Game 56: June 7, 1999 (W: 3-2)
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Commentary (by me)

The TV guys gave Raffy player of the game, and while he did do a lot, I felt Todd Zeile deserved it.  If it wasn't for Todd, we wouldn't have gotten rolling, and he too was 3 for 4.  Don't get me wrong, I like Raffy, but I just felt for Todd Zeile last night.

Again, we got really great pitching.  7.0 (plus a batter or two in the 8th) out of Aaron Sele.  Jeff Zimmerman wasn't his most crisp (he allowed an inherited run to score), but he still pitched really well, and I thought Wetteland look like he was throwing lightning bolts out there.

This was very much a picher's duel until the 8th inning, and even then it was still well pitched.  These are great baseball games, I just wish they didn't start at friggin 9:15PM. 

I'm hoping that when the player's agreement is up for renewal after the 2000 season (I know 2001 is an option year, but it still has to be agreed upon), they make some sort of realignment, and get the Rangers out of this double time zone mess they're in.   I also want to see different Interleague teams, specifically NL East.  Yeah, yeah, I know, people want to see the Astros, but I'd rather see the Phillies, the Expos (Vladimir Guerrero), and the Braves down here.

Commentary (by Jim Meeks)

Aaron Sele and Raffy Palmeiro powered the Rangers over the LA Dodger$, 3-2, Monday.

Sele, who probably pitched his best game since the second game of the season, had the Dodgers way off-stride.

Meanwhile, Palmeiro, who was only supposed to be available for pinch-hitting duties on this Interleague road trip, has started the last 3 games - and by his bat alone, has lead the way to two victories.

Palmeiro, having a career year, is on his way to putting up numbers no Ranger player ever has, even surpassing Juan Gonzalez's fine seasons.

Jeff Zimmerman and John Wetteland (both putting up fairy-tale like numbers) shut the door in the 8th and 9th innings, respectively, to nail down a fine victory.

Game Recap

LOS ANGELES (TICKER) -- Aaron Sele won his third straight start and got help from one of baseball's best 1-2 bullpen punches as the Texas Rangers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2.

With impeccable control and a devastating curveball, Sele (6-4) gave up two runs and five hits while striking out four over seven-plus innings. He threw 56 of 80 pitches for strikes and left with a 3-1 lead.

Rookie Jeff Zimmerman continued his amazing season in the eighth. He yielded a walk, an infield hit and a sacrifice fly before getting Dave Hansen to foul out, stranding runners at first and second.

John Wetteland earned his major league-best 20th save with a perfect ninth inning.

Rafael Palmeiro and Todd Zeile each had three hits and an RBI for the Rangers, who lost two of three interleague games in Arizona over the weekend.

Texas also avenged last season's three-game sweep at home against the Dodgers and evened the all-time series at 4-4.

Los Angeles starter Ismael Valdes (5-4) pitched well but faltered in the eighth, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk. He yielded three runs and nine hits with a walk and eight strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings and fell to 1-3 in his last five starts.

Sele is unbeaten in four starts after giving up nine runs over 2 1/3 innings May 16 against Baltimore. He lowered his ERA to 5.26.

"The ERA is through the roof because of two games," he said.

The righthander allowed three hits and hit a batter through six scoreless innings before Trenidad Hubbard started the seventh with a double and scored on Angel Pena's RBI grounder, tying it 1-1.

"I just kind of hung around until our guys scored some runs," said Sele, who made his first trip to Dodger Stadium. "Fortunately, the defense played well behind us and I was able to keep us close."

Mark McLemore started the eighth with a single and, with one out, Juan Gonzalez walked and Palmeiro singled home a run. Ivan Rodriguez followed with a line single to right, giving Texas a 3-1 lead and knocking out Ismael.

"The eighth inning, he had low pitch count, doing well," Dodgers manager Davey Johnson said of Ismael. "But he made some mistakes. He pitched well and deserved an opportunity to get out of the inning."

Zimmerman faultered but stretched his scoreless streak to six games and 6 1/3 innings. He has allowed only 21 baserunners in 37 innings this season. The Rangers are 20-3 when he pitches.

"I hope some time soon Zimmerman gets some national attention," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. "His numbers are what they are. He just keeps keep doing it, doing it, doing it."

Wetteland is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and seven saves in his last eight outings, allowing only three hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts over 8 1/3 innings.

"He's a special individual," Oates said. "He does anything I ask him to do. He has a big impact on the other guys in the bullpen."

The Dodgers had their best chance against Zimmerman, but Eric Karros managed only a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the eighth before Hansen's foulout.

"Karros could have gotten some runs but he got some top spin on it," Johnson said.

With the Rangers leading 1-0 in the sixth, Gonzalez made the game's best defensive play, lunging at the right-field wall to corral Gary Sheffield's drive, leading off the inning.

Palmeiro played first base for just the third time this year and went 3-for-4, raising the American League's third-best batting average to .366.

"I'm doing OK but I'm not close to where I need to be," he said. "It bothers me some."

Todd Zeile snapped out of an 0-for-18 slump by going 3-for-3 with a walk and RBI. He opened the scoring in the second with a run-scoring double.

The Dodgers, who won two of three games against the Anaheim Angels over the weekend, lost center fielder Devon White after the third inning due to a sore right leg. White was hit with a pitch in the second.

Los Angeles already had been playing without regulars Todd Hundley, Todd Hollandsworth and Mark Grudzielanek due to injuries. Hundley shook off a sore left wrist and flied out to shallow left to end the game.

Photos
(Click on any of them for a larger image

Ranger starter Aaron Sele	Eric Young gets back to first	Tom Goodwin gets back to first

Box Score

Line Score
ML  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
TEXAS               0  1  0   0  0  0   0  2  0     3 10  2
LOS ANGELES         0  0  0   0  0  0   1  1  0     2  6  1   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  TEX - AARON SELE, JEFF ZIMMERMAN (8TH), JOHN
                  WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ
            LOS - ISMAEL VALDES, ALAN MILLS (8TH), PEDRO BORBON
                  (9TH), DOUG BOCHTLER (9TH) AND ANGEL PENA

             WP - AARON SELE (6-4)
             LP - ISMAEL VALDES (5-4)
           SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (20)

HOME RUNS:  TEX - NONE
            LOS - NONE

     TIME:  2:44     ATT:  26,462

PROBABLES:  TEX - MIKE MORGAN (6-4, 6.26)
            LOS - DARREN DREIFORT (5-4, 5.40)



Box Score
TEXAS (3) AT LOS ANGELES (2) - FINAL

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
T Goodwin cf            5  0  0  0   0  0   1  .236
Mclemore 2b             5  1  2  0   0  1   1  .303
Greer lf                4  0  0  0   1  1   2  .285
J Gonzalez rf           4  2  1  0   1  1   2  .323
R Palmeiro 1b           4  0  3  1   0  1   1  .366
I Rodriguez c           4  0  1  1   0  0   2  .311
Zeile 3b                3  0  3  1   1  0   0  .260
Clayton ss              4  0  0  0   0  2   7  .208
 Je Zimmerman p         0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 Wetteland p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
Sele p                  2  0  0  0   0  2   0  .000
 Shave ss               1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .255

Totals                 36  3 10  3   3  8  16

BATTING: 2B - Zeile (15, I Valdes); R Palmeiro (11, I Valdes).
S - Sele. RBI - Zeile (31), R Palmeiro (50), I Rodriguez (33).
2-out RBI - Zeile. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
Clayton 2, Greer 1, I Rodriguez 1, T Goodwin 1, J Gonzalez 1.
GIDP - Clayton.  Team LOB - 10.

BASERUNNING: SB - T Goodwin (24, 2nd base off I Valdes/A Pena).

FIELDING: E - Clayton (6, ground ball); I Rodriguez (2, throw).

LOS ANGELES            ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
E Young 2b              4  1  2  0   0  0   0  .257
Vizcaino ss             4  0  0  0   0  0   2  .274
Sheffield lf            3  0  1  0   1  0   0  .313
R Mondesi rf-cf         4  0  1  0   0  1   2  .284
Karros 1b               3  0  0  1   0  0   2  .266
D White cf              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .264
 T Hubbard cf           2  1  1  0   0  0   0  .211
 a-Hansen ph-rf         1  0  0  0   0  0   2  .400
A Beltre 3b             4  0  0  0   0  1   2  .311
A Pena c                4  0  1  1   0  1   0  .226
I Valdes p              3  0  0  0   0  2   2  .038
 Mills p                0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 Borbon p               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 Bochtler p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-Hundley ph           1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .226

Totals                 33  2  6  2   1  5  12

a-fouled to second for T Hubbard in the 8th; b-flied to left for
Bochtler in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - Sheffield (11, Sele); T Hubbard (1, Sele). SF -
Karros. RBI - A Pena (2), Karros (26). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - R Mondesi 2, I Valdes 1, Hansen 1.  Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - E Young (5, bobble). DP: 1 (E Young-Vizcaino-Karros).

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Sele (W, 6-4)                 7       5   2   2   0   4   0   5.26
Je Zimmerman (H, 8)           1       1   0   0   1   0   0   1.22
Wetteland (S, 20)             1       0   0   0   0   1   0   3.28

LOS ANGELES                  ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
I Valdes (L, 5-4)             7 1/3   9   3   3   1   8   0   3.69
Mills                           2/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   2.45
Borbon                          2/3   1   0   0   1   0   0   1.57
Bochtler                        1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   6.14

Sele pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

HBP - D White (by Sele).  Pitches-strikes: I Valdes 104-74;
Mills 6-2; Borbon 18-12; Bochtler 3-1; Sele 80-56; Je Zimmerman 20-12;
Wetteland 14-11.  Ground balls-fly balls: I Valdes 6-8; Mills 2-0;
Borbon 0-2; Bochtler 1-0; Sele 13-4; Je Zimmerman 0-3; Wetteland 1-1.
Batters faced: I Valdes 33; Mills 2; Borbon 4; Bochtler 1; Sele 28;
Je Zimmerman 5; Wetteland 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Jeff Nelson. 1B--Wally Bell. 2B--Mark Hirschbeck.
3B--Bruce Froemming.
T--2:44.  Att--26,462.   Weather: 65 degrees, clear.   Wind: 11 mph,
left to right.

ML       TEXAS AT LOS ANGELES
         NOTE:  LOS ANGELES' DEVON WHITE LEFT THE GAME AFTER THE BOTTOM
                OF THE THIRD INNING WITH A SORE RIGHT LEG.

Game Log

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

Los Angeles Starting Lineups -- Eric Young 2B, Jose Vizcaino SS, Gary Sheffield LF, Raul Mondesi RF, Eric Karros 1B, Devon White CF, Adrian Beltre 3B, Angel Pena C, Ismael Valdes RHP.

Umpires -- Nelson (HP), Bell (1B), M Hirschbeck (2B), Froemming (3B).

Gametime Weather: 65 degrees, Clear, wind left to right at 11 mph.

TEXAS 1ST: T Goodwin grounded out to shortstop. Mclemore flied out to left. Greer flied out to deep left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, LOS ANGELES 0.

LOS ANGELES 1ST: E Young grounded out to shortstop. Vizcaino grounded out to first. Sheffield doubled to left. R Mondesi lined out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, LOS ANGELES 0.

TEXAS 2ND: J Gonzalez singled to right. R Palmeiro struck out swinging. I Rodriguez grounded out to first, J Gonzalez to second. Zeile doubled to deep right center, J Gonzalez scored. Clayton grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 0.

LOS ANGELES 2ND: Karros grounded out to shortstop. D White hit by pitch. A Beltre flied out to right. A Pena singled to center, D White to second. I Valdes grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 0.

TEXAS 3RD: Sele struck out swinging. T Goodwin safe at first on 2nd baseman E Young's fielding error. Mclemore struck out swinging. T Goodwin stole second. Greer grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 0.

LOS ANGELES 3RD: E Young safe at first on shortstop Clayton's fielding error. Vizcaino grounded out to second, E Young to second. Sheffield grounded out to pitcher, E Young to third. R Mondesi struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 0.

TEXAS 4TH: T Hubbard in center. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro singled to deep right. I Rodriguez flied out to right center. Zeile singled to center, R Palmeiro to second. Clayton struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 0.

LOS ANGELES 4TH: Karros flied out to right. T Hubbard grounded out to shortstop. A Beltre struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 0.

TEXAS 5TH: Sele struck out swinging. T Goodwin grounded out to second. Mclemore flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 0.

LOS ANGELES 5TH: A Pena grounded out to second. I Valdes struck out looking. E Young singled to right. Vizcaino grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, E Young out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 0.

TEXAS 6TH: Greer struck out swinging. J Gonzalez flied out to left center. R Palmeiro doubled to deep right. I Rodriguez flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 0.

LOS ANGELES 6TH: Sheffield flied out to deep right. R Mondesi grounded out to third. Karros grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 0.

TEXAS 7TH: Zeile singled to center. Clayton struck out looking. Sele sacrificed Zeile to second. T Goodwin flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 0.

LOS ANGELES 7TH: T Hubbard doubled to deep center. T Hubbard to third on catcher I Rodriguez's throwing error. A Beltre grounded out to second. A Pena grounded out to shortstop, T Hubbard scored. I Valdes struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) TEXAS 1, LOS ANGELES 1.

TEXAS 8TH: Mclemore singled to right center. Greer flied out to deep center. J Gonzalez walked, Mclemore to second. R Palmeiro singled to right, Mclemore scored, J Gonzalez to third. I Rodriguez singled to right, J Gonzalez scored, R Palmeiro to second. Alan Mills relieved Ismael Valdes. Zeile walked, R Palmeiro to third, I Rodriguez to second. Clayton grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Zeile out at second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, LOS ANGELES 1.

LOS ANGELES 8TH: E Young singled to shallow center. Jeff Zimmerman relieved Aaron Sele. Shave at short. Vizcaino flied out to right. Sheffield walked, E Young to second. R Mondesi reached on infield single, E Young to third, Sheffield to second. Karros hit sacrifice fly to left, E Young scored. Hansen hit for T Hubbard. Hansen fouled out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, LOS ANGELES 2.

TEXAS 9TH: Pedro Borbon relieved Alan Mills. R Mondesi in center. Hansen in right. Shave flied out to right. T Goodwin flied out to left. Mclemore singled to left. Greer walked, Mclemore to second. Doug Bochtler relieved Pedro Borbon. J Gonzalez grounded into fielder's choice to third, Greer out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, LOS ANGELES 2.

LOS ANGELES 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Jeff Zimmerman. A Beltre grounded out to pitcher. A Pena struck out looking. Hundley hit for Bochtler. Hundley flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, LOS ANGELES 2.