Game 44: May 24, 1999 (W: 12-3)[ Previous Game | Next Game ]
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Game 44: May 24, 1999 (W: 12-3)
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TX Rangers Media Notes |
Commentary (by me)
In starting to write the commentary for this game, it occured to me just how many
games we've had this season that have had at least ten runs by one side or the other.
Looking back at 1999 so far, we've had 14 games that have had ten runs by one side
or the other, and this is only game 44. That's 32% of the games played. That's
a lot of runs. A breakdown:
April: We won two, and lost four
May: We won four and lost four
That makes us 6-8 in runs where one side scores 10 or more runs. That's not all that good. With the Rangers offense, we should be expected to do that, but this stat can be translated down to one thing. Our pitching stinks (overall).
However, last night, that wasn't true. We got the first really good outing from Mark Clark all season. He went 6.1 innings, throwing 125 pitches (I think that's what the TV guys said), giving up 8 hits, and 3 earned runs. Not the most dominating performance, but for Clark, and for our staff, it was a great outing. Mike Munoz & Tim Crabtree, who have both been pitching extremely well of late finished up the game, giving up just one hit for no runs between the two of them. Our bullpen is doing great (hell, even Burkett pitched well (for him) out of the pen the other night).
Our hitting was in a groove, too. Juan Gonzalez had a great game, hitting two home runs, for a total of 5 RBI's for the night (2 run HR & 3 run HR). Pudge also had a home run in the ninth inning, which extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Mark McLemore continues his hot hitting streak of 99, going 3 for 4. I don't know where he's been hiding all of this, but I like it! All the Ranger starters had at least one hit, except Clayton.
There were also some injuries last night. I didn't see the first one, because I was watching the series finale of "Mad About You" with my wife, but apparently Mark McLemore left the game in the sixth with a tight left hamstring. I hope that's not a real problem, as this is the second time in a week he left the game early with a hamstring tightness problem. Also, on Juan Gonzalez's second home run, Quinton McCracken got really hurt. He went to jump to try and catch the ball, but his jump was mistimed. He hit the wall hard on the way up, not at the peak of the jump like it's normally done. He hit his shoulder hard, and came straight down crumpled, and his knee appeared to hit very hard on the warning track. He didn't get up at all, and after awhile he was stetchered off the field.
No matter what the player, no matter how much I dislike them professionally, I hate to see this happen to anyone. Don't get me wrong - I like McCracken, but I just hate to see anyone injured like this at all. Looks like he's going on the DL because of this. I know you'll never see this, but Quinten - this Rangers fan hopes you get well soon!
Commentary (by Jim Meeks)
Not available.
Game Recap
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA (TICKER) -- Juan Gonzalez homered twice and drove in five
runs as the Texas Rangers cruised to a 12-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Mark Clark (3-3) allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings, but Gonzalez and the offense
provided him a nice cushion as Rolando Arrojo was rocked once again for the Devil Rays.
Clark gave up eight hits and walked three while striking out four.
"I made some good pitches when I needed to," Clark said. "I threw a lot of
mild-speed pitches for strikes. When you do that, it will help out your fastball. It
seemed like they didn't even swing at many mild-speed pitches."
"We needed it tonight," Texas manager Johnny Oates said of Clark's effort.
"It seems like that's when we play our best ball, when we get three or four shutout
innings early or keep the score down until we get our offense going."
Texas got the lead in the first inning and never relinquished it. Mark McLemore and Rusty
Greer singled with one out, Gonzalez erased Greer with a forceout and Rafael Palmeiro
laced an RBI single to open the scoring.
Tom Goodwin singled to lead off the third and stole second with one out. After Greer
grounded out, Gonzalez made it 3-0 with his first homer of the game, connecting on a 1-2
pitch.
"The timing feels much better," Gonzalez said of rebounding after a slow start.
"I'm swinging at strikes. It was a good night for me. We need a lot of nights like
tonight to win a lot more games."
McLemore singled with one out in the fifth and went to third on a double by Greer.
Gonzalez struck out and Palmeiro was walked intentionally before Ivan Rodriguez drew a
walk to force in the third run. Todd Zeile followed with a two-run double to make it 6-0.
Dave Martinez hit his fourth homer of the season, a solo shot on a full count with one out
in the fifth, to get the Devil Rays on the board. But Arrojo remained ineffective and
could not keep it a five-run game.
Arrojo (2-5) was slammed for a career-high eight earned runs and 11 hits with two walks
and six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. All of his losses have come at Tropicana Field and
each of his wins, including one last week against the Rangers, have been on the road.
"Obviously, there is a concern. The consistency is not there," said Tampa Bay
manager Larry Rothschild, who is sending Arrojo to the bullpen. "We have to figure
out what it is that is the problem. I thought it was pitch-to-pitch. He made a couple of
good pitches, then a bad one. In this league, bad pitches are going to get hit."
"I'm pitching bad," Arrojo said through a translator. "I think I'll get out
of this slump. I have to get out of this slump. My speed is off, I don't feel I have the
same speed as before, that's the main thing. That's why I'm going to get some time off (in
the bullpen)."
Arrojo got the first batter in the sixth, but Goodwin tripled and scored on a double by
McLemore to end his evening. Bryan Rekar came and walked Greer and, on the next pitch,
allowed Gonzalez's 12th homer of the season, a three-run shot over the wall in left-center
field that pushed the lead to 10-1.
It was the 36th career multi-homer game and the third this season for Gonzalez.
"We scored a lot of runs this year," Oates said. "We have the capability to
score a lot of runs. We don't score a dozen every night, but we're pretty consistent with
six or seven."
Devil Rays center fielder Quinton McCracken left with a right knee injury after running
into the outfield wall in pursuit of Gonzalez's second homer.
"I wish I could tell you (what happened)," McCracken said. "I went to go
jump to make an attempt at the catch and on the way up I felt the knee buckle. I don't
even know if I left the ground. I have a vague memory of it after that."
"He will have an MRI tomorrow," Rothschild said. "He actually did it on the
way up, which is not uncommon. It looks like he will go on the disabled list. The best
case, there will be inflammation. It will be a setback."
McLemore left after six innings with tightness in his left hamstring.
Danny Clyburn got back a couple of runs in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run double,
but Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a two-run homer off Julio
Santana in the ninth for a 12-3 lead. It was the ninth homer for Rodriguez, who is hitting
.386 (22-for-57) during his streak.
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| Rangers starter Mark Clark | Mark McLemore flubs a grounder | Juan belts his second homer of the night | Juan getting congrats after his second homer | Quinton McCracken being taken off the field on a stretcher after hurting himself trying to catch Juan's second home run ball. DRays manager & second baseman walk back to the infield (left). |
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| Wade Boggs' "3D House of Baseball Bats" | Pudge rounds third after his home run, and former Ranger Julio Santana kicks the dirt |
Line Score
AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TEXAS 1 0 2 0 3 4 0 0 2 12 16 0
TAMPA BAY 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 10 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: TEX - MARK CLARK, MIKE MUNOZ (7TH), TIM CRABTREE
(8TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ
TAM - ROLANDO ARROJO, BRYAN REKAR (6TH), JULIO
SANTANA (9TH) AND JOHN FLAHERTY
WP - MARK CLARK (3-3)
LP - ROLANDO ARROJO (2-5)
SAVE - NONE
HOME RUNS: TEX - JUAN GONZALEZ (11) OFF ARROJO IN THE 3RD, 1 ON
JUAN GONZALEZ (12) OFF REKAR IN THE 6TH, 2 ON
IVAN RODRIGUEZ (9) OFF J SANTANA IN THE 9TH, 1 ON
TAM - DAVE MARTINEZ (4) OFF M CLARK IN THE 5TH, 0 ON
TIME: 2:59 ATT: 15,820
PROBABLES: TEX - RYAN GLYNN (0-0, 10.81)
TAM - BOBBY WITT (3-1, 5.36)
Box Score
TEXAS (12) AT TAMPA BAY (3) - FINAL
TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
T Goodwin cf 5 2 2 0 0 1 0 .221
Mclemore 2b 4 3 3 1 0 1 1 .338
Alicea 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154
Greer lf 4 2 2 0 1 0 1 .304
J Gonzalez rf 5 2 2 5 0 2 4 .315
R Palmeiro dh 4 2 3 1 1 1 0 .392
I Rodriguez c 4 1 1 3 1 1 3 .321
Zeile 3b 5 0 2 2 0 1 0 .250
L Stevens 1b 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 .325
Clayton ss 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 .160
Totals 42 12 16 12 3 9 13
BATTING: 2B - Greer (17, Arrojo); Zeile 2 (12, Arrojo,
J Santana); Mclemore (9, Arrojo). 3B - T Goodwin (3, Arrojo).
HR - J Gonzalez 2 (12, 3rd inning off Arrojo 1 on, 2 out, 6th inning
off Rekar 2 on, 1 out); I Rodriguez (9, 9th inning off J Santana
1 on, 1 out). RBI - R Palmeiro (39), J Gonzalez 5 (40),
I Rodriguez 3 (30), Zeile 2 (25), Mclemore (12). 2-out RBI -
R Palmeiro, J Gonzalez 2, I Rodriguez, Zeile 2. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - I Rodriguez 1, L Stevens 2, Clayton 1.
Team LOB - 6.
BASERUNNING: SB - T Goodwin (20, 2nd base off Arrojo/Flaherty).
TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
Q Mccracken cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Clyburn rf 2 0 1 2 0 0 2 .203
Da Martinez rf-cf 5 1 2 1 0 1 1 .313
Canseco dh 5 0 1 0 0 1 1 .306
Mcgriff 1b 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 .327
a-Perry ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .341
Flaherty c 4 0 0 0 1 2 4 .263
Boggs 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .299
Sorrento lf 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .280
Cairo 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .295
Stocker ss 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 .328
Lamb ss 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .213
Totals 37 3 10 3 4 6 17
a-tripled for Mcgriff in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - Clyburn (4, M Clark). 3B - Perry (1, Crabtree).
HR - Da Martinez (4, 5th inning off M Clark 0 on, 1 out). RBI -
Da Martinez (25), Clyburn 2 (5). 2-out RBI - Clyburn 2. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - Flaherty 3, Boggs 2,
Da Martinez 1, Clyburn 1. Team LOB - 11.
FIELDING: DP: 1 (Boggs-Mcgriff).
TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
M Clark (W, 3-3) 6 1/3 8 3 3 3 4 1 7.20
M Munoz 1 1/3 1 0 0 1 1 0 4.82
Crabtree 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.76
TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
Arrojo (L, 2-5) 5 1/3 11 8 8 2 6 1 7.31
Rekar 2 2/3 2 2 2 1 2 1 4.76
J Santana 1 3 2 2 0 1 1 9.33
WP - M Clark, M Munoz. IBB - R Palmeiro (by Arrojo).
Pitches-strikes: Arrojo 101-63; Rekar 40-24; J Santana 23-15;
M Clark 120-72; M Munoz 21-14; Crabtree 13-10. Ground balls-fly
balls: Arrojo 9-1; Rekar 4-1; J Santana 1-1; M Clark 6-9;
M Munoz 2-1; Crabtree 3-0. Batters faced: Arrojo 29; Rekar 10;
J Santana 6; M Clark 30; M Munoz 6; Crabtree 5.
UMPIRES: HP--Jim Evans. 1B--Larry Mccoy. 2B--Chuck Meriwether.
3B--Marty Foster.
T--2:59. Att--15,820. Indoors.
AL TEXAS AT TAMPA BAY
NOTE: TAMPA BAY'S QUINTON MCCRACKEN LEFT THE GAME DURING THE
TOP OF THE SIXTH INNING AFTER COLLIDING WITH THE WALL IN
LEFT-CENTER FIELD. HE LEFT WITH AN APPARENT RIGHT KNEE
INJURY.
AL TEXAS AT TAMPA BAY
NOTE: TEXAS' MARK MCLEMORE LEFT THE GAME AFTER THE SIXTH INNING
WITH A TIGHT LEFT HAMSTRING.
AL TEXAS AT TAMPA BAY
NOTE: TAMBA BAY'S QUINTON MCCRACKEN LEFT THE GAME DURING THE
TOP OF THE SIXTH INNING WITH A KNEE INJURY. HE IS BEING
EXAMINED BY THE TEAM DOCTOR IN THE LOCKER ROOM.
AL TEXAS AT TAMPA BAY
NOTE: TEXAS' IVAN RODRIGUEZ EXTENDED HIS HITTING STREAK TO 14
GAMES WITH A HOME RUN IN THE TOP OF THE NINTH INNING.
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, Mark Clark RHP.
Tampa Bay Starting Lineups -- Quinton Mccracken CF, Dave Martinez RF, Jose Canseco DH,
Fred Mcgriff 1B, John Flaherty C, Wade Boggs 3B, Paul Sorrento LF, Miguel Cairo 2B, Kevin
Stocker SS, Rolando Arrojo RHP.
Umpires -- Evans (HP), L Mccoy (1B), C Meriwether (2B), Foster (3B).
Gametime Weather: Indoors
TEXAS 1ST: T Goodwin grounded out to second. Mclemore singled to right. Greer singled to
right, Mclemore to second. J Gonzalez grounded into fielder's choice to third, Mclemore to
third, Greer out at second. R Palmeiro singled to right, Mclemore scored, J Gonzalez to
second. I Rodriguez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, R Palmeiro out at second.
(1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, TAMPA BAY 0.
TAMPA BAY 1ST: Q Mccracken grounded out to second. Da Martinez singled to right. Canseco
popped out to third. Mcgriff singled to left, Da Martinez to third. Flaherty struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, TAMPA BAY 0.
TEXAS 2ND: Zeile struck out swinging. L Stevens grounded out to shortstop. Clayton struck
out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, TAMPA BAY 0.
TAMPA BAY 2ND: Boggs grounded out to shortstop. Sorrento singled to left. Cairo grounded
into fielder's choice to shortstop, Sorrento out at second. Stocker flied out to left
center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, TAMPA BAY 0.
TEXAS 3RD: T Goodwin singled to center. Mclemore struck out swinging. T Goodwin stole
second. Greer grounded out to shortstop. J Gonzalez homered to left, T Goodwin scored. R
Palmeiro struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, TAMPA BAY 0.
TAMPA BAY 3RD: Q Mccracken grounded out to first. Da Martinez flied out to deep left.
Canseco singled to center. Mcgriff singled to left, Canseco to second. Flaherty walked,
Canseco to third, Mcgriff to second. Boggs struck out looking. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
TEXAS 3, TAMPA BAY 0.
TEXAS 4TH: I Rodriguez struck out swinging. Zeile grounded out to third. L Stevens singled
to left. Clayton grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, L Stevens out at second. (0
Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, TAMPA BAY 0.
TAMPA BAY 4TH: Sorrento flied out to deep right. Cairo popped out to first. Stocker
grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, TAMPA BAY 0.
TEXAS 5TH: T Goodwin flied out to left. Mclemore reached on infield single. Greer doubled
to deep center, Mclemore to third. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro
intentionally walked. I Rodriguez walked, Mclemore scored, Greer to third, R Palmeiro to
second. Zeile doubled to left, Greer and R Palmeiro scored, I Rodriguez to third. L
Stevens grounded out to first. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 6, TAMPA BAY 0.
TAMPA BAY 5TH: Q Mccracken lined out to right. Da Martinez homered to right. Canseco
popped out to shallow right. Mcgriff walked. Mcgriff to second on M Clark wild pitch.
Flaherty struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 6, TAMPA BAY 1.
TEXAS 6TH: Clayton grounded out to third. T Goodwin tripled to deep right center. Mclemore
doubled to right, T Goodwin scored. Bryan Rekar relieved Rolando Arrojo. Greer walked. J
Gonzalez homered to left center, Mclemore and Greer scored. Da Martinez in center. Clyburn
in right. R Palmeiro singled to center. I Rodriguez lined into double play, third to
first, R Palmeiro doubled off first. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 10, TAMPA BAY 1.
TAMPA BAY 6TH: Alicea at second. Boggs lined out to center. Sorrento walked. Cairo singled
to left, Sorrento to second. Stocker grounded into fielder's choice to first, Sorrento to
third, Cairo out at second. Clyburn doubled to left, Sorrento and Stocker scored. Da
Martinez lined out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 10, TAMPA BAY 3.
TEXAS 7TH: Lamb at short. Zeile grounded out to third. L Stevens grounded out to second.
Clayton struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 10, TAMPA BAY 3.
TAMPA BAY 7TH: Canseco struck out swinging. Mike Munoz relieved Mark Clark. Mcgriff
grounded out to second. Flaherty grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
TEXAS 10, TAMPA BAY 3.
TEXAS 8TH: T Goodwin struck out swinging. Alicea grounded out to first. Greer grounded out
to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 10, TAMPA BAY 3.
TAMPA BAY 8TH: Boggs reached on infield single. Sorrento struck out looking. Boggs to
second on M Munoz wild pitch. Cairo popped out to second. Lamb walked. Tim Crabtree
relieved Mike Munoz. Clyburn grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS
10, TAMPA BAY 3.
TEXAS 9TH: Julio Santana relieved Bryan Rekar. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro
singled to right. I Rodriguez homered to right, R Palmeiro scored. Zeile doubled to left.
L Stevens flied out to right center, Zeile to third. Clayton grounded out to third. (2
Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 12, TAMPA BAY 3.
TAMPA BAY 9TH: Da Martinez struck out swinging. Canseco grounded out to third. Perry hit
for Mcgriff. Perry tripled to right center. Flaherty grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1
Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 12, TAMPA BAY 3.