Game 35: May 14, 1999 (W: 7-6)
[ Previous Game | Next Game ]
[ Schedule Menu | Main Page ]

Commentary (by me)

I'm not writing commentary about this game - I didn't get to see/hear very much of it.   However, it was a nail biter, and I don't have very many fingernails left to bite!  :)

Commentary (by Jim Meeks)

The Rangers managed to hang on for a win Friday night.

John Wetteland, who has been ineffective, despite his saves, gave up 2 runs in the 9th but the Orioles just couldn't squeeze out another run and Texas won 7-6.

I'm getting sick of this pitching staff. Mark Clark pitched Friday and again, he was ineffective. 4 earned runs in 6+ innings? Get out of town.

The Rangers need to find some starting pitching. Offense cannot carry you but perhaps half the time.

Last night it was the middle of the order carrying the Rangers. Rusty Greer, who suddenly has a home run stroke, Pudge (hitting cleanup) and Raffy Palmeiro each has 2 RBI each (with Greer and Pudge hitting back-to-back homers in the 5th).

You have got to love this offense but you have also got to hate this pitching staff.

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- With well over 10,000 at-bats under his belt, Cal Ripken came through with a clutch hit in the ninth. Tommy Davis was unable to do the same in his first major league plate appearance.

One day after ending his first stint on the disabled list, Ripken belted a two-run homer with two out in the ninth, but Davis grounded into a game-ending force play as the Baltimore Orioles lost to the Texas Rangers, 7-6.

John Wetteland, who had given up at least one hit in 11 of his 13 appearances entering this contest, started the ninth with a 7-4 lead. He surrendered a one-out single to Harold Baines, who was replaced by pinch-runner Willis Otanez, before Jeff Conine popped out.

Ripken ripped the second pitch from Wetteland over the left-field fence for his first homer of the season. Delino DeShields reached on an infield single to bring the go-ahead run to the plate.

In stepped Davis, who had never played in a major league game and was called up from Triple-A Rochester earlier in the day after catcher Lenny Webster was placed on the DL. The 25-year-old Davis, in his sixth year in the Orioles' organization, bounced to second and DeShields was forced out.

Wetteland survived for his 11th save in 12 chances. Despite giving up two hits and a walk, Tim Crabtree (2-0) got the win for recording the final out of the seventh.

Former Oriole Rafael Palmeiro snapped a 4-4 tie in the seventh with a two-run double off Arthur Rhodes (1-2). Roberto Kelly raced home from second on an infield single by Tom Goodwin in the eighth as Texas took a three-run lead.

Rusty Greer and Ivan Rodriguez homered for the Rangers, who have won five of their last six games.

Ripken went 2-for-5 and red-hot B.J. Surhoff contributed two hits and two RBI for the Orioles, who have dropped five in a row.

Photos
(Click on any of them for a larger image

Lee Stevens after making a spectacular unassisted double play at first	Kelly Dransfeldt doing his Godzilla impression	Pudge gestures to Rafael Palmiero after Raffy made a great play	John Wetteland tosses the final game ball to a fan in the stands after the game

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
BALTIMORE           0  1  1   0  0  0   2  0  2     6 15  1
TEXAS               1  0  0   0  3  0   2  1  x     7 11  1   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  BAL - SCOTT ERICKSON, ARTHUR RHODES (7TH), RICKY
                  BONES (8TH) AND CHARLES JOHNSON, TOMMY DAVIS
                  (8TH)
            TEX - MARK CLARK, MIKE MUNOZ (7TH), TIM CRABTREE
                  (7TH), MIKE VENAFRO (8TH), JEFF ZIMMERMAN
                  (8TH), JOHN WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

             WP - TIM CRABTREE (2-0)
             LP - ARTHUR RHODES (1-2)
           SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (11)

HOME RUNS:  BAL - CAL RIPKEN JR (1) OFF WETTELAND IN THE 9TH, 1 ON
            TEX - RUSTY GREER (5) OFF ERICKSON IN THE 5TH, 1 ON
                  IVAN RODRIGUEZ (6) OFF ERICKSON IN THE 5TH, 0 ON

     TIME:  3:18     ATT:  36,665

PROBABLES:  BAL - JUAN GUZMAN (1-4, 6.27)
            TEX - RICK HELLING (3-4, 6.34)



Box Score
BALTIMORE (6) AT TEXAS (7) - FINAL

BALTIMORE              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
B Anderson cf           4  1  2  0   1  1   2  .289
Bordick ss              4  2  2  0   1  1   5  .257
Surhoff lf              5  0  2  2   0  0   4  .352
Belle rf                3  0  1  1   1  1   2  .242
Baines dh               5  0  2  0   0  2   3  .295
 Otanez pr              0  1  0  0   0  0   0  .218
Conine 1b               4  1  0  0   1  1   2  .253
C Ripken 3b             5  1  2  2   0  1   3  .216
Deshields 2b            4  0  3  1   1  0   0  .204
C Johnson c             3  0  1  0   1  0   1  .241
 Amaral pr              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .161
 Davis c                1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .000

Totals                 38  6 15  6   6  7  23

BATTING: 2B - B Anderson (6, M Clark); C Ripken (3, M Clark).
3B - Surhoff (1, M Munoz). HR - C Ripken (1, 9th inning off
Wetteland 1 on, 2 out). SF - Belle. RBI - Deshields (9), Belle (25),
Surhoff 2 (22), C Ripken 2 (5). 2-out RBI - C Ripken 2. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - Belle 1, C Johnson 1, Bordick 2,
C Ripken 2, Surhoff 1. Team LOB - 12.

BASERUNNING: CS - B Anderson (2, 2nd base by M Clark/I Rodriguez);
Deshields (2, 2nd base by M Clark/I Rodriguez).

FIELDING: E - Deshields (4, throw).

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
T Goodwin cf            4  2  2  1   1  1   0  .226
Mclemore 2b             4  1  2  0   0  0   1  .328
Greer lf                4  1  1  2   0  0   0  .301
I Rodriguez c           2  2  2  2   1  0   0  .306
R Palmeiro dh           4  0  2  2   0  0   1  .364
Zeile 3b                4  0  0  0   0  0   3  .242
L Stevens 1b            2  0  1  0   2  0   0  .328
R Kelly rf              4  1  1  0   0  2   4  .388
Dransfeldt ss           4  0  0  0   0  1   2  .162

Totals                 32  7 11  7   4  4  11

BATTING: 2B - R Palmeiro 2 (9, Erickson, Rhodes). HR - Greer
(5, 5th inning off Erickson 1 on, 2 out); I Rodriguez (6, 5th inning
off Erickson 0 on, 2 out). S - Mclemore. SF - I Rodriguez. RBI -
I Rodriguez 2 (23), Greer 2 (32), R Palmeiro 2 (26), T Goodwin (9).
2-out RBI - Greer 2, I Rodriguez, R Palmeiro 2, T Goodwin. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - R Palmeiro 1, R Kelly 2, Zeile 1,
Mclemore 1. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - R Kelly (2, 2nd base off Bones/Davis).
CS - L Stevens (1, 2nd base by Bones/Davis).

FIELDING: E - Mclemore (5, bobble). Outfield assists - T Goodwin
(Belle at 2nd base). DP: 1 (L Stevens).

BALTIMORE                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Erickson                      6       7   4   4   2   3   2   6.51
Rhodes (L, 1-2)               1       1   2   2   2   0   0   4.87
Bones                         1       3   1   1   0   1   0   2.66

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
M Clark                       6 1/3   9   4   4   4   3   0   7.53
M Munoz (BS, 1)                 1/3   1   0   0   1   1   0   3.60
Crabtree (W, 2-0)               1/3   2   0   0   1   0   0   3.97
Venafro (H, 2)                  1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   4.76
Zimmerman (H, 5)                2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.69
Wetteland (S, 11)             1       3   2   2   0   1   1   5.02

Crabtree pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.

IBB - L Stevens (by Erickson); Belle (by M Munoz).
Pitches-strikes: M Clark 97-53; M Munoz 10-5; Crabtree 20-12;
Venafro 3-3; Zimmerman 9-6; Wetteland 16-15; Erickson 117-69;
Rhodes 27-15; Bones 25-16.  Ground balls-fly balls: M Clark 5-7;
M Munoz 0-0; Crabtree 0-1; Venafro 0-0; Zimmerman 1-0; Wetteland
1-1; Erickson 10-5; Rhodes 2-1; Bones 0-1.  Batters faced: M Clark 29;
M Munoz 3; Crabtree 4; Venafro 1; Zimmerman 2; Wetteland 6;
Erickson 27; Rhodes 6; Bones 5.

UMPIRES: HP--John Hirschbeck. 1B--Dave Phillips. 2B--Rocky Roe.
3B--Durwood Merrill.
T--3:18.  Att--36,665.   Weather: 84 degrees, cloudy.   Wind: 15 mph,
in fom right.

AL       BALTIMORE AT TEXAS
         NOTE:  THE HOME RUNS BY TEXAS' RUSTY GREER AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ IN
                THE BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH INNING WERE HIT BACK-TO-BACK.

Game Log

Baltimore Starting Lineups -- Brady Anderson CF, Mike Bordick SS, Bj Surhoff LF, Albert Belle RF, Harold Baines DH, Jeff Conine 1B, Cal Ripken Jr 3B, Delino Deshields 2B, Charles Johnson C, Scott Erickson RHP.

Texas Starting Lineups -- Tom Goodwin CF, Mark Mclemore 2B, Rusty Greer LF, Ivan Rodriguez C, Rafael Palmeiro DH, Todd Zeile 3B, Lee Stevens 1B, Roberto Kelly RF, Kelly Dransfeldt SS, Mark Clark RHP.

Umpires -- J Hirschbeck (HP), Phillips (1B), Roe (2B), D Merrill (3B).

Gametime Weather: 84 degrees, Cloudy, wind in fom right at 15 mph.

BALTIMORE 1ST: B Anderson doubled to right. Bordick singled to shallow right, B Anderson to third. Surhoff lined into double play, first, Bordick doubled off first. Belle lined out to first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: T Goodwin singled to left. Mclemore singled to left, T Goodwin to second. Greer grounded out to pitcher, T Goodwin to third, Mclemore to second. I Rodriguez hit sacrifice fly to right, T Goodwin scored, Mclemore to third. R Palmeiro grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 0, TEXAS 1.

BALTIMORE 2ND: Baines singled to center. Conine grounded into fielder's choice to third, Baines out at second. C Ripken doubled to left, Conine to third. Deshields grounded out to second, Conine scored, C Ripken to third. C Johnson flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 1, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 2ND: Zeile grounded out to shortstop. L Stevens grounded out to second. R Kelly struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 1, TEXAS 1.

BALTIMORE 3RD: B Anderson safe at first on 2nd baseman Mclemore's fielding error. B Anderson caught stealing, catcher to shortstop. Bordick walked. Surhoff singled to center, Bordick to third. Belle hit sacrifice fly to left, Bordick scored. Baines grounded out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) BALTIMORE 2, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 3RD: Dransfeldt grounded out to third. T Goodwin flied out to center. Mclemore grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 2, TEXAS 1.

BALTIMORE 4TH: Conine struck out swinging. C Ripken struck out looking. Deshields singled to center. C Johnson walked, Deshields to second. B Anderson walked, Deshields to third, C Johnson to second. Bordick popped out to shallow center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 2, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 4TH: Greer grounded out to first. I Rodriguez singled to right center. R Palmeiro doubled to right, I Rodriguez to third. Zeile flied out to center. L Stevens intentionally walked. R Kelly struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 2, TEXAS 1.

BALTIMORE 5TH: Surhoff lined out to deep right. Belle singled to left center, Belle out stretching at second. Baines struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 2, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 5TH: Dransfeldt lined out to deep right. T Goodwin struck out swinging. Mclemore singled to right. Greer homered to left center, Mclemore scored. I Rodriguez homered to right. R Palmeiro grounded out to second. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 2, TEXAS 4.

BALTIMORE 6TH: Conine grounded out to shortstop. C Ripken grounded out to second. Deshields walked. Deshields caught stealing, catcher to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 2, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 6TH: Zeile grounded out to first. L Stevens walked. R Kelly flied out to right center. Dransfeldt grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 2, TEXAS 4.

BALTIMORE 7TH: C Johnson lined out to left. B Anderson singled to right. Bordick reached on infield single, B Anderson to second. Mike Munoz relieved Mark Clark. Surhoff tripled to right center, B Anderson and Bordick scored. Belle intentionally walked. Baines struck out swinging. Tim Crabtree relieved Mike Munoz. Conine walked, Belle to second. C Ripken flied out to shallow left. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 7TH: Arthur Rhodes relieved Scott Erickson. T Goodwin walked. Mclemore sacrificed T Goodwin to second. Greer grounded out to first, T Goodwin to third. I Rodriguez walked. I Rodriguez to second on fielder indifference. R Palmeiro doubled to right, T Goodwin and I Rodriguez scored. Zeile popped out to shallow center. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 6.

BALTIMORE 8TH: Deshields singled to shallow left. C Johnson singled to left, Deshields to second. Mike Venafro relieved Tim Crabtree. Amaral ran for C Johnson. B Anderson struck out bunting foul. Jeff Zimmerman relieved Mike Venafro. Bordick struck out looking. Surhoff grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 8TH: Ricky Bones relieved Arthur Rhodes. Davis catching. L Stevens singled to shallow left. L Stevens caught stealing, catcher to shortstop. R Kelly singled to left. Dransfeldt struck out swinging. R Kelly stole second. T Goodwin reached on infield single, R Kelly scored. T Goodwin to second advancing on throw. T Goodwin to third on 2nd baseman Deshields' throwing error. Mclemore flied out to shallow center. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 1 Error) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 7.

BALTIMORE 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Jeff Zimmerman. Belle struck out looking. Baines singled to left. Otanez ran for Baines. Conine popped out to first. C Ripken homered to left, Otanez scored. Deshields reached on infield single. Davis grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 6, TEXAS 7.