Game 60: June 12, 1999 (L: 8-7)
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Commentary (by me)

My wife and I were out for the evening seeing a movie (Austin Powers II), so we didn't hear/see much of the game at all. We did hear part of a pre-game interview with Jeff Zimmerman where he talked a bit about his brother with the Mariners, and what it's been like being part of the bullpen this year. Zim did say one thing that I totally agreed with him on. He does not like the nickname "The Zimmenator" that the TV guys have given him.

When the movie was over, and we got in the car, I turned on the radio, and started listening. The score was I believe 8-4 at the time, and while we were driving, I heard Mateo's name. At that point, I hadn't found out about the roster move - the short time we listened to the pre-game in the car, they didn't mention it. Mateo hit his first dinger of his career (didn't see it, only in replays), and he almost hit two, but seemed to have a good game for his first. There was a miscommunication late in the game with Juan on a fly ball that they almost appaered to run into each other over. Still, good first outing.

So, they had put Goodwin on the DL, and brought up Ruben Mateo. If you read my commentary from yesterday, this is what I didn't want to have happen, as I figured it would piss off Simms & Kelly (there was an article in today's Dallas Morning News about that same issue). Anyway, now that he's here, I would like him to stay, but I have a feeling that we'll be losing either Simms or Kelly in the process. That's a shame, we have done good with these guys, but if we could only keep one, I'd rather keep Kelly.

Oh well. Aaron Sele seemed to be pitching well, but caught a really bad break in the bottom of the 4th, and the Rockies scored four runs because of it. :( Not the greatest outing for him, but not the worst - our bullpen picked up the slack pretty good.

I'd write more, but I only saw the last two innings on TV, and listened to one on the radio - by this point, all the big stuff had happened already. :)

Commentary (by Jim Meeks)

Not available.

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- Todd Helton knocked in four runs as the Colorado Rockies halted the Texas Rangers' eight-game home winning streak, 8-7, in an interleague matchup.

Helton delivered a three-run double in the third and drove home a run two innings later when he bounced into a forceout, helping the Rockies build a 7-4 advantage.

Darryl Hamilton added three hits and scored twice for Colorado, which won for the second time in five interleague contests.

Pedro Astacio (6-5) captured his second straight win, allowing four runs -- two earned -- and eight hits over six innings. The righthander walked two and struck out seven.

Colorado closer Dave Veres worked the final 1 2/3 innings, surrendering a two-out solo homer in the ninth to Todd Zeile before matching his career high with his eighth save in 12 chances.

Recalled from the minors earlier in the day, rookie Ruben Mateo hit a two-run homer in his first major league game and Rusty Greer and Mark McLemore had three hits apiece for Texas.

Rangers starter Aaron Sele (6-5) had a three-game winning streak stopped as he was roughed up for seven runs and nine hits in four innings.

After Larry Walker plated the Rockies' first run in the opening inning with a groundout, Colorado added four more in the third off Sele.

Henry Blanco and Hamilton singled before Neifi Perez walked to load the bases. Sele struck out Walker and Dante Bichette but walked Vinny Castilla to force home a run. Helton followed by belting 2-2 pitch down the right-field line to clear the bases and give the Rockies a 5-0 cushion.

"I got a pitch on the inside part of the plate and I was able to pull it down the line," Helton said. "It got us off to a good start and we were able to hold on."

Texas got on the board in the bottom half of the inning as Greer delivered an RBI double and Rafael Palmeiro came through with a run-scoring single.

The Rockies ended Sele's night in the fifth. Walker started the inning with a single and Bichette doubled him to third, setting the stage for Castilla's RBI single. Rookie Mike Venafro relieved Sele and Helton bounced into a forceout, extending the lead to 7-2.

"I was unhappy with the pitch sequence all night long," Sele said. "I threw way too many breaking balls tonight. You can't just get by without throwing fastballs. I was throwing 50 percent breaking balls."

In the bottom of the inning, McLemore led off with a single and the highly touted Mateo followed with his first homer over the left-field wall.

"It's really special. I feel good about it in some ways because I was able to get on base," said Mateo of his debut. "But I hope we could do better tomorrow. I was happy to get the home run, but unhappy because we didn't win."

Bichette drove in the Rockies' final run in the sixth with an infield single.

The Rangers closed to 8-5 in the seventh on Palmeiro's single off Jerry DiPoto and had the bases loaded with one out. But Curtis Leskanic came on and struck out Ivan Rodriguez and retired Zeile on a grounder.

Texas, which left 10 men on base, again squandered a chance for big inning in the eighth. Royce Clayton singled with one out before McLemore and Mateo walked. Veres relieved Leskanic and Greer lofted a sacrifice fly to bring the Rangers within 8-6.

Facing Juan Gonzalez, the American League Most Valuable Player two of the last three years who led the majors with 157 RBI in 1998, Veres struck him out to end the inning.

"There were so many thing we could've done out there to change the game," Texas manager Johnny Oates said. "It was an uphill battle all night. We just kept coming back and even got the go-ahead runs on base late in the game. But we just couldn't pull it out."

Zeile's 10th homer in the ninth closed the scoring.

Photos
(Click on any of them for a larger image

Todd Helton goes after a foul ball	Neifi Perez forces Lee Stevens at second	Ruben Mateo in his first major league game, right before hitting a home run	Hank Aaron, Vinny Castilla, & Juan Gonzalez before the game.  The bats were signed by all the team members as gifts for Aaron.	Juan Gonzalez holding the Rangers signed team bat for Aaron

Aaron presenting Juan with his 1998 MVP Trophy	Hank Aaron addresses the crowd with the various gifts for him at his feet

Box Score

Line Score
ML  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
COLORADO            1  0  4   0  2  1   0  0  0     8 13  1
TEXAS               0  0  2   0  2  0   1  1  1     7 13  0   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  COL - PEDRO ASTACIO, JERRY DIPOTO (7TH), CURTIS
                  LESKANIC (7TH), DAVE VERES (8TH) AND HENRY
                  BLANCO
            TEX - AARON SELE, MIKE VENAFRO (5TH), DANNY
                  PATTERSON (6TH), MIKE MUNOZ (8TH), TIM
                  CRABTREE (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

             WP - PEDRO ASTACIO (6-5)
             LP - AARON SELE (6-5)
           SAVE - DAVE VERES (8)

HOME RUNS:  COL - NONE
            TEX - RUBEN MATEO (1) OFF ASTACIO IN THE 5TH, 1 ON
                  TODD ZEILE (10) OFF D VERES IN THE 9TH, 0 ON

     TIME:  3:22     ATT:  46,851

PROBABLES:  COL - BOBBY M JONES (1-5, 4.83)
            TEX - MIKE MORGAN (6-4, 6.50)



Box Score
COLORADO (8) AT TEXAS (7) - FINAL

COLORADO               ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
D Hamilton cf           4  2  3  0   0  0   1  .315
N Perez ss              4  1  0  0   1  0   3  .284
L Walker rf             4  1  1  1   0  1   4  .362
Bichette lf             5  1  2  1   0  2   3  .278
Castilla 3b             4  1  1  2   1  0   2  .277
Helton 1b               5  0  2  4   0  0   1  .265
J Reed dh               5  0  1  0   0  2   3  .238
Shumpert 2b             4  0  1  0   0  0   2  .364
Blanco c                3  2  2  0   1  0   1  .289

Totals                 38  8 13  8   3  5  20

BATTING: 2B - Helton (13, Sele); Bichette (15, Sele); Shumpert
(3, D Patterson). 3B - D Hamilton (2, Sele). S - D Hamilton.
RBI - L Walker (46), Castilla 2 (36), Helton 4 (37), Bichette (47).
2-out RBI - Castilla, Helton 3, Bichette. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - J Reed 1, Castilla 1, Blanco 1. GIDP - L Walker.
Team LOB - 8.

FIELDING: E - N Perez (10, throw). DP: 1 (Helton-N Perez-Astacio).

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore 2b             4  2  3  0   1  1   0  .307
Mateo cf                4  2  1  2   1  0   3  .250
Greer lf                4  1  3  2   0  1   3  .292
J Gonzalez rf           3  0  0  0   2  3   4  .314
R Palmeiro dh           5  0  2  2   0  1   1  .364
I Rodriguez c           5  0  1  0   0  1   5  .298
Zeile 3b                5  1  2  1   0  1   3  .253
L Stevens 1b            4  0  0  0   1  2   0  .306
Clayton ss              4  1  1  0   0  0   2  .250

Totals                 38  7 13  7   5 10  21

BATTING: 2B - Zeile (16, Astacio); Greer (22, Astacio). HR -
Mateo (1, 5th inning off Astacio 1 on, 0 out); Zeile (10, 9th inning
off D Veres 0 on, 2 out). SF - Greer. RBI - Greer 2 (45),
R Palmeiro 2 (56), Mateo 2 (2), Zeile (33). 2-out RBI - R Palmeiro,
Zeile. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Clayton 1,
I Rodriguez 1, Zeile 2, J Gonzalez 1. GIDP - R Palmeiro.
Team LOB - 10.

BASERUNNING: CS - I Rodriguez (3, 2nd base by Astacio/Blanco).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (Clayton-Mclemore-L Stevens).

COLORADO                     ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Astacio (W, 6-5)              6       8   4   2   2   7   1   4.69
Dipoto                          1/3   3   1   1   1   0   0   4.36
Leskanic (H, 3)               1       1   1   1   2   2   0   5.17
D Veres (S, 8)                1 2/3   1   1   1   0   1   1   4.75

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Sele (L, 6-5)                 4       9   7   7   2   3   0   5.86
Venafro                       1 2/3   0   1   1   1   1   0   2.33
D Patterson                   1 1/3   2   0   0   0   0   0   4.44
M Munoz                       1       1   0   0   0   0   0   3.96
Crabtree                      1       1   0   0   0   1   0   3.27

Sele pitched to 3 batters in the 5th.

HBP - L Walker (by Venafro).  Pitches-strikes: Sele 79-51;
Venafro 24-12; D Patterson 17-11; M Munoz 7-6; Crabtree 14-9;
Astacio 107-71; Dipoto 20-10; Leskanic 28-16; D Veres 24-17.
Ground balls-fly balls: Sele 8-1; Venafro 3-1; D Patterson 3-1;
M Munoz 3-0; Crabtree 1-1; Astacio 7-3; Dipoto 0-1; Leskanic
1-0; D Veres 2-2.  Batters faced: Sele 23; Venafro 7; D Patterson 6;
M Munoz 3; Crabtree 4; Astacio 27; Dipoto 5; Leskanic 6; D Veres 6.

UMPIRES: HP--John Hirschbeck. 1B--Dave Phillips. 2B--Rocky Roe.
3B--Durwood Merrill.
T--3:22.  Att--46,851.   Weather: 78 degrees, cloudy.   Wind: 6 mph,
right to left.

ML       COLORADO AT TEXAS
         NOTE:  THE HOME RUN BY TEXAS' RUBEN MATEO IN THE BOTTOM OF THE
                FIFTH INNING WAS THE FIRST OF HIS MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER.

Game Log

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

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

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

Gametime Weather: 78 degrees, Cloudy, wind right to left at 6 mph.

COLORADO 1ST: D Hamilton tripled to right center. N Perez grounded out to first. L Walker grounded out to shortstop, D Hamilton scored. Bichette struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore singled to right. Mateo popped out to second. Greer struck out swinging. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 0.

COLORADO 2ND: Castilla grounded out to third. Helton grounded out to first. J Reed singled to left. Shumpert grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 2ND: R Palmeiro struck out looking. I Rodriguez singled to left. I Rodriguez caught stealing, catcher to second. Zeile doubled to right. L Stevens walked. Clayton grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 1, TEXAS 0.

COLORADO 3RD: Blanco singled to center. D Hamilton singled to left, Blanco to second. N Perez walked, Blanco to third, D Hamilton to second. L Walker struck out looking. Bichette struck out swinging. Castilla walked, Blanco scored, D Hamilton to third, N Perez to second. Helton doubled to right, D Hamilton, N Perez and Castilla scored. J Reed grounded out to third. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 3RD: Mclemore struck out looking. Mateo safe at first on shortstop N Perez's throwing error. Greer doubled to left, Mateo scored. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro singled to right, Greer scored. I Rodriguez lined out to first. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) COLORADO 5, TEXAS 2.

COLORADO 4TH: Shumpert popped out to second. Blanco singled to center. D Hamilton grounded into fielder's choice to second, Blanco out at second. N Perez grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 4TH: Zeile struck out looking. L Stevens struck out looking. Clayton grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 5, TEXAS 2.

COLORADO 5TH: L Walker singled to left. Bichette doubled to left, L Walker to third. Castilla singled to right, L Walker scored, Bichette to third. Mike Venafro relieved Aaron Sele. Helton grounded into fielder's choice to second, Bichette scored, Castilla out at second. J Reed struck out swinging. Shumpert popped out to third. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 7, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 5TH: Mclemore singled to center. Mateo homered to left, Mclemore scored. Greer singled to center. J Gonzalez walked, Greer to second. R Palmeiro grounded into double play, first to shortstop to pitcher, J Gonzalez out at second, Greer to third. I Rodriguez grounded out to third. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 7, TEXAS 4.

COLORADO 6TH: Blanco walked. D Hamilton sacrificed Blanco to second. N Perez grounded out to pitcher, Blanco to third. L Walker hit by pitch. Danny Patterson relieved Mike Venafro. Bichette reached on infield single, Blanco scored, L Walker to second. Castilla grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 6TH: Zeile flied out to right. L Stevens grounded out to first. Clayton grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, TEXAS 4.

COLORADO 7TH: Helton grounded out to first. J Reed grounded out to first. Shumpert doubled to left. Blanco flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 7TH: Jerry Dipoto relieved Pedro Astacio. Mclemore singled to left. Mateo flied out to left. Greer reached on infield single, Mclemore to second. J Gonzalez walked, Mclemore to third, Greer to second. R Palmeiro singled to right, Mclemore scored, Greer to third, J Gonzalez to second. Curtis Leskanic relieved Jerry Dipoto. I Rodriguez struck out looking. Zeile grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, TEXAS 5.

COLORADO 8TH: Mike Munoz relieved Danny Patterson. D Hamilton reached on infield single. N Perez grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, D Hamilton out at second. L Walker grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, N Perez out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, TEXAS 5.

TEXAS 8TH: L Stevens struck out looking. Clayton singled to right. Mclemore walked, Clayton to second. Mateo walked, Clayton to third, Mclemore to second. Dave Veres relieved Curtis Leskanic. Greer hit sacrifice fly to left, Clayton scored. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, TEXAS 6.

COLORADO 9TH: Tim Crabtree relieved Mike Munoz. Bichette flied out to center. Castilla grounded out to third. Helton singled to left. J Reed struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 9TH: R Palmeiro lined out to first. I Rodriguez grounded out to second. Zeile homered to left. L Stevens grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) COLORADO 8, TEXAS 7.