Game 33: May 11, 1999 (W: 11-5)
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Commentary (by me)

Last night was one of those "peace with the world" nights.  My wife was out getting her hair cut, so I was home alone with the TV and a Rangers game.  :)       I printed out one of my scorecards, sat in the recliner with some dinner, a glass of wine, and watched the Rangers game.  Out loud to no one, I exclaimed "Life is good".   And not because my wife wasn't there - she loves the game a lot herself (although she's not as fanatical as I am).  :)

Anyway, what can I say about this game?  We got shut down by Jamie Navarro, which was a shocker.  He pitched damn well, and we didn't get anything going really until the ninth, but it was too late.

I didn't think we played all that bad, but we couldn't get anything going against Navarro.   Not a whole lot else to say about this one.

Commentary (by Jim Meeks)

Face it, the Rangers' play this year has been inconsistent and sloppy. Manager Johnny Oates held a team meeting before Tuesday's game. No one - outside of the team - actually knows exactly what he said, but he probably said something like, "Just win, baby, please".

The team must have listened but it took 9 innings before the message hit them.

The Rangers trailed 5-3 from the bottom of the 4th until the top of the 9th. Then they erupted for an 8 run, rain plagued (yawn) inning, as they washed out the Sox.

Whatever Oates told his team seems to have worked, except on Esteban Loaiza, thrown into a spot start because of Aaron Sele's flu bug. Loaiza pitched like he was the one with the flu, giving up 5 earned runs in 5 innings and 9 hits.

The bullpen, a disaster most every night that Jeff Zimmerman isn't pitching, held the Sox to Loaiza's 5 runs. Zimmerman (the game's winning pitcher, now 2-0) pitched another 2 marvelous, perfect innings.

Oates only uses Zimmerman when the Rangers have a chance to win, have you noticed? I haven't bothered to look, but I am almost 100% sure the Rangers have not lost any games that Zimmerman has pitched in. His ERA can only be seen with a microscope as it sits at 0.55. Let that sink in real slow...0.55.

At any rate, using the impetus and confidence of Zimmerman's superb outing, the Rangers came from behind after the 7th inning for the first time all year, which is quite remarkable in itself, considering we are about 1/6th through the season. The 9th inning was a constant array of swinging bats and pounding pitches for the Red Shoes, crossing 8 runners over the Comiskey plate. Rusty Greer had the big hit, smashing his 6th career grand slam - and the second slam for the Rangers this year.

Greer now hitting .299 and is on pace to drive in 136 runs, ala Juan Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, who also homered, left the game early with a strained hamstring and is day-to-day.

The Rangers offense was at it's best Tuesday. And Tuesday's game was the most exciting game I have had heard (no TV where I live) in quite some time. Oates should conduct more team meetings, don't you think?

Game Recap

CHICAGO (TICKER) -- Rusty Greer's grand slam with two outs highlighted an eight-run ninth inning and lifted the Texas Rangers to an 11-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Chicago held a 5-3 advantage entering the ninth before Rafael Palmeiro started the rally with a single off closer Bobby Howry (0-1). Gregg Zaun ran for Palmeiro and went to second on Ivan Rodriguez's single. Todd Zeile then walked to load the bases.

Lee Stevens' sacrifice fly brought the Rangers within 5-4 and pinch-hitter Mark McLemore singled to reload the bases. Howry struck out Thomas Goodwin for the second out but walked Luis Alicea, forcing home the tying run.

Greer greeted reliever Bryan Ward by belting a 3-2 pitch over the right-center field fence for his sixth career grand slam and a 9-5 Texas lead.

"I give credit to my teammates for getting on," Greer said. "I was just trying to put the ball in play, not really looking for anything. Hopefully, this game will give us some momentum for tomorrow and the rest of the way."

Howry blew his second save in 10 chances.

Rodriguez later added his second hit of the inning, a double that plated two runs and provided the Rangers with the winning margin. The Rangers sent 13 batters to the plate and had eight hits.

"We've been waiting for one like this for a couple of weeks now," commented Texas manager Johnny Oates. "It's only a matter of time before we get this thing firing on all cylinders."

Stevens and Juan Gonzalez belted solo homers for the Rangers, who improved to 4-4 on a nine-game road trip. Gonzalez left after homering in the fourth inning with a slightly strained right hamstring. He is listed as day-to-day.

Rookie Jeff Zimmerman (2-0) pitched two perfect innings of relief for the win.

Rookie Carlos Lee had a two-run double for Chicago, which lost for the fourth time in its last 13 games at Comiskey Park.

"One thing about baseball is that you have the next day to come back," Chicago manager Jerry Manuel said. "We've got some young guys that are ready to go right now."

Trailing 3-2 in the fourth inning, the White Sox broke through for three runs off Texas emergency starter Esteban Loaiza. Paul Konerko led off with a double and Greg Norton walked, setting the stage for Lee's two-run double.

Loaiza made his first start of the season in place of Aaron Sele, who was ill. Loaiza left after five innings and allowed five runs and nine hits. The righthander walked two and struck out two.

With the White Sox bullpen blowing the lead, starter James Baldwin was denied his third win. He went seven innings and gave up three runs with one walk and one strikeout.

The White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on Frank Thomas' run scoring single before the Rangers got even in the next inning on a run-scoring groundout by Palmeiro.

Stevens' ninth homer in the third gave the Rangers a 2-1 advantage.

Chicago tied the score in the bottom half of the inning on Mike Caruso's run-scoring single. But Gonzalez's eighth homer in the next inning gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead.

Photos
(Click on any of them for a larger image

Mike Caruso is out trying to steal second	Greg Norton scores in the fourth inning	Congratulations in the ninth for Rusty after his grand slam	More congratulations!

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
TEXAS               0  1  1   1  0  0   0  0  8    11 15  1
CHI WHITE SOX       1  0  1   3  0  0   0  0  0     5 12  1   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  TEX - ESTEBAN LOAIZA, MIKE MUNOZ (6TH), JEFF
                  ZIMMERMAN (7TH), JOHN WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN
                  RODRIGUEZ
            CHA - JAMES BALDWIN, BILL SIMAS (8TH), BOB HOWRY
                  (9TH), BRYAN WARD (9TH), DAVE LUNDQUIST (9TH)
                  AND BROOK FORDYCE

             WP - JEFF ZIMMERMAN (2-0)
             LP - BOB HOWRY (0-1)
           SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS:  TEX - LEE STEVENS (9) OFF BALDWIN IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
                  JUAN GONZALEZ (8) OFF BALDWIN IN THE 4TH, 0 ON
                  RUSTY GREER (3) OFF B WARD IN THE 9TH, 3 ON
            CHA - NONE

     TIME:  2:41     ATT:  10,905

PROBABLES:  TEX - MARK CLARK (2-3, 7.85)
            CHA - JIM PARQUE (4-2, 3.79)



Box Score
TEXAS (11) AT CHI WHITE SOX (5) - FINAL

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
T Goodwin cf            5  0  0  0   0  0   6  .220
Alicea 2b               4  1  0  1   1  0   3  .163
 Shave ss               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .304
Greer lf                3  1  1  4   2  1   1  .299
J Gonzalez rf           2  2  2  1   0  0   0  .323
 R Kelly rf             3  1  1  0   0  0   4  .425
R Palmeiro dh           4  0  2  1   0  0   0  .348
 Zaun pr-dh             1  2  1  0   0  0   0  .250
I Rodriguez c           5  1  2  2   0  0   1  .299
Zeile 3b                4  1  1  0   1  0   0  .244
L Stevens 1b            4  1  2  2   0  1   4  .331
Dransfeldt ss           3  0  2  0   0  0   0  .207
 a-Mclemore ph-2b       1  1  1  0   0  0   0  .300

Totals                 39 11 15 11   4  2  19

a-singled for Dransfeldt in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - J Gonzalez (9, Baldwin); Dransfeldt (1, Baldwin);
R Kelly (4, B Ward); I Rodriguez (5, Lundquist). HR - L Stevens
(9, 3rd inning off Baldwin 0 on, 0 out); J Gonzalez (8, 4th inning
off Baldwin 0 on, 0 out); Greer (3, 9th inning off B Ward 3 on,
2 out). SF - L Stevens. RBI - R Palmeiro (23), L Stevens 2 (22),
J Gonzalez (29), Alicea (6), Greer 4 (26), I Rodriguez 2 (21).
2-out RBI - Alicea, Greer 4, I Rodriguez 2. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - Greer 1, R Kelly 2, L Stevens 1.
GIDP - I Rodriguez, R Kelly. Team LOB - 6.

FIELDING: E - Zeile (5, throw). DP: 1 (I Rodriguez-Alicea).

CHI WHITE SOX          ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Durham 2b               3  1  2  1   1  0   0  .277
M Caruso ss             5  0  2  1   0  0   4  .272
F Thomas 1b             5  0  2  1   0  0   0  .355
M Ordonez rf            5  0  1  0   0  0   2  .296
Konerko dh              5  1  2  0   0  1   5  .257
Norton 3b               3  1  0  0   1  1   2  .213
Lee lf                  4  1  2  2   0  0   0  .333
 M Christensen cf       0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .240
Singleton cf-lf         3  0  0  0   0  0   0  .250
B Fordyce c             3  1  1  0   1  0   0  .306

Totals                 36  5 12  5   3  2  13

BATTING: 2B - B Fordyce (4, Loaiza); Konerko 2 (8, Loaiza 2);
Lee (1, Loaiza). S - Durham, Singleton. RBI - F Thomas (23),
M Caruso (9), Lee 2 (3), Durham (19). 2-out RBI - Durham. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - M Caruso 2, Norton 1, Konerko 1.
Team LOB - 9.

BASERUNNING: CS - F Thomas (2, 2nd base by Loaiza/I Rodriguez);
M Caruso (4, 2nd base by Loaiza/I Rodriguez).

FIELDING: E - M Ordonez (1, drop foul). DP: 2 (M Caruso-Durham-F Thomas,
Norton-Durham-F Thomas).

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Loaiza                        5       9   5   5   2   2   0   7.52
M Munoz                       1       1   0   0   1   0   0   3.95
Zimmerman (W, 2-0)            2       0   0   0   0   0   0   0.77
Wetteland                     1       2   0   0   0   0   0   4.05

CHI WHITE SOX                ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Baldwin                       7       7   3   3   1   1   2   5.27
Simas (H, 6)                  1       0   0   0   1   0   0   1.50
Howry (L, 0-1; BS, 2)           2/3   3   5   5   2   0   0   5.93
B Ward                        0       3   3   3   0   0   1   8.71
Lundquist                       1/3   2   0   0   0   1   0   6.75

B Ward pitched to 3 batters in the 9th.

WP - Baldwin. IBB - Durham (by M Munoz).  Pitches-strikes:
Baldwin 88-53; Simas 8-3; Howry 20-10; B Ward 14-9; Lundquist
13-10; Loaiza 81-50; M Munoz 12-6; Zimmerman 22-15; Wetteland
25-19.  Ground balls-fly balls: Baldwin 8-12; Simas 2-1; Howry
0-2; B Ward 0-0; Lundquist 0-0; Loaiza 5-6; M Munoz 2-0;
Zimmerman 3-3; Wetteland 1-2.  Batters faced: Baldwin 28; Simas 3;
Howry 7; B Ward 3; Lundquist 3; Loaiza 24; M Munoz 5; Zimmerman 7;
Wetteland 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Al Clark. 1B--Larry Young. 2B--Tim Tschida.
3B--Rick Reed.
T--2:41 (Plus rain delay for 23 minutes in the 9th).  Att--10,905.
Weather: 65 degrees, cloudy.   Wind: 10 mph, out to center.


AL       TEXAS AT CHI WHITE SOX
         NOTE:  TEXAS SCHEDULED STARTER AARON SELE WAS SCRATCHED DUE TO
                THE FLU.

AL       TEXAS AT CHI WHITE SOX
         NOTE:  TEXAS' JUAN GONZALEZ LEFT THE GAME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
                FOURTH INNING WITH AN APPARENT INJURY.

AL       TEXAS AT CHI WHITE SOX
         NOTE:  TEXAS' JUAN GONZALEZ LEFT THE GAME IN THE FOURTH INNING
                WITH A SLIGHTLY STRAINED RIGHT HAMSTRING AND IS LISTED AS
                DAY-TO-DAY.

AL       TEXAS AT CHI WHITE SOX
         NOTE:  CORRECTION -- THE CURRENT SCORE IS CHICAGO 5, TEXAS 3.

AL       TEXAS AT CHI WHITE SOX
         NOTE:  THE GAME IS BEING DELAYED DUE TO RAIN WITH TEXAS BATTING
                IN THE TOP OF THE 9TH INNING.  SITUATION: 8 RUNS IN, IVAN
                RODRIGUEZ ON SECOND, 2 OUT
                CURRENT SCORE - TEXAS 11, CHI WHITE SOX 5

AL       TEXAS AT CHI WHITE SOX
         NOTE:  THE GAME HAS RESUMED AFTER A RAIN DELAY.  TEXAS IS
                BATTING IN THE TOP OF THE 9TH INNING.  SITUATION: 8 RUNS
                IN, IVAN RODRIGUEZ ON SECOND, 2 OUT
                CURRENT SCORE - TEXAS 11, CHI WHITE SOX 5

AL       TEXAS AT CHI WHITE SOX
         NOTE:  THE GAME RESUMED AFTER A 23 MINUTE RAIN DELAY.

Game Log

Texas Starting Lineups -- Tom Goodwin CF, Luis Alicea 2B, Rusty Greer LF, Juan Gonzalez RF, Rafael Palmeiro DH, Ivan Rodriguez C, Todd Zeile 3B, Lee Stevens 1B, Kelly Dransfeldt SS, Esteban Loaiza RHP.

Chi White Sox Starting Lineups -- Ray Durham 2B, Mike Caruso SS, Frank Thomas 1B, Magglio Ordonez RF, Paul Konerko DH, Greg Norton 3B, Carlos Lee LF, Chris Singleton CF, Brook Fordyce C, James Baldwin RHP.

Umpires -- Clark (HP), Young (1B), Tschida (2B), Reed (3B).

Gametime Weather: 65 degrees, Cloudy, wind out to center at 10 mph.

TEXAS 1ST: T Goodwin flied out to left. Alicea flied out to right. Greer grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CHI WHITE SOX 0.

CHI WHITE SOX 1ST: Durham singled to right. M Caruso reached on infield single, Durham to second. F Thomas singled to center, Durham scored, M Caruso to second. M Ordonez popped out to shallow right. Konerko struck out swinging. F Thomas caught stealing, catcher to second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CHI WHITE SOX 1.

TEXAS 2ND: J Gonzalez doubled to left. J Gonzalez to third on Baldwin wild pitch. R Palmeiro grounded out to second, J Gonzalez scored. I Rodriguez grounded out to third. Zeile flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 1.

CHI WHITE SOX 2ND: Norton grounded out to second. Lee lined out to shortstop. Singleton grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 1.

TEXAS 3RD: L Stevens homered to center. Dransfeldt doubled to left. T Goodwin lined out to center. Alicea fouled out to left. Greer struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, CHI WHITE SOX 1.

CHI WHITE SOX 3RD: B Fordyce doubled to left center. Durham sacrificed B Fordyce to third. M Caruso singled to left, B Fordyce scored. M Caruso caught stealing, catcher to first to second. F Thomas flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, CHI WHITE SOX 2.

TEXAS 4TH: J Gonzalez homered to left center. R Palmeiro singled to center. I Rodriguez grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, R Palmeiro out at second. Zeile grounded out to third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, CHI WHITE SOX 2.

CHI WHITE SOX 4TH: R Kelly in right. M Ordonez flied out to right. Konerko doubled to deep left. Norton walked. Lee doubled to deep right center, Konerko and Norton scored. Singleton flied out to deep right center, Lee to third. B Fordyce walked. Durham singled to left center, Lee scored, B Fordyce to second. M Caruso grounded out to first. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, CHI WHITE SOX 5.

TEXAS 5TH: L Stevens reached on infield single. Dransfeldt singled to left center, L Stevens to second. T Goodwin flied out to left. Alicea popped out to third. Greer walked, L Stevens to third, Dransfeldt to second. R Kelly grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Greer out at second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, CHI WHITE SOX 5.

CHI WHITE SOX 5TH: F Thomas grounded out to first. M Ordonez popped out to second. Konerko doubled to center. Norton struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, CHI WHITE SOX 5.

TEXAS 6TH: R Palmeiro fouled out to right. I Rodriguez lined out to second. Zeile grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, CHI WHITE SOX 5.

CHI WHITE SOX 6TH: Mike Munoz relieved Esteban Loaiza. Lee singled to left. Singleton sacrificed into fielder's choice to pitcher, Lee to second, Lee out at third attempting to advance. Singleton to second advancing on play. B Fordyce grounded out to second, Singleton to third. Durham intentionally walked. M Caruso grounded into fielder's choice to second, Durham out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, CHI WHITE SOX 5.

TEXAS 7TH: L Stevens fouled out to shallow left. Dransfeldt popped out to shallow center. T Goodwin lined out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, CHI WHITE SOX 5.

CHI WHITE SOX 7TH: Jeff Zimmerman relieved Mike Munoz. F Thomas grounded out to shortstop. M Ordonez safe at first on 3rd baseman Zeile's throwing error. Konerko flied out to right. Norton flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 3, CHI WHITE SOX 5.

TEXAS 8TH: Bill Simas relieved James Baldwin. Alicea flied out to center. Greer walked. R Kelly grounded into double play, third to second to first, Greer out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, CHI WHITE SOX 5.

CHI WHITE SOX 8TH: Lee grounded out to shortstop. Singleton lined out to first. B Fordyce grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, CHI WHITE SOX 5.

TEXAS 9TH: Bob Howry relieved Bill Simas. Singleton in left. M Christensen in center. R Palmeiro singled to right. Zaun ran for R Palmeiro. I Rodriguez singled to center, Zaun to second. Zeile walked, Zaun to third, I Rodriguez to second. L Stevens hit sacrifice fly to left center, Zaun scored. Mclemore hit for Dransfeldt. Mclemore singled to center, I Rodriguez to third, Zeile to second. T Goodwin flied out to left. Alicea walked, I Rodriguez scored, Zeile to third, Mclemore to second. Bryan Ward relieved Bob Howry. Greer homered to center, Zeile, Mclemore and Alicea scored. R Kelly doubled to left. Zaun reached on infield single, R Kelly to third. Dave Lundquist relieved Bryan Ward. I Rodriguez doubled to shallow right, R Kelly and Zaun scored. Zeile singled to left, I Rodriguez to third. L Stevens continued to bat after dropped foul ball by right fielder M Ordonez. L Stevens struck out swinging. (8 Runs, 8 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 11, CHI WHITE SOX 5.

CHI WHITE SOX 9TH: Mclemore at second. Shave at short. John Wetteland relieved Jeff Zimmerman. Durham flied out to center. M Caruso grounded out to second. F Thomas reached on infield single. M Ordonez singled to center, F Thomas to second. Konerko flied out to right. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 11, CHI WHITE SOX 5.