Game 82: July 5, 1999 (L: 4-2)
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Commentary (by me)

Another one of these late games - the Rangers have to get to a different division, I hate all these games that start after 9PM!

Tony Phillips of the A's got his career 2,000th hit tonight - a single.  That was a nice moment.  

Esteban Loaiza came off the DL, sending Danny Kolb back to AAA.  I was surprised, I didn't think Loaiza was coming back till after the All Star Game.  He only pitched the final out, but I was surprised to see him here.

I don't remember a whole lot about this game, as again I was busy doing some other things.   I'm not liking all these losses inside the division.  This was our chance to distance us from the rest of the division, and we didn't do it.  :(

Game Recap

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) -- Jason Giambi went 4-for-4 and scored during a four-run sixth inning and rookie Tim Hudson pitched seven strong innings as the Oakland Athletics posted a 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Texas starter John Burkett carried a shutout into the sixth inning but gave up a one-out single to Tony Phillips. After Miguel Tejada struck out, Ben Grieve singled Phillips to third. Grieve stole second without a throw and John Jaha's broken-bat single to left gave Oakland a 2-1 lead.

"I thought I made some pretty good pitches. They battled and Hudson kept them in the game," Burkett said. "Jaha just doinked it into left field. I wasn't tired at all, I only threw 83 pitches."

Lefthander Mike Munoz relieved and was greeted by the third of Giambi's four singles. Matt Stairs followed with a base hit to left, scoring Jaha for a 3-1 lead. Tim Crabtree was summoned from the bullpen and surrendered an RBI single to rookie Ramon Hernandez.

"I'm swinging the bat good. I'm basically hitting them where they ain't," said Giambi, who is 13-for-25 over his last seven games. "I'm not really thinking about it. I was suffering there for a while, but things always seem to turn around."

"We kept battling and we were able to put some hits together," Oakland manager Art Howe said. "It was a big knock from Jaha. It put the momentum in our dugout and it seemed to spread."

Hudson (4-1) pitched effectively for the fifth time in six major league starts, allowing one run and five hits with four walks and seven strikeouts. Hudson, who turns 24 on July 14, lowered his ERA to 2.54.

"It seems like I pitch better with my back to the wall. I'm just glad to get guys out in that situation," Hudson said. "I spotted the ball a little tonight and was able to make my pitch when I needed to. I'm giving up a few more hits than I'm used to but I'm just trying to stick to my game and it's worked for me so far."

"Hudson kept us in the game. He's got the stuff to win," Howe said. "He didn't walk a bunch of people."

Doug Jones allowed a solo homer to Ivan Rodriguez in the eighth but Bill Taylor got the final four outs for his 20th save in 24 chances as Oakland improved to 4-3 on a nine-game homestand.

Rangers manager Johnny Oates had high praise for Hudson.

"I'm very impressed with him," he said. "He's got some extra giddy-up. It's the second time we've seen him and he changes up well. It was very much like the first outing. We had him on the ropes. After that, we didn't smell anything."

The Rangers have lost three straight following a four-game winning streak. They had their lead in the American League West over second-place Seattle cut to four games.

Phillips singled in the fourth inning for his 2,000th career hit.

The Rangers got their only run off Hudson in the first inning. Mark McLemore opened the game with a double and Rusty Greer walked one out later. Juan Gonzalez singled in McLemore but Hudson got Rafael Palmeiro to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Rodriguez, who was voted as the starting catcher for the American League All-Star team at Fenway Park on July 13, hit his 14th home run to complete the scoring.

Burkett, who pitched seven scoreless innings in his previous start, gave up three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Esteban Loaiza recorded the final out of the bottom of the eighth in his first appearance since May 11. He had been on the disabled list since May 16 with a broken right hand.

Photos
(Click on any of them for a larger image)

Anaheim pitcher Tim Hudson	John McLemore scores in the first	Tony Phillips gets his 2,001st career hit	Mark McLemore tags out the Oakland runner and falls	Another tumble

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
TEXAS               1  0  0   0  0  0   0  1  0     2  6  1
OAKLAND             0  0  0   0  0  4   0  0  x     4 12  0   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  TEX - JOHN BURKETT, MIKE MUNOZ (6TH), TIM CRABTREE
                  (6TH), MIKE VENAFRO (7TH), ESTEBAN LOAIZA
                  (8TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ
            OAK - TIM HUDSON, DOUG JONES (8TH), BILL TAYLOR
                  (8TH) AND RAMON HERNANDEZ

             WP - TIM HUDSON (4-1)
             LP - JOHN BURKETT (2-4)
           SAVE - BILL TAYLOR (20)

HOME RUNS:  TEX - IVAN RODRIGUEZ (14) OFF D JONES IN THE 8TH, 0 ON
            OAK - NONE

     TIME:  2:55     ATT:  7,490

PROBABLES:  TEX - RYAN GLYNN (2-2, 6.80)
            OAK - JIMMY HAYNES (5-6, 4.75)

Box Score
TEXAS (2) AT OAKLAND (4) - FINAL

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore 2b             4  1  1  0   0  1   1  .281
I Rodriguez c           4  1  1  1   0  2   2  .306
Greer lf                1  0  0  0   3  0   0  .279
J Gonzalez rf           4  0  1  1   0  2   3  .316
R Palmeiro dh           3  0  0  0   1  0   2  .353
Zeile 3b                3  0  2  0   1  0   0  .286
L Stevens 1b            4  0  0  0   0  3   4  .285
R Kelly cf              3  0  0  0   0  1   3  .318
Clayton ss              3  0  1  0   0  1   0  .241

Totals                 29  2  6  2   5 10  15

BATTING: 2B - Mclemore (11, Hudson); Clayton (8, Hudson).
HR - I Rodriguez (14, 8th inning off D Jones 0 on, 2 out).
RBI - J Gonzalez (77), I Rodriguez (48). 2-out RBI - I Rodriguez.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Gonzalez 1. GIDP -
R Palmeiro, R Kelly 2, L Stevens. Team LOB - 5.

FIELDING: E - Zeile (12, ground ball). Outfield assists -
R Kelly (Ja Giambi at 2nd base). DP: 2 (R Kelly-Mclemore,
I Rodriguez-Clayton).

OAKLAND                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
T Phillips 2b-lf        4  1  2  0   0  1   1  .247
Tejada ss               3  0  0  0   0  2   2  .261
Grieve lf               4  1  1  0   0  1   2  .246
 Velandia 2b            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .194
Jaha dh                 4  1  1  2   0  1   1  .293
Ja Giambi 1b            4  1  4  0   0  0   0  .287
Stairs rf               4  0  1  1   0  2   3  .245
Ra Hernandez c          4  0  2  1   0  0   0  .455
Chavez 3b               3  0  0  0   0  1   3  .230
 a-Saenz ph-3b          1  0  0  0   0  0   2  .262
R Christenson cf        3  0  1  0   0  0   0  .203

Totals                 34  4 12  4   0  8  14

a-fouled to first for Chavez in the 8th.

BATTING: S - Tejada. RBI - Jaha 2 (54), Stairs (48), Ra Hernandez (7).
2-out RBI - Jaha 2, Stairs, Ra Hernandez. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - Jaha 1, Chavez 1, Saenz 1. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - Grieve (3, 2nd base off Burkett/I Rodriguez).
CS - Ja Giambi (1, 2nd base by Burkett/I Rodriguez).

FIELDING: DP: 4 (T Phillips-Tejada-Ja Giambi, Tejada-T Phillips-Ja Giambi,
Hudson-Tejada-Ja Giambi, Ja Giambi-Tejada-Ja Giambi).

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Burkett (L, 2-4)              5 2/3   6   3   3   0   4   0   6.09
M Munoz                       0       2   1   1   0   0   0   3.90
Crabtree                      1       2   0   0   0   1   0   3.86
Venafro                       1       2   0   0   0   3   0   2.43
Loaiza                          1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   7.42

OAKLAND                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Hudson (W, 4-1)               7       5   1   1   4   7   0   2.54
D Jones (H, 7)                  2/3   1   1   1   1   1   1   3.53
Taylor (S, 20)                1 1/3   0   0   0   0   2   0   2.55

M Munoz pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.

Pitches-strikes: Hudson 104-60; D Jones 14-8; Taylor 17-12;
Burkett 83-51; M Munoz 8-3; Crabtree 21-16; Venafro 20-12;
Loaiza 6-3.  Ground balls-fly balls: Hudson 11-3; D Jones 0-1;
Taylor 0-2; Burkett 7-4; M Munoz 0-0; Crabtree 2-0; Venafro 0-0;
Loaiza 0-1.  Batters faced: Hudson 26; D Jones 4; Taylor 4;
Burkett 22; M Munoz 2; Crabtree 5; Venafro 5; Loaiza 1.

UMPIRES: HP--Mike Reilly. 1B--Dale Ford. 2B--Mark Johnson.
3B--Rich Garcia.
T--2:55.  Att--7,490.   Weather: 65 degrees, clear.   Wind: 15 mph,
out to right.


AL       TEXAS AT OAKLAND
         NOTE:  OAKLAND'S TONY PHILLIPS SINGLED IN THE BOTTOM OF THE
                FOURTH INNING FOR HIS 2,000TH CAREER HIT.

Game Log

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

Oakland Starting Lineups -- Tony Phillips 2B, Miguel Tejada SS, Ben Grieve LF, John Jaha DH, Jason Giambi 1B, Matt Stairs RF, Ramon Hernandez C, Eric Chavez 3B, Ryan Christenson CF, Tim Hudson RHP.

Umpires -- Reilly (HP), Ford (1B), Johnson (2B), Garcia (3B).

Gametime Weather: 65 degrees, Clear, wind out to right at 15 mph.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore doubled to right. I Rodriguez lined out to second. Greer walked. J Gonzalez singled to center, Mclemore scored, Greer to second. R Palmeiro grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, J Gonzalez out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 1ST: T Phillips grounded out to second. Tejada struck out looking. Grieve grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 0.

TEXAS 2ND: Zeile singled to left. L Stevens struck out swinging. R Kelly grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Zeile out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 2ND: Jaha grounded out to third. Ja Giambi singled to right. Stairs flied out to center, Ja Giambi thrown out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 0.

TEXAS 3RD: Clayton doubled to deep left. Mclemore struck out swinging. I Rodriguez struck out swinging. Greer walked. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 3RD: Ra Hernandez grounded out to third. Chavez struck out looking. R Christenson grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 0.

TEXAS 4TH: R Palmeiro walked. Zeile singled to right, R Palmeiro to third. L Stevens struck out swinging. R Kelly grounded into double play, pitcher to shortstop to first, Zeile out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 4TH: T Phillips reached on infield single. Tejada sacrificed T Phillips to second. Grieve flied out to left. Jaha fouled out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 0.

TEXAS 5TH: Clayton lined out to left. Mclemore grounded out to second. I Rodriguez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 5TH: Ja Giambi singled to right. Stairs struck out looking. Ja Giambi caught stealing, catcher to shortstop. Ra Hernandez safe at first on 3rd baseman Zeile's fielding error. Chavez grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 0.

TEXAS 6TH: Greer grounded out to second. J Gonzalez grounded out to shortstop. R Palmeiro lined out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 6TH: R Christenson lined out to left. T Phillips singled to right. Tejada struck out looking. Grieve singled to center, T Phillips to third. Grieve stole second. Jaha singled to left, T Phillips and Grieve scored. Mike Munoz relieved John Burkett. Ja Giambi singled to left center, Jaha to second. Stairs singled to left, Jaha scored, Ja Giambi to second. Tim Crabtree relieved Mike Munoz. Ra Hernandez singled to left, Ja Giambi scored, Stairs to second. Chavez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Ra Hernandez out at second. (4 Runs, 6 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 4.

TEXAS 7TH: Zeile walked. L Stevens grounded into double play, first to shortstop to first, Zeile out at second. R Kelly struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 4.

OAKLAND 7TH: R Christenson singled to right. T Phillips struck out swinging. Tejada grounded into fielder's choice to third, R Christenson out at second. Mike Venafro relieved Tim Crabtree. Grieve struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 4.

TEXAS 8TH: T Phillips in left. Velandia at second. Doug Jones relieved Tim Hudson. Clayton struck out swinging. Mclemore flied out to right. I Rodriguez homered to left center. Greer walked. Bill Taylor relieved Doug Jones. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, OAKLAND 4.

OAKLAND 8TH: Jaha struck out looking. Ja Giambi singled to right. Stairs struck out swinging. Ra Hernandez singled to right, Ja Giambi to second. Saenz hit for Chavez. Esteban Loaiza relieved Mike Venafro. Saenz fouled out to first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, OAKLAND 4.

TEXAS 9TH: Saenz at third. R Palmeiro flied out to deep center. Zeile flied out to center. L Stevens struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, OAKLAND 4.