Game 59: June 11, 1999 (W: 3-2)
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Commentary (by me)

Royce Clayton doesn't hit many home runs, but when he does, he does it off someone good.  Last night it was Darryl Kile giving up a homer to Royce in the 6th, tying the game; Royce's second of the year.  His other home run was last week in Arizona off Randy Johnson.  Royce is playing and hitting better lately, but I get the feeling he's still not all there.

All three Ranger runs were courtesy of the longball.   The other one was Rafael Palmeiro in the bottom of the eighth inning, with a two run blast to win the game.  He's definitely Mr. Clutch this season, that's for sure.

In a disturbing trend in the last month, Rick Helling pitched excellent, but didn't get any runs, and was removed, and the bullpen swiped his run for him (again Zimmerman, who is now 7-0 in relief).  It's great that he's pitching well, but our offense needs to wake up a bit earlier during Helling's games.  Helling is lowering his ERA, he's down to 4.5.  That's still not that great, but considering how much up in the stratosphere it was after April, it's great to see it somewhere near reality.

In the game, Tom Goodwin injured himself running from first to third, and had to come out of the game.  It looked fairly bad when he was being helped off the field, and Roberto Kelly came in for him.  With Mike Simms ready to come off the DL, I wonder what will happen.   The Rangers said that Ruben Mateo will be in Arlington today, so that brings up an interesting scenario.   If Goodwin goes on the DL, do they give the job to Kelly and activate Simms for backup?    Do they call up Mateo, give him the job, leave Kelly as the backup (possibly pissing him off in the last year of his contract with us), and leave Simms on the DL (probably pissing him off, too)?  Do we bring up Mateo, give the job to Kelly, and have Mateo as a backup?   Do we activate Simms, give Kelly the job, with Simms as backup, and leave Mateo in AAA?    It's an intersting scenario.  As I write this (1:45PM on Saturday the 12th), the decision still hasn't been made (or I can't find it on the net).   I'm really curious to see what happens here.

Personally, I'd like to give it to Kelly and activate Simms, leaving Mateo in AAA.  That is if the injury to Goodwin requires a trip to the DL, and it isn't too long term.  If it *IS* a long term thing, bring up Mateo give him the job, keep Kelly as a backup, and still activate Simms, and send one of the bullpen guys down to AAA.  I think we're out of options on Simms, and we have to expose him to the wire.  I don't really want to lose him.

Commentary (by Jim Meeks)

Rafael Palmeiro's 2 run homer in the 8th inning led the Rangers to a 3-2 comeback victory over the Rockies Friday.

Palmeiro just keeps coming through with the big hit - he has 4 of the last 5 game-winning RBI's for the Rangers - all of them late in the ball game.

Jeff Zimmerman, now an amazing 7-0 with an ERA of 1.13 and John Wetteland shut down the Rockies in the last 2 innings.

These two have been outstanding as now the Rangers' bullpen is 15-1 with 31 saves.

Rick Helling pitched well for 7 innings but Texas had a hard time scoring off of Darryl Kile.

Kile might wind up in a Rangers' uniform before the trade deadline. This is a pitcher the Rangers wanted a couple of years ago but he chose Rockies' money instead. The Rockies would want a couple of Minor League pitchers for him and probably Cesar King as well.

Tom Goodwin injured his hip during the game running the bases. There's no word yet as I write this how serious an injury it is but this may well open the door for Ruben Mateo, by far the highest rated offensive prospect in baseball, who's having a monster year at AAA.

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- Rafael Palmeiro once again delivered in the late innings, belting a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth as the Texas Rangers earned a 3-2 interleague victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Vinny Castilla, baseball's newest Iron Man, had given the Rockies a 2-1 lead in the top half of the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly off rookie Jeff Zimmerman (7-0) before Texas rallied.

Castilla has played in 304 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the majors. Albert Belle of Baltimore had played in 392 straight games before being benched by manager Ray Miller tonight in Atlanta.

Juan Gonzalez singled with one out in the eighth to chase Colorado starter Darryl Kile and Rockies manager Jim Leyland went to lefthander Chuck McElroy (2-1) to face Palmeiro.

But that strategy backfired as Palmerio hit a 2-0 pitch over the right-field wall for his 18th homer. Palmeiro has knocked in the winning run for the Rangers in each of their last three wins and four of five overall.

"Everybody goes through their streaks," Palmeiro said. "It's just my turn. Anytime you can get the big hit and help the team, it's special."

"Palmeiro is a great hitter and he did what he was supposed to do," McElroy said. "I have to swallow it and move on because I could be in the same situation again."

Texas manager Johnny Oates also was impressed with Palmeiro.

"He hasn't surprised me," Oates said. "Who would've thought that he would've been up at the plate with the game on the line in so many situations? He has certainly come through for us."

John Wetteland worked a perfect ninth for his major league-leading 21st save in 23 chances.

Royce Clayton added a solo homer in the sixth for the Rangers, who extended their home-winning streak to eight while winning for the 13th time in their last 16 games overall.

Dante Bichette smacked a solo shot, leading off the fourth against Texas starter Rick Helling to give the Rockies a 1-0 advantage.

Kile limited the Rangers to just a pair of singles through the first five innings before Clayton led off the sixth with his second homer to tie the game.

The Rockies took the lead in the eighth with the help of an error. Darryl Hamilton led off with a single and went to third when Helling threw Neifi Perez's bunt wildly to first. After an intentional walk to Larry Walker, Zimmerman relieved Helling.

Zimmerman retired Bichette on an infield pop out before Castilla hit a sacrifice fly to deep left.

Helling had one of his best starts of the season, allowing two runs -- one earned -- and six hits. He walked two and struck out a season-high 10.

Colorado got a solid performance from Kile, who gave up two runs and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings. The righthander walked a pair and struck out seven.

The Rangers' Tom Goodwin, the American League leader with 27 stolen bases, left the game in the sixth inning with an injured hip.

Photos
(Click on any of them for a larger image

Rockies' starting pitcher Darryl Kile fields a grounder	Juan Gonzalez fouls it off...	...and Henry Blanco catches it	Raffy rounding third after his game winning home run

Box Score

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

BATTERIES:  COL - DARRYL KILE, CHUCK MCELROY (8TH), MIKE DEJEAN
                  (8TH) AND HENRY BLANCO
            TEX - RICK HELLING, JEFF ZIMMERMAN (8TH), JOHN
                  WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

             WP - JEFF ZIMMERMAN (7-0)
             LP - CHUCK MCELROY (2-1)
           SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (21)

HOME RUNS:  COL - DANTE BICHETTE (11) OFF HELLING IN THE 4TH, 0 ON
            TEX - ROYCE CLAYTON (2) OFF KILE IN THE 6TH, 0 ON
                  RAFAEL PALMEIRO (18) OFF MCELROY IN THE 8TH, 1 ON

     TIME:  2:32     ATT:  39,627

PROBABLES:  COL - PEDRO ASTACIO (5-5, 4.81)
            TEX - AARON SELE (6-4, 5.26)



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

COLORADO               ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
D Hamilton cf           4  1  2  0   0  1   1  .307
N Perez ss              4  0  1  0   0  1   4  .289
L Walker rf             3  0  1  0   1  2   1  .364
Bichette lf             4  1  1  1   0  1   5  .275
Castilla 3b             3  0  0  1   0  2   3  .278
Helton 1b               4  0  0  0   0  2   2  .262
Manwaring dh            3  0  0  0   0  1   0  .222
 a-L Harris ph          1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .216
Shumpert 2b             3  0  1  0   1  0   0  .389
Blanco c                3  0  0  0   0  1   1  .275
 b-J Reed ph            1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .241

Totals                 33  2  6  2   2 11  17

a-flied to right for Manwaring in the 9th; b-grounded to second
for Blanco in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - L Walker (10, Helling). HR - Bichette (11, 4th
inning off Helling 0 on, 0 out). SF - Castilla. RBI - Bichette
(46), Castilla (34). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
Castilla 2, L Walker 1, N Perez 1, Helton 1.  Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - Shumpert (2, 2nd base off Helling/I
Rodriguez).

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
T Goodwin cf            3  0  2  0   0  0   0  .240
 R Kelly pr-cf          1  0  0  0   0  1   2  .330
Mclemore 2b             4  0  0  0   0  0   5  .298
Greer lf                4  0  1  0   0  0   0  .284
J Gonzalez rf           4  1  1  0   0  1   2  .319
R Palmeiro dh           3  1  1  2   1  1   0  .363
I Rodriguez c           4  0  0  0   0  1   3  .300
Zeile 3b                4  0  0  0   0  1   0  .250
L Stevens 1b            2  0  0  0   1  2   0  .313
Clayton ss              3  1  3  1   0  0   0  .250

Totals                 32  3  8  3   2  7  12

BATTING: 2B - Greer (21, Kile). HR - Clayton (2, 6th inning off
Kile 0 on, 0 out); R Palmeiro (18, 8th inning off Mcelroy 1 on,
1 out). RBI - Clayton (8), R Palmeiro 2 (54). Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - Mclemore 3, I Rodriguez 2.  Team LOB -
7.

FIELDING: E - Helling (1, throw).

COLORADO                     ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Kile                          7 1/3   7   2   2   2   7   1   4.63
Mcelroy (L, 2-1; BS, 3)       0       1   1   1   0   0   1   7.17
Dejean                          2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   6.83

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Helling                       7       6   2   1   2  10   1   4.52
Je Zimmerman (W, 7-0)         1       0   0   0   0   1   0   1.13
Wetteland (S, 21)             1       0   0   0   0   0   0   3.25

Helling pitched to 3 batters in the 8th.
Mcelroy pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP - Helling. IBB - R Palmeiro (by Kile); L Walker (by Helling).
Pitches-strikes: Helling 124-77; Je Zimmerman 9-7; Wetteland
10-7; Kile 108-65; Mcelroy 3-1; Dejean 6-5.  Ground balls-fly
balls: Helling 5-6; Je Zimmerman 0-2; Wetteland 1-2; Kile 10-5;
Mcelroy 0-0; Dejean 2-0.  Batters faced: Helling 30; Je
Zimmerman 3; Wetteland 3; Kile 31; Mcelroy 1; Dejean 2.

UMPIRES: HP--Durwood Merrill. 1B--John Hirschbeck. 2B--Dave
Phillips. 3B--Rocky Roe.
T--2:32.  Att--39,627.   Weather: 91 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 6 mph, left to right.


ML       COLORADO AT TEXAS
         NOTE:  TEXAS CENTER FIELDER TOM GOODWIN LEFT THE GAME IN THE
                BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH INNING WITH AN APPARENT LEFT LEG
                INJURY.

ML       COLORADO AT TEXAS
         NOTE:  TEXAS' TOM GOODWIN LEFT THE GAME IN THE BOTTOM OF THE
                SIXTH INNING WITH AN INJURY TO HIS LEFT HIP FLEXOR.
                GOODWIN'S STATUS IS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME AND HE WILL HAVE
                AN MRI DONE TOMORROW.

Game Log

Colorado Starting Lineups -- Darryl Hamilton CF, Neifi Perez SS, Larry Walker RF, Dante Bichette LF, Vinny Castilla 3B, Todd Helton 1B, Kirt Manwaring DH, Terry Shumpert 2B, Henry Blanco C, Darryl Kile RHP.

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.

Umpires -- D Merrill (HP), J Hirschbeck (1B), Phillips (2B), Roe (3B).

Gametime Weather: 91 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind left to right at 6 mph.

COLORADO 1ST: D Hamilton struck out looking. N Perez singled to left. L Walker doubled to deep left, N Perez to third. Bichette struck out swinging. Castilla struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: T Goodwin grounded out to second. Mclemore grounded out to pitcher. Greer flied out to deep left center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, TEXAS 0.

COLORADO 2ND: Helton struck out looking. Manwaring grounded out to third. Shumpert grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 2ND: J Gonzalez grounded out to second. R Palmeiro struck out looking. I Rodriguez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, TEXAS 0.

COLORADO 3RD: Blanco flied out to shallow right. D Hamilton singled to left. N Perez struck out swinging. D Hamilton to second on Helling wild pitch. L Walker struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 3RD: Zeile grounded out to shortstop. L Stevens struck out swinging. Clayton singled to center. T Goodwin singled to center, Clayton to third. T Goodwin to second advancing on throw. Mclemore lined out to first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 0, TEXAS 0.

COLORADO 4TH: Bichette homered to left center. Castilla struck out looking. Helton lined out to center. Manwaring flied out to shallow right center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 4TH: Greer grounded out to first. J Gonzalez fouled out to catcher. R Palmeiro grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 0.

COLORADO 5TH: Shumpert walked. Shumpert stole second. Blanco flied out to center, Shumpert to third. D Hamilton grounded out to first. N Perez flied out to shallow center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 5TH: I Rodriguez grounded out to third. Zeile grounded out to third. L Stevens struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 0.

COLORADO 6TH: L Walker struck out looking. Bichette popped out to second. Castilla grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 6TH: Clayton homered to right center. T Goodwin singled to center. Mclemore popped out to pitcher. Greer doubled to right, T Goodwin to third. R Kelly ran for T Goodwin. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro intentionally walked. I Rodriguez grounded into fielder's choice to second, R Palmeiro out at second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 1.

COLORADO 7TH: R Kelly in center. Helton grounded out to first. Manwaring struck out swinging. Shumpert reached on infield single. Blanco struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 7TH: Zeile struck out looking. L Stevens walked. Clayton singled to right center, L Stevens to second. R Kelly struck out swinging. Mclemore grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 1.

COLORADO 8TH: D Hamilton singled to right. N Perez bunted into fielder's choice to pitcher, D Hamilton to third, N Perez to second on pitcher Helling's throwing error. L Walker intentionally walked. Jeff Zimmerman relieved Rick Helling. Bichette popped out to second. Castilla hit sacrifice fly to deep left, D Hamilton scored, N Perez to third. Helton struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) COLORADO 2, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 8TH: Greer lined out to shortstop. J Gonzalez singled to right. Chuck Mcelroy relieved Darryl Kile. R Palmeiro homered to right, J Gonzalez scored. Mike Dejean relieved Chuck Mcelroy. I Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop. Zeile grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 2, TEXAS 3.

COLORADO 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Jeff Zimmerman. L Harris hit for Manwaring. L Harris flied out to right. Shumpert fouled out to catcher. J Reed hit for Blanco. J Reed grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 2, TEXAS 3.