Game 58: June 9, 1999 (L: 7-2)
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Commentary (by me)

Not available.

Commentary (by Jim Meeks)

I didn't get to see but about half the game Wednesday. I saw enough though - as Mark Clark was shelled and the Rangers lost for only the 3rd time in 15 games.

The Rangers played some good defense in the early innings, but Tod Zeile (again) let a ball go right through him and then there was no way for the Rangers to come back after being down 6-0. Zeile was not charged with an error (that may change because it was obviously an error, according to the radio guys), Zeile is going to wind up killing this team defensively and I really expect him to be dealt - or benched - in favor of someone else down the stretch.

The good news is that the Rangers finished the road trip at 3-3 against pitchers they never have seen or rarely see.

Friday, they open up a short three game homerstand against the Rockies, then back into troubled waters against the Yankees (4 games) and Boston (4 games) on the road, before almost a three-week stretch against AL West opponents.

Game Recap

LOS ANGELES (TICKER) -- Kevin Brown pitched solidly against the team that drafted him and Eric Karros smacked a three-run homer during a sixth-run fourth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 7-2 triumph over the Texas Rangers.

Brown (7-3), selected by Texas with the fourth overall pick in the 1986 draft, struck out six and allowed two runs and five hits over eight innings for his fifth win in his last six decisions. Brown improved to 2-1 against his former club.

Karros got the Dodgers rolling in the fourth by belting a 1-0 pitch from starter Mark Clark into the center-field seats for his eighth homer of the season. Karros finished 2-for-4 and hit .318 (7-for-22) during the six-game homestand, which Los Angeles split.

"Obviously we were struggling," Karros said. "To get a win before we go on the road is something we needed. When you give a guy like Brown a six-run lead, you like to think you have a good chance of winning."

"I'll take the breathing room any time," Brown said. "It's greatly appreciated. Hopefully, we can get on a winning streak here. I was trying to battle out there and not let anything snowball."

Angel Pena rapped an RBI single and Eric Young brought home Trenidad Hubbard and Pena with a two-run single for a 6-0 lead as the Dodgers sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning.

"This is what we needed, a little offense and a big spurt that shows we can still do it," Dodgers manager Davey Johnson said. "Brown did a good job. Two runs in eight innings is what we needed and Eric got the big blow. We needed something to break the tension and maybe tonight was the night."

Clark (3-5) was removed following the fourth after allowing six runs and six hits. Over his last two starts, Clark has been roughed up for 14 runs and 11 hits in just 6 1/3 innings.

"I made a bad pitch to Karros and that pretty much explains it all," Clark said. "I left a fastball up and paid for it. I have to go out there and do my job. Tonight, I didn't do it."

Texas got both of its runs in the fifth. With one out, Royce Clayton reached on an infield single and Luis Alicea stroke a double to deep-center field. Two batters later, Rusty Greer laced a two-run single, cutting the deficit to 6-2.

That was the last hit the Rangers collected as Brown and Jamie Arnold shut down Texas over the final 4 1/3 innings. The Rangers had their two-game winning streak snapped with just their third loss in the last 15 games.

"The three games we lost were to guys named (Randy) Johnson, (Andy) Benes and Brown," Rangers manager Johnn Oates said. "A lot of pitches got a lot of the plate, especially to Karros. When (Clark) gets in trouble, his pitches get up."

Young collected his third RBI when he singled home Hubbard in the sixth inning for a 7-2 lead. Young has five RBI over his last two games.

Photos
(Click on any of them for a larger image

3 year old Rex Pyjute sings the national anthem	Rusty Greer robs Eric Young of a home run in the first inning	Eric Karros' fourth inning home run trot	Eric Karros getting congrats for the homer

Box Score

Line Score
ML  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
TEXAS               0  0  0   0  2  0   0  0  0     2  5  1
LOS ANGELES         0  0  0   6  0  1   0  0  x     7 11  1   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  TEX - MARK CLARK, JOHN BURKETT (5TH), MIKE VENAFRO
                  (7TH), RYAN GLYNN (8TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ
            LOS - KEVIN BROWN, JAMIE ARNOLD (9TH) AND ANGEL PENA

             WP - KEVIN BROWN (7-3)
             LP - MARK CLARK (3-5)
           SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS:  TEX - NONE
            LOS - ERIC KARROS (8) OFF M CLARK IN THE 4TH, 2 ON

     TIME:  2:31     ATT:  46,539

PROBABLES:  COL - DARRYL KILE (4-3, 4.85)
            TEX - RICK HELLING (5-6, 4.80)

            LOS - CARLOS PEREZ (2-7, 6.18)
            OAK - KENNY ROGERS (3-2, 3.54)



Box Score
TEXAS (2) AT LOS ANGELES (7) - FINAL

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
T Goodwin cf            4  0  0  0   0  1   3  .234
Mclemore 2b             2  0  0  0   1  0   0  .304
 Burkett p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 Venafro p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-Zaun ph              1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .242
 Glynn p                0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
Greer lf                4  0  1  2   0  0   0  .284
J Gonzalez rf           3  0  1  0   1  1   2  .320
R Palmeiro 1b           3  0  1  0   1  2   1  .363
I Rodriguez c           4  0  0  0   0  0   4  .306
Zeile 3b                3  0  0  0   1  1   0  .255
Clayton ss              3  1  1  0   0  0   1  .229
M Clark p               1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .000
 a-Alicea ph-2b         2  1  1  0   0  1   0  .145

Totals                 30  2  5  2   4  7  12

a-doubled for M Clark in the 5th; b-grounded to second for
Venafro in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - Alicea (4, K Brown). RBI - Greer 2 (43). 2-out RBI
- Greer 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - I Rodriguez
1, J Gonzalez 1. GIDP - I Rodriguez 2.  Team LOB - 5.

FIELDING: E - Clayton (7, throw).

LOS ANGELES            ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
E Young 2b              5  0  3  3   0  0   0  .268
 Arnold p               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .667
Vizcaino ss             5  0  1  0   0  0   4  .260
Sheffield lf            4  1  1  0   0  0   1  .306
R Mondesi rf            3  1  0  0   1  0   1  .281
Karros 1b               4  1  2  3   0  1   0  .268
Hansen 3b               3  1  0  0   1  0   2  .364
T Hubbard cf            4  2  2  0   0  2   0  .321
A Pena c                4  1  1  1   0  2   1  .229
K Brown p               1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .033
 a-C Sanford ph-2b      1  0  1  0   0  0   0  .250

Totals                 34  7 11  7   2  6   9

a-singled for K Brown in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - Karros (16, Burkett). HR - Karros (8, 4th inning
off M Clark 2 on, 1 out). S - K Brown 2. RBI - Karros 3 (29), A
Pena (3), E Young 3 (23). 2-out RBI - E Young 3. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - Hansen 2, Vizcaino 1.  Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - Karros (5, 2nd base off Burkett/I Rodriguez).

FIELDING: E - Hansen (3, drop foul). DP: 2 (Vizcaino-Karros,
Arnold-Vizcaino-Karros).

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
M Clark (L, 3-5)              4       6   6   6   2   4   1   7.90
Burkett                       2 2/3   3   1   1   0   1   0   9.09
Venafro                         1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   2.13
Glynn                         1       2   0   0   0   1   0   8.20

LOS ANGELES                  ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
K Brown (W, 7-3)              8       5   2   2   3   6   0   2.69
Arnold                        1       0   0   0   1   1   0   3.91

Pitches-strikes: K Brown 114-72; Arnold 10-5; M Clark 68-45;
Burkett 43-30; Venafro 1-1; Glynn 14-10.  Ground balls-fly
balls: K Brown 9-9; Arnold 2-0; M Clark 4-4; Burkett 6-1;
Venafro 1-0; Glynn 2-0.  Batters faced: K Brown 31; Arnold 3; M
Clark 20; Burkett 12; Venafro 1; Glynn 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Mark Hirschbeck. 1B--Bruce Froemming. 2B--Jeff
Nelson. 3B--Wally Bell.
T--2:31.  Att--46,539.   Weather: 64 degrees, clear.   Wind: 14
mph, left to right.

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, Mark Clark RHP.

Los Angeles Starting Lineups -- Eric Young 2B, Jose Vizcaino SS, Gary Sheffield LF, Raul Mondesi RF, Eric Karros 1B, Dave Hansen 3B, Trenidad Hubbard CF, Angel Pena C, Kevin Brown RHP.

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

Gametime Weather: 64 degrees, Clear, wind left to right at 14 mph.

TEXAS 1ST: T Goodwin struck out swinging. Mclemore flied out to deep center. Greer lined out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, LOS ANGELES 0.

LOS ANGELES 1ST: E Young flied out to deep left. Vizcaino singled to center. Sheffield lined out to center. R Mondesi grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Vizcaino out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, LOS ANGELES 0.

TEXAS 2ND: J Gonzalez singled to center. R Palmeiro struck out swinging. I Rodriguez grounded into double play, shortstop to first, J Gonzalez out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, LOS ANGELES 0.

LOS ANGELES 2ND: Karros struck out swinging. Hansen flied out to left. T Hubbard struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, LOS ANGELES 0.

TEXAS 3RD: Zeile walked. Clayton grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Zeile out at second. M Clark struck out swinging. T Goodwin fouled out to catcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, LOS ANGELES 0.

LOS ANGELES 3RD: A Pena struck out swinging. K Brown struck out swinging. E Young grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, LOS ANGELES 0.

TEXAS 4TH: Mclemore flied out to deep left. Greer grounded out to second. J Gonzalez walked. R Palmeiro singled to left center, J Gonzalez to third. I Rodriguez fouled out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, LOS ANGELES 0.

LOS ANGELES 4TH: Vizcaino lined out to center. Sheffield singled to center. R Mondesi walked, Sheffield to second. Karros homered to center, Sheffield and R Mondesi scored. Hansen walked. T Hubbard singled to right, Hansen to third. A Pena singled to center, Hansen scored, T Hubbard to second. K Brown sacrificed T Hubbard to third, A Pena to second. E Young singled to left, T Hubbard and A Pena scored. Vizcaino grounded out to pitcher. (6 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, LOS ANGELES 6.

TEXAS 5TH: Zeile flied out to right center. Clayton reached on infield single. Alicea hit for M Clark. Alicea doubled to deep center, Clayton to third. T Goodwin fouled out to first. Mclemore walked. Greer singled to center, Clayton and Alicea scored, Mclemore to second. J Gonzalez grounded into fielder's choice to third, Greer out at second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, LOS ANGELES 6.

LOS ANGELES 5TH: Alicea at second. John Burkett relieved Mark Clark. Sheffield grounded out to second. R Mondesi grounded out to third. Karros safe at first on shortstop Clayton's throwing error. Karros stole second. Hansen grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 2, LOS ANGELES 6.

TEXAS 6TH: R Palmeiro struck out swinging. I Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop. Zeile grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, LOS ANGELES 6.

LOS ANGELES 6TH: T Hubbard singled to right. A Pena struck out looking. K Brown sacrificed T Hubbard to second. E Young singled to shallow right, T Hubbard scored. Vizcaino grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, LOS ANGELES 7.

TEXAS 7TH: Clayton grounded out to first. Alicea continued to bat after dropped foul ball by 3rd baseman Hansen. Alicea struck out swinging. T Goodwin flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 2, LOS ANGELES 7.

LOS ANGELES 7TH: Sheffield grounded out to shortstop. R Mondesi flied out to right. Karros doubled to deep left. Mike Venafro relieved John Burkett. Hansen grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, LOS ANGELES 7.

TEXAS 8TH: Zaun hit for Venafro. Zaun grounded out to second. Greer lined out to third. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, LOS ANGELES 7.

LOS ANGELES 8TH: Ryan Glynn relieved Mike Venafro. T Hubbard struck out looking. A Pena grounded out to third. C Sanford hit for K Brown. C Sanford singled to right. E Young singled to right, C Sanford to third. Vizcaino grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, E Young out at second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, LOS ANGELES 7.

TEXAS 9TH: C Sanford at second. Jamie Arnold relieved Kevin Brown. R Palmeiro walked. I Rodriguez grounded into double play, pitcher to shortstop to first, R Palmeiro out at second. Zeile grounded out to shorstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, LOS ANGELES 7.