Higginson walked. D
Cruz popped out to shallow center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2, TEXAS 2.
TEXAS 4TH: R Palmeiro popped out to shallow right. Zeile doubled to right center. L
Stevens grounded out to first, Zeile to third. Alicea popped out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) DETROIT 2, TEXAS 2.
DETROIT 5TH: Ausmus homered to left. Bl Hunter singled to center. Bl Hunter to second on M
Clark wild pitch. J Encarnacion grounded out to third. Jefferies singled to left, Bl
Hunter scored. Jefferies to second on M Clark wild pitch. Easley walked. Mike Morgan
relieved Mark Clark. To Clark grounded into double play, pitcher to shortstop to first,
Easley out at second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 2.
TEXAS 5TH: Shave singled to right. T Goodwin singled to left, Shave to second. I Rodriguez
singled to right, Shave scored, T Goodwin to third. Cj Nitkowski relieved Willie Blair.
Greer grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, I Rodriguez out at second. J Gonzalez
singled to center, T Goodwin scored, Greer to second. R Palmeiro grounded out to first,
Greer to third, J Gonzalez to second. Zeile intentionally walked. L Stevens walked, Greer
scored, J Gonzalez to third, Zeile to second. Alicea struck out looking. (3 Runs, 4 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 5.
DETROIT 6TH: Palmer struck out swinging. Higginson grounded out to first. D Cruz doubled
to right center. Ausmus flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 5.
TEXAS 6TH: Felipe Lira relieved Cj Nitkowski. Shave grounded out to shortstop. T Goodwin
grounded out to second. I Rodriguez singled to center. Greer singled to center, I
Rodriguez to second. J Gonzalez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Greer out at
second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 5.
DETROIT 7TH: Bl Hunter grounded out to shortstop. J Encarnacion lined out to third.
Jefferies flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 5.
TEXAS 7TH: R Palmeiro homered to right. Zeile doubled to left. Sean Runyan relieved Felipe
Lira. L Stevens singled to left center, Zeile scored. L Stevens to second on Runyan wild
pitch. Alicea grounded out to pitcher, L Stevens to third. Shave sacrificed, L Stevens
scored. T Goodwin grounded out to shortstop. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS
8.
DETROIT 8TH: Tim Crabtree relieved Mike Morgan. Easley tripled to left center. To Clark
singled to right, Easley scored. Palmer hit by pitch, To Clark to second. Eric Gunderson
relieved Tim Crabtree. Higginson flied out to left. Danny Patterson relieved Eric
Gunderson. Catalanotto hit for D Cruz. Catalanotto singled to left center, To Clark
scored, Palmer to third. Ausmus singled to right, Palmer scored, Catalanotto to third. Bl
Hunter struck out swinging. John Wetteland relieved Danny Patterson. J Encarnacion
grounded out to shortstop. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 7, TEXAS 8.
TEXAS 8TH: Doug Brocail relieved Sean Runyan. Catalanotto at second. Easley at short. I
Rodriguez struck out looking. Greer grounded out to shortstop. J Gonzalez singled to left.
R Palmeiro singled to right, J Gonzalez to third. S Green ran for R Palmeiro. Zeile
singled to left, J Gonzalez scored, S Green to second. L Stevens doubled to left, S Green
scored, Zeile to third. Alicea lined out to left. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 7,
TEXAS 10.
DETROIT 9TH: Jefferies grounded out to second. Easley flied out to left. To Clark doubled
to right. Palmer struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 7, TEXAS 10.