Game 49: May 30, 1999 (W: 3-2)
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Commentary (by me)

I was at this game, and driving out to the ballpark, I feared rain again.  The weather was bad in the 40 minute drive I have to the ballpark, and it spitted rain a few times on the way out.  Fortunately, as my wife and I pulled up to the park, everything cleared up.  It was a nice blue sky with great puffy clouds.  A bright afternoon - and oh man, did we get a great game.

A few commentaries ago, I said I wasn't all that thrilled with Mark Clark pitching, as he has been a great disappointment so far this year.  However, today, he pitched his masterpiece of the year so far.  He went seven innings, allowing four hits, and only two runs.  It was by far the best game he's pitched as a Ranger, and he seems to finally be headed in the right direction.  Zim came in and pitched a perfect eighth inning, and Wetteland came in and secured the save, even if he made it a bit interesting by allowing runners to get to first and third.  :)   Of the six hits the Ranger pitching allowed, two were by Wetteland in the 9th - this was by far our best pitched game that I can recall.

We were shut down on offense too - the Twin rookie pitcher was matching Mark Clark all along the way.  That kid lookd really good - in fact, I didn't think our offense looked alive at all until Tom Kelly started playing bullpen musical chairs.  And even then it wasn't that great - we pulled out a 3-2 win, which seemed like it should have been swapped with the Dallas Stars' score - the Stars were playing cross town, and lost 7-5, in what seemed like a baseball score.

Our current injury situation seems weird.  Rusty Greer was still out of the starting lineup, but did make an appearance in the eigth as a pinch runner for Raffy - he eventually scored.  Royce Clayton was still out, and probably won't be back until the Arizona series on Friday.  Mike Morgan was also down for the count, but on the radio pre-game show, Johnny Oates said that he probably could pitch out of the bullpen in an emergency.

This win gives us two consecutive sweeps in a row for a season high six game winning streak.  THat's also tied for the current high winning streak in the majors (with the Diamondbucks, who also have 6 in a row).  Furthermore, this gives us a record of 29-20 for the season, also a season high 9 games over .500.   An interesting note, this gives us virtually the same record as the New York Yankees, who are 29-19.  :)

I'm hoping things are back to speed come Friday when we don't have the DH to rely upon - Raffy probably will be relegated to pinch hitter status only.   Also, Mike Simms is about ready to come off the DL, which poses a roster problem - who to move to AAA to make room for Simms?

Commentary (by Jim Meeks)

Not available.  I haven't heard from Jim in a few days.  Jim, if you see this, drop me a line - you OK?

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- The Texas Rangers finally proved they can win a low-scoring game.

Lee Stevens' bloop single in the bottom of the eighth inning scored pinch-runner Rusty Greer and lifted the Rangers to their season-high sixth straight victory, 3-2 over the reeling Minnesota Twins.

The Rangers won for the first time this season when scoring less than four runs. They had been 0-11 in such games.

"It's nerve-racking but when it's over it's fun," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said about close games. "You're not out there all afternoon after a long night game last night. We're playing much better at home and we've won some low-scoring games the last couple of days."

Juan Gonzalez had three hits for Texas, which swept consecutive three-game series for the first time since August 9-14, 1996. Texas swept Tampa Bay before doing the same to Minnesota, including a 10-inning, 4-3 win on Saturday.

Rookie Jeff Zimmerman (4-0) struck out two in a perfect eighth for the victory.

John Wetteland set down the first two batters in the ninth before Marty Cordova and Ron Coomer stroked consecutive singles. But Wetteland struck out Corey Koskie looking for his major league-leading 16th save in 17 chances.

"Zimmerman did his usual work and Wetteland made some big pitches when he had to," Oates said. "I knew it was only a matter of time before we started pitching better. Our staff has had a much better track record than that. I am pleased with what I've seen the last two weeks."

Cordova finished with three hits for Minnesota, which has lost five straight overall and nine in a row on the road. The Twins also have dropped their last eight meetings against the Rangers.

Rafael Palmeiro opened the eighth with a single against rookie Joe Mays (0-1) and was replaced by Greer, who moved to second on Gonzalez's single. Both runners moved up on Todd Zeile's sacrifice. Lefthander Travis Miller relieved and Stevens sliced his first pitch into shallow center, scoring Greer.

"We've got some good pitching, some good defense ansd some good hitting," Stevens said. "It's a good sign to put all three aspects of the game together. That will create some winning streaks."

Both starters were sharp. Twins rookie Dan Perkins gave up two runs -- one earned -- and four hits over 5 2/3 innings.

"I hit a bit of a wall and couldn't do much after that. I started thinking too much," Perkins said. "I was a little nervous to start the game. It's starting to get later in the season and I hope I can stop using that excuse soon."

Mark Clark turned in his best outing of the season, yielding two runs and four hits in seven innings with four strikeouts.

"These are the kinds of games we have to win," Clark said. "It's easy to go out there and score 10 or 12 runs but these games when you have to make good plays with runners in scoring position, that's when the win is big. It builds confidence for everybody."

The Rangers opened the scoring in the first. Luis Alicea reached on a forceout and advanced to third on a double by Gonzalez. Alicea came home on Perkins' wild pitch.

"The wild pitch was a slider, my foot slipped," Perkins said. I'm surprised I didn't toss it into the eighth row. I landed on my heel and that was bad."

Back-to-back doubles by Brent Gates and Cordova in the fourth tied it. Cordova is 14-for-28 with two homers and six RBI in his last seven games.

Roberto Kelly singled with one out in the fifth, took second on Perkins' throwing error and scored on Greg Zaun's single.

Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who has an 18-game hitting streak, had the day off.

Photos
(Click on any of them for a larger image

Twin pitcher Dan Perkins after a wild pitch	Tom Goodwin gets back to first on a pickoff attempt	Brent Gates gets into second on a double	Marty Cordova hits a double scoring Gates	First baseman Ron Coomer misses the throw on a pickoff attempt at first

Johnny Oates congratulates John Wetteland after the win

Box Score

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

BATTERIES:  MIN - DAN PERKINS, JOE MAYS (6TH), TRAVIS MILLER
                  (8TH), BOB WELLS (8TH) AND JAVIER VALENTIN
            TEX - MARK CLARK, JEFF ZIMMERMAN (8TH), JOHN
                  WETTELAND (9TH) AND GREGG ZAUN

             WP - JEFF ZIMMERMAN (4-0)
             LP - JOE MAYS (0-1)
           SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (16)

HOME RUNS:  MIN - NONE
            TEX - NONE

     TIME:  2:30     ATT:  40,286

PROBABLES:  MIN - LATROY HAWKINS (1-7, 8.73)
            ANA - TIM BELCHER (3-4, 7.67)

            KAN - JEFF SUPPAN (3-4, 3.60)
            TEX - RYAN GLYNN (0-0, 7.04)



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

MINNESOTA              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
T Walker 2b             4  0  0  0   0  1   0  .271
Allen lf                3  0  0  0   0  1   0  .276
 a-Lawton ph            1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .266
Gates 3b                4  1  2  0   0  0   0  .241
M Cordova dh            4  1  3  1   0  0   1  .295
 Davidson pr            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
Coomer 1b               4  0  1  0   0  1   1  .321
Koskie rf               3  0  0  1   0  2   3  .273
T Hunter cf             3  0  0  0   0  0   0  .217
Javier Valentin c       3  0  0  0   0  1   0  .225
Hocking ss              3  0  0  0   0  1   0  .252

Totals                 32  2  6  2   0  8   5

a-struck out for Allen in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - Gates (5, M Clark); M Cordova 2 (10, M Clark 2).
SF - Koskie. RBI - M Cordova (20), Koskie (17). Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - Koskie 2. Team LOB - 4.

FIELDING: E - Perkins (1, throw). DP: 1 (Javier Valentin-Hocking).

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
T Goodwin cf            3  0  1  0   1  0   1  .229
Alicea 2b               3  1  0  0   1  1   3  .150
R Palmeiro dh           4  0  1  0   0  1   2  .365
 Greer pr               0  1  0  0   0  0   0  .306
J Gonzalez rf           4  0  3  0   0  0   0  .325
Zeile 3b                2  0  0  0   0  2   1  .270
L Stevens 1b            4  0  1  1   0  2   2  .322
R Kelly lf              4  1  1  0   0  0   2  .346
Zaun c                  4  0  2  1   0  0   2  .231
Shave ss                3  0  0  0   0  0   1  .294

Totals                 31  3  9  2   2  6  14

BATTING: 2B - J Gonzalez 2 (11, Perkins 2). S - Zeile. RBI -
Zaun (3), L Stevens (28). Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Zeile 1, T Goodwin 1, L Stevens 1, Alicea 2, Zaun 1.
Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - T Goodwin (23, 2nd base off Mays/Javier Valentin).
CS - Alicea (1, 2nd base by Perkins/Javier Valentin).

MINNESOTA                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Perkins                       5 2/3   4   2   1   2   5   0   7.36
Mays (L, 0-1)                 1 2/3   4   1   1   0   1   0   5.53
Travis Miller                 0       1   0   0   0   0   0   1.80
B Wells                         2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   4.50

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
M Clark                       7       4   2   2   0   4   0   6.68
Je Zimmerman (W, 4-0)         1       0   0   0   0   2   0   1.32
Wetteland (S, 16)             1       2   0   0   0   2   0   3.92

Travis Miller pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP - Perkins. BALK - Perkins. HBP - Zeile (by Perkins).
Pitches-strikes: M Clark 90-61; Je Zimmerman 9-7; Wetteland
18-13; Perkins 88-51; Mays 25-16; Travis Miller 1-1; B Wells
5-4.  Ground balls-fly balls: M Clark 8-9; Je Zimmerman 1-0;
Wetteland 0-1; Perkins 7-4; Mays 1-3; Travis Miller 0-0; B Wells
0-2.  Batters faced: M Clark 25; Je Zimmerman 3; Wetteland 5;
Perkins 23; Mays 9; Travis Miller 1; B Wells 2.

UMPIRES: HP--Bill Miller. 1B--Tim Welke. 2B--Rich Garcia.
3B--Mike Reilly.
T--2:30.  Att--40,286.   Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, right to left.

Game Log

Minnesota Starting Lineups -- Todd Walker 2B, Chad Allen LF, Brent Gates 3B, Marty Cordova DH, Ron Coomer 1B, Corey Koskie RF, Torii Hunter CF, Javier Valentin C, Denny Hocking SS, Dan Perkins RHP.

Texas Starting Lineups -- Tom Goodwin CF, Luis Alicea 2B, Rafael Palmeiro DH, Juan Gonzalez RF, Todd Zeile 3B, Lee Stevens 1B, Roberto Kelly LF, Gregg Zaun C, Jon Shave SS, Mark Clark RHP.

Umpires -- Miller (HP), Welke (1B), Garcia (2B), Reilly (3B).

Gametime Weather: 75 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind right to left at 7 mph.

MINNESOTA 1ST: T Walker popped out to shallow left. Allen flied out to deep left. Gates singled to right. M Cordova flied out to shallow left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: T Goodwin walked. Alicea grounded into fielder's choice to second, T Goodwin out at second. R Palmeiro flied out to left. J Gonzalez doubled to right, Alicea to third. Alicea scored, J Gonzalez to third on Perkins wild pitch. Zeile struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, TEXAS 1.

MINNESOTA 2ND: Coomer lined out to right center. Koskie struck out looking. T Hunter flied out to deep right center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 2ND: L Stevens struck out swinging. R Kelly grounded out to shortstop. Zaun grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, TEXAS 1.

MINNESOTA 3RD: Javier Valentin grounded out to first. Hocking lined out to first. T Walker grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 3RD: Shave lined out to right. T Goodwin flied out to left. Alicea grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, TEXAS 1.

MINNESOTA 4TH: Allen flied out to right center. Gates doubled to right center. M Cordova doubled to deep right center, Gates scored. Coomer struck out swinging. Koskie grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 1, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 4TH: R Palmeiro flied out to deep right. J Gonzalez grounded out to shortstop. Zeile struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 1, TEXAS 1.

MINNESOTA 5TH: T Hunter grounded out to third. Javier Valentin flied out to center. Hocking grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 1, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 5TH: L Stevens struck out swinging. R Kelly singled to left. R Kelly to second on pitcher Perkins' throwing error. Zaun singled to right, R Kelly scored. Shave grounded out to third, Zaun to second. T Goodwin grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) MINNESOTA 1, TEXAS 2.

MINNESOTA 6TH: T Walker struck out swinging. Allen struck out swinging. Gates grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 1, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 6TH: Alicea walked. R Palmeiro struck out swinging. Alicea caught stealing, catcher to shortstop. J Gonzalez doubled to left. J Gonzalez to third on balk by Perkins. Zeile hit by pitch. Joe Mays relieved Dan Perkins. L Stevens flied out to shallow left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 1, TEXAS 2.

MINNESOTA 7TH: M Cordova doubled to left. Coomer grounded out to second, M Cordova to third. Koskie hit sacrifice fly to right, M Cordova scored. T Hunter grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 7TH: R Kelly flied out to deep center. Zaun singled to right. Shave lined out to left. T Goodwin singled to shallow center, Zaun to third. T Goodwin stole second. Alicea struck out looking. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, TEXAS 2.

MINNESOTA 8TH: Jeff Zimmerman relieved Mark Clark. Javier Valentin struck out swinging. Hocking struck out swinging. T Walker grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 8TH: R Palmeiro singled to right. Greer ran for R Palmeiro. J Gonzalez singled to left, Greer to second. Zeile sacrificed Greer to third, J Gonzalez to second. Travis Miller relieved Joe Mays. L Stevens singled to shallow center, Greer scored, J Gonzalez to third. Bob Wells relieved Travis Miller. R Kelly flied out to shallow right. Zaun fouled out to catcher. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, TEXAS 3.

MINNESOTA 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Jeff Zimmerman. Lawton hit for Allen. Lawton struck out swinging. Gates lined out to second. M Cordova reached on infield single. Davidson ran for M Cordova. Coomer singled to right, Davidson to third. Koskie struck out looking. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, TEXAS 3.