Game 41: May 21, 1999 (L: 3-2)
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Commentary (by me)

A pitchers duel!   This game rocked!  I loved it, even though we lost.  Helling made only one bad pitch all night, and it burned him.  A 3 run home run to CJ in the late innings.  However, Helling was masterful otherwise.   Our normally huge offense didn't cover the mistake, but we were up against another pitcher (Sidney Ponson) that really shut us down too, we were lucky to get the two we got.

Helling pitched the first complete game by a Ranger all season - unfortunately it was a complete game loss.  :(    There really isn't a whole lot to say about this game other than Raffy remained red hot.   Pitching was the story here, and there was little offense to speak of. 

Commentary (by Jim Meeks)

Great pitching will win most ballgames. Saturday, there was an exception to the rule.

Rick Helling pitched a complete game, seven-hitter. 99 times out of 100, Helling is going to win those type games. Friday is was one-uppped by O's pitcher Sidney Ponson, who threw a complete game, six-hitter.

It was hard for either team to generate any offense. Raffy Palmeiro, perhaps the hottest hitter in baseball right now, homered against his former mates and for a while, the Rangers led 1-0.

Then Charles Johnson, who is red-hot himself as of late, blasted a 3-run homer off of Helling in the 7th inning. That was the ballgame.

This was the first game in the Major Leagues this year, where both pitchers pitched a complete game.

Game Recap

BALTIMORE (TICKER) -- Sidney Ponson worked through a shaky ninth inning for his first career complete game and Charles Johnson drilled a three-run homer in the seventh as the Baltimore Orioles held on for a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Ponson (4-3), who had never gone more than 7 1/3 innings in his first 27 major league starts, allowed two runs and six hits with two walks and matched a career high with six strikeouts as the Orioles overcame a home run by Rafael Palmeiro in his return to Camden Yards.

"There's no words to describe it, it's a great feeling," said Ponson, who has won four of his last five starts and beat Texas for the second straight outing. "This is a huge confidence boost for me, especially facing those hitters. It's great to finish it but I'm more happy we won. Charles helped me the whole way too. I think he was really the hero tonight. I mean he won the game with his homer. I couldn't do it without him."

"To see him pitch that way, it makes me feel like I'm doing my job also," catcher Johnson said. "They're all great hitters in that lineup. He made quality pitches tonight. You have to tip your hat to him"

The 22-year-old righthander retired 13 straight batters until issuing a leadoff walk to Mark McLemore in the ninth. Rusty Greer followed with a double down the right-field line, putting runners at second and third. After Juan Gonzalez's groundout scored McLemore and pulled the Rangers within 3-2, Ponson struck out Palmeiro looking and got Ivan Rodriguez to fly out to right.

"It was a spectacular job by Sidney. He was outstanding," Orioles manager Ray Miller said. "I mean when he was hitting 99 in the ninth, you have to keep him in there. What you saw tonight is the reason why everyone wanted him this past winter."

Rangers starter Rick Helling (4-5) held the Orioles scoreless for six innings before running into trouble in the seventh. Cal Ripken and Delino DeShields began the inning with singles and moved up on Mike Bordick's sacrifice. Johnson belted Helling's 0-1 pitch over the left-field wall for his ninth homer and a 3-1 lead.

"I made a good pitch to Ripken on 0-2 when he got he hit. I got ahead of DeShields 0-2 and he got a hit on a full count," Helling said. "Then I made one bad mistake, a breaking ball I left up to Johnson. It is the easiest pitch to hit when you leave it up."

Johnson is batting .356 (21-for-59) over his last 18 games.

"I'm trying to put the barrel to the baseball and get it in play. I wasn't doing that in the beginning of the year," Johnson said. "I just need to stay positive now and keep being consistent."

The single extended Ripken's hitting streak to 10 games. He has hit safely in all eight games since returning from the disabled list, going 11-for-33 with eight RBI.

Helling gave up three runs and seven hits over eight innings in his first complete game of the season and sixth of his career.

"You have to give their guy credit. It was one of those nights where somebody had to lose, too bad it was me," Helling said.

The Orioles won for only the third time in 11 games and handed the Rangers their fourth loss in five contests.

"We had an opportunity with runners on second and third with our fourth and fifth batters coming up," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. "It made you realize how well Ponson was throwing. He was getting his change and breaking ball over all night. It was one of those nights when you tip your cap to their pitcher."

In his first game back in Baltimore since signing a five-year, $45 million deal with Texas, Palmeiro led off the second inning with his 12th homer. Palmeiro, who spent five years with the Orioles, was booed in his first at-bat.

"Our pitcher was throwing great but Sidney was a little better," Palmeiro said. "You could see he wanted the ball. There was great competition out there."

Palmeiro is 7-for-12 with four homers and eight RBI in his last three games. He is batting .373 with 12 homers and 37 RBI in 40 games this season.

Orioles left fielder B.J. Surhoff is batting .382 (21-for-55) during a 12-game hitting streak.

Texas shortstop Royce Clayton went 1-for-3 in his first game back from the disabled list.

Gonzalez, the American League Most Valuable Player two of the last three seasons, returned to the lineup for the first time since straining his right hamstring during a home run trot May 11 against the Chicago White Sox. He went hitless in four at-bats.

Photos
(Click on any of them for a larger image

Raffy rounding third after his home run in the second	Mark McLemore turns two	Another in the "Whoops, it's a baseball!" series.  :)	Sydney Ponson after getting a complete game win

Box Score

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

BATTERIES:  TEX - RICK HELLING AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ
            BAL - SIDNEY PONSON AND CHARLES JOHNSON

             WP - SIDNEY PONSON (4-3)
             LP - RICK HELLING (4-5)
           SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS:  TEX - RAFAEL PALMEIRO (12) OFF PONSON IN THE 2ND, 0 ON
            BAL - CHARLES JOHNSON (9) OFF HELLING IN THE 7TH, 2 ON

     TIME:  2:17     ATT:  45,867

PROBABLES:  TEX - AARON SELE (3-4, 6.30)
            BAL - JUAN GUZMAN (1-4, 5.88)



Box Score
TEXAS (2) AT BALTIMORE (3) - FINAL

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
T Goodwin cf            4  0  0  0   0  1   0  .220
Mclemore 2b             2  1  1  0   2  0   0  .328
Greer lf                4  0  1  0   0  0   1  .312
J Gonzalez rf           4  0  0  1   0  1   2  .313
R Palmeiro dh           4  1  1  1   0  1   1  .373
I Rodriguez c           4  0  1  0   0  1   1  .324
Zeile 3b                3  0  1  0   0  0   1  .250
L Stevens 1b            3  0  0  0   0  1   1  .317
Clayton ss              3  0  1  0   0  1   0  .159

Totals                 31  2  6  2   2  6   7

BATTING: 2B - Mclemore (8, Ponson); Greer (16, Ponson). HR -
R Palmeiro (12, 2nd inning off Ponson 0 on, 0 out). RBI -
R Palmeiro (37), J Gonzalez (30). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - J Gonzalez 1, I Rodriguez 1. GIDP - L Stevens.
Team LOB - 4.

BASERUNNING: CS - Clayton (2, 2nd base by Ponson/C Johnson).

FIELDING: E - Clayton (3, ground ball). Outfield assists - J Gonzalez
(Bordick at home). DP: 3 (Clayton-Mclemore-L Stevens, J Gonzalez-I Rodriguez,
I Rodriguez-Mclemore).

BALTIMORE              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
B Anderson cf           2  0  0  0   2  1   0  .280
Amaral dh               4  0  0  0   0  0   4  .179
Surhoff lf              4  0  1  0   0  1   0  .349
Belle rf                3  0  1  0   1  0   1  .268
Conine 1b               4  0  1  0   0  1   2  .259
C Ripken 3b             3  1  1  0   0  0   2  .262
Deshields 2b            3  1  1  0   0  0   0  .207
Bordick ss              2  0  0  0   0  0   0  .267
C Johnson c             3  1  2  3   0  0   0  .264

Totals                 28  3  7  3   3  3   9

BATTING: 2B - C Johnson (5, Helling). HR - C Johnson (9, 7th inning
off Helling 2 on, 1 out). S - Bordick. RBI - C Johnson 3 (18).
GIDP - C Ripken. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: CS - Belle (3, 2nd base by Helling/I Rodriguez).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (Bordick-Conine).

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Helling (L, 4-5)              8       7   3   3   3   3   1   5.25

BALTIMORE                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Ponson (W, 4-3)               9       6   2   2   2   6   1   4.53

Pitches-strikes: Ponson 120-78; Helling 120-77.  Ground balls-
fly balls: Ponson 11-9; Helling 9-10.  Batters faced: Ponson 33;
Helling 32.

UMPIRES: HP--Dale Scott. 1B--Joe Brinkman. 2B--John Shulock.
3B--Derryl Cousins.
T--2:17.  Att--45,867.   Weather: 81 degrees, cloudy.   Wind: 10 mph,
left to right.

AL       TEXAS AT BALTIMORE
         NOTE:  BALTIMORE'S B.J. SURHOFF EXTENDED HIS HITTING STREAK TO
                12 GAMES IN THE FIRST INNING WITH A SINGLE.

AL       TEXAS AT BALTIMORE
         NOTE:  BALTIMORE'S CAL RIPKEN JR. EXTENDED HIS HITTING STREAK TO
                10 GAMES IN THE SEVENTH INNING WITH A SINGLE.

Game Log

Texas Starting Lineups -- Tom Goodwin CF, Mark Mclemore 2B, Rusty Greer LF, Juan Gonzalez RF, Rafael Palmeiro DH, Ivan Rodriguez C, Todd Zeile 3B, Lee Stevens 1B, Royce Clayton SS, Rick Helling RHP.

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

Umpires -- Scott (HP), Brinkman (1B), Shulock (2B), Cousins (3B).

Gametime Weather: 81 degrees, Cloudy, wind left to right at 10 mph.

TEXAS 1ST: T Goodwin flied out to center. Mclemore doubled to left center. Greer flied out to right, Mclemore to third. J Gonzalez flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BALTIMORE 0.

BALTIMORE 1ST: B Anderson popped out to shallow center. Amaral grounded out to shortstop. Surhoff singled to right. Belle lined out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BALTIMORE 0.

TEXAS 2ND: R Palmeiro homered to right. I Rodriguez flied out to right. Zeile singled to right. L Stevens grounded into double play, shortstop to first, Zeile out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 0.

BALTIMORE 2ND: Conine singled to left. C Ripken grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Conine out at second. Deshields grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 0.

TEXAS 3RD: Clayton singled to right. Clayton caught stealing, catcher to second. T Goodwin grounded out to first. Mclemore walked. Greer grounded into fielder's choice to third, Mclemore out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 0.

BALTIMORE 3RD: Bordick flied out to right center. C Johnson flied out to right. B Anderson walked. Amaral flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 0.

TEXAS 4TH: J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro lined out to first. I Rodriguez singled to right. Zeile flied out to deep left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 0.

BALTIMORE 4TH: Surhoff grounded out to second. Belle singled to center. Conine flied out to center. C Ripken fouled out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 0.

TEXAS 5TH: L Stevens popped out to third. Clayton struck out swinging. T Goodwin struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 0.

BALTIMORE 5TH: Deshields flied out to left. Bordick safe at first on shortstop Clayton's fielding error. C Johnson doubled to left, Bordick to third. B Anderson walked. Amaral flied out to right, Bordick thrown out at home. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 0.

TEXAS 6TH: Mclemore grounded out to second. Greer grounded out to pitcher. J Gonzalez grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 0.

BALTIMORE 6TH: Surhoff struck out swinging. Belle walked. Conine struck out swinging. Belle caught stealing, catcher to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 0.

TEXAS 7TH: R Palmeiro grounded out to pitcher. I Rodriguez struck out swinging. Zeile grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 0.

BALTIMORE 7TH: C Ripken singled to right. Deshields singled to right, C Ripken to second. Bordick sacrificed C Ripken to third, Deshields to second. C Johnson homered to left, C Ripken and Deshields scored. B Anderson struck out swinging. Amaral grounded out to shortstop. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 3.

TEXAS 8TH: L Stevens struck out swinging. Clayton grounded out to second. T Goodwin flied out to left center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 3.

BALTIMORE 8TH: Surhoff grounded out to third. Belle flied out to deep center. Conine grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 3.

TEXAS 9TH: Mclemore walked. Greer doubled to right, Mclemore to third. J Gonzalez grounded out to third, Mclemore scored. R Palmeiro struck out looking. I Rodriguez flied out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, BALTIMORE 3.