Game 84: July 7, 1999 (W: 7-4)
[ Previous Game | Next Game ]
[ Schedule Menu | Main Page ]

Commentary (by me)

Rick Helling doesn't look like the pitcher he was last year.  He's had only one win in his last 8 starts.  However, he does seem to be suffering from a lack of run support this year.  Many a time, he's pitched really well, only to be taken out late with a 2-1 deficit, or something like that.  It's too bad.   Still, he is pitching well overall, but his record doesn't show it, and his ERA was killed by his first couple of starts of the season.

However, our bullpen continues it's masterpieces.  Wetteland got his 26th save, and Zimmerman got his eighth win - At this rate, we have a chance of a bullpen pitcher having our most wins.  I wonder what the record for any team for bullpen wins by one pitcher in a season is?   Wetteland made it interesting in the 9th by allowing the bases to get loaded, but we ended up winning by 3.

I didn't get to catch all of the game, as it was on during the day at work, and I sometimes can't pay attention at work like I can at home.  Still, it was a win, and we'll always take that.

Nice day for the team - we have four All-Stars this year (Pudge, Raffy, Wetteland, & Zimmerman).   We would have had five, for an all time Ranger record if Juan hadn't decided to sulk.

The new Ranger killer, Ben Grieve hit another home run against us - this was his first one at home in about a year!

Game Recap

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) -- The Texas Rangers' All-Star bullpen did in the Oakland Athletics.

Rookie Jeff Zimmerman and John Wetteland combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief and Lee Stevens provided the big offensive blow with a two-run single in a 7-4 victory.

Named to the American League All-Star team prior to the game, Zimmerman and Wetteland helped the Rangers snap their season-high four-game losing skid and avoid a three-game sweep by Oakland.

Zimmerman (8-0) continued his storybook season by allowing just one hit over 2 1/3 innings. He came on to retire Ramon Hernandez for the final out of the sixth inning and yielded just a leadoff single to Eric Chavez in the seventh before retiring six straight.

"I'm feeding off the confidence of this team right now," Zimmerman said. "I'm trying to take it one game at a time. That's how I took it last year (in the minor leagues) when nothing was going right. So I'm just applying that here. Being selected to the team is a wonderful experience."

"He pitched like an All-Star," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. "It's good to have him in a game when it means something. He's our difference right now. I can't remember anyone making this much as an impact when being first called up."

Wetteland did struggle in the ninth, walking the bases loaded, but got Miguel Tejada to pop to second for the game's final out. It was his 26th save in 30 opportunities.

"I don't pitch to be selected to the All-Star Game," said Wetteland. "I like to think that it's the unit's honor that one or two of us get to go. We think of ourselves as a unit. What (Zimmerman) has done is pretty hard to put into words. It's nintendo numbers, it's little league numers, it's Mickey Mouse numbers, it's Bugs Bunny in a cartoon."

Ben Grieve's 10th homer, his first at the Oakland Coliseum since July 18, 1998, off Rick Helling in the bottom of the sixth forced a 4-4 tie. After John Jaha, who was selected as an All-Star for the first time, doubled, Mike Venafro and Zimmerman combined to escape the frame without any further damage.

"I have to say this is the best bullpen I've worked with," Oates said. "It has the stuff, the best results, the best staff. And if you don't mention Mike Venafro too, you are overlooking another reason our bullpen is so good."

Rusty Greer struck out to begin the seventh but Juan Gonzalez drew a walk from Brad Rigby (3-4) and Buddy Groom came on to walk All-Star Rafael Palmeiro. Tim Worrell got Todd Zeile to bounce into a force out, which erased Palmeiro, but Royce Clayton walked to load the bases.

Stevens needed just one pitch to put the Rangers on top, ripping Worrell's fastball to left field for two runs. Clayton went to third on the hit and scored when Hernandez's throw to second trying to catch a stealing Stevens sailed into center field.

Former Ranger Kenny Rogers did not receive a decision despite tossing 5 2/3 effective innings, allowing four runs and eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Rogers has not lost at the Oakland Coliseum in his last 16 starts dating to 1994. That streak includes one start for Texas and one as a member of the New York Yankees.

"I created my own jams today," said Rogers. "I had to find ways out and I couldn't. I couldn't stop anything."

Rogers and the Athletics had an early 3-1 advantage after Eric Chavez belted a two-run homer, his seventh, in the bottom of the second.

"We had a shot, it didn't turn out the way we wanted," Athletics manager Art Howe said.

Roberto Kelly's two-run double in the sixth gave the Rangers a 4-3 advantage, but Grieve tied it in the bottom of the inning.

Grieve has recorded 12 multi-hit games in his last 25 contests and is batting .344 (32-for-93) with seven homers and 17 RBI in that stretch.

Helling surrendered four runs and six hits over five innings and is winless in his last four starts since beating the Yankees on June 16.

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

Eric Chavez rounds the bases on his 2nd inning HR	Oakland pitcher Kenny Rogers tags out Rafael Palmiero	John Wetteland & Lee Stevens celebrate the win	Roberto Kelly is tagged out

Box Score

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

BATTERIES:  TEX - RICK HELLING, MIKE VENAFRO (6TH), JEFF
                  ZIMMERMAN (6TH), JOHN WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN
                  RODRIGUEZ
            OAK - KENNY ROGERS, BRAD RIGBY (6TH), BUDDY GROOM
                  (7TH), TIM WORRELL (7TH), CHAD HARVILLE (8TH)
                  AND RAMON HERNANDEZ

             WP - JEFF ZIMMERMAN (8-0)
             LP - BRAD RIGBY (3-4)
           SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (26)

HOME RUNS:  TEX - NONE
            OAK - ERIC CHAVEZ (7) OFF HELLING IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
                  BEN GRIEVE (10) OFF HELLING IN THE 6TH, 0 ON

     TIME:  3:28     ATT:  15,566

PROBABLES:  TEX - AARON SELE (7-6, 5.70)
            SDG - UNDECIDED

            OAK - GIL HEREDIA (4-5, 5.77)
            ARI - ANDY BENES (5-8, 5.47)



Box Score
TEXAS (7) AT OAKLAND (4) - FINAL

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
R Kelly cf              5  0  2  2   0  2   5  .314
 a-Sc Green ph-cf       0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .333
I Rodriguez c           5  0  1  0   0  1   3  .300
Greer lf                5  0  0  0   0  2   2  .271
J Gonzalez rf           4  3  2  0   1  1   1  .318
R Palmeiro dh           4  0  2  0   1  0   0  .351
Zeile 3b                3  2  1  2   0  0   2  .286
Clayton ss              3  1  1  0   1  1   1  .239
Shave 1b                1  1  0  0   2  0   1  .235
 L Stevens 1b           1  0  1  2   0  0   0  .287
Alicea 2b               3  0  0  0   1  1   6  .163

Totals                 34  7 10  6   6  8  21

a-pinch-hit for R Kelly in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - J Gonzalez (17, Rogers); R Kelly (9, Rogers).
S - Clayton. SF - Zeile. RBI - Zeile 2 (47), R Kelly 2 (24),
L Stevens 2 (48). 2-out RBI - R Kelly 2, L Stevens 2. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - R Kelly 3, I Rodriguez 2.  Team LOB - 9.

BASERUNNING: SB - L Stevens (2, 2nd base off Worrell/Ra Hernandez).
CS - Greer (1, 2nd base by C Harville/Ra Hernandez).

OAKLAND                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
T Phillips 2b           4  1  1  0   1  0   1  .245
Tejada ss               4  0  0  0   0  1   5  .260
Grieve lf               4  1  2  2   0  0   0  .251
Jaha dh                 4  0  1  0   0  2   1  .291
Ja Giambi 1b            4  0  0  0   0  2   2  .279
Stairs rf               3  1  0  0   1  1   1  .239
Ra Hernandez c          3  0  0  0   1  0   2  .407
Chavez 3b               4  1  2  2   0  1   1  .233
R Christenson cf        3  0  1  0   0  0   0  .203
 a-Raines ph            0  0  0  0   1  0   0  .209

Totals                 33  4  7  4   4  7  13

a-walked for R Christenson in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - T Phillips (21, Helling); Jaha (13, Helling).
HR - Chavez (7, 2nd inning off Helling 1 on, 1 out); Grieve (10, 6th
inning off Helling 0 on, 0 out). S - Tejada. RBI - Grieve 2 (36),
Chavez 2 (26). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Ra Hernandez 1,
Tejada 3.  Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - R Christenson (4, ground ball); Ra Hernandez (1,
throw). DP: 1 (Ra Hernandez-T Phillips).

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Helling                       5       6   4   4   1   5   2   4.64
Venafro                         2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   2.39
Je Zimmerman (W, 8-0)         2 1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   0.89
Wetteland (S, 26)             1       0   0   0   3   0   0   4.04

OAKLAND                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Rogers                        5 2/3   8   4   4   2   3   0   4.02
Rigby (L, 3-4)                  2/3   0   1   1   1   2   0   4.55
Groom                         0       0   1   1   1   0   0   7.89
Worrell                         2/3   1   1   0   2   1   0   4.14
C Harville                    2       1   0   0   0   2   0   5.40

Helling pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.
Groom pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.

HBP - Zeile (by Rogers).  Pitches-strikes: Rogers 106-60; Rigby 16-7;
Groom 4-0; Worrell 26-15; C Harville 20-12; Helling 103-65; Venafro 5-4;
Je Zimmerman 24-16; Wetteland 20-6.  Ground balls-fly balls: Rogers 7-7;
Rigby 0-0; Groom 0-0; Worrell 1-0; C Harville 1-2; Helling 2-8;
Venafro 1-0; Je Zimmerman 4-2; Wetteland 0-3.  Batters faced: Rogers 28;
Rigby 3; Groom 1; Worrell 5; C Harville 6; Helling 22; Venafro 2;
Je Zimmerman 8; Wetteland 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Mark Johnson. 1B--Rich Garcia. 2B--Mike Reilly.
3B--Dale Ford.
T--3:28.  Att--15,566.   Weather: 68 degrees, clear.   Wind: 12 mph,
out to right.

AL       TEXAS AT OAKLAND
         NOTE:  THE RBI SINGLE BY TODD ZEILE IN THE FOURTH INNING
                EXTENDED HIS HITTING STREAK TO 16 GAMES.

AL       TEXAS AT OAKLAND
         NOTE:  TEXAS' ROBERTO KELLY LEFT THE GAME IN THE TOP OF THE
                SEVENTH INNING WHILE BATTING WITH AN UNDISCLOSED INJURY.

AL       TEXAS AT OAKLAND
         NOTE:  TEXAS'S OUTFIELDER ROBERTO KELLY LEFT THE GAME IN THE
                SEVENTH INNING WITH A STRAINED LEFT BICEP MUSCLE.  HIS
                STATUS IS DAY-TO-DAY.

Game Log

Texas Starting Lineups -- Roberto Kelly CF, Ivan Rodriguez C, Rusty Greer LF, Juan Gonzalez RF, Rafael Palmeiro DH, Todd Zeile 3B, Royce Clayton SS, Jon Shave 1B, Luis Alicea 2B, Rick Helling 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, Kenny Rogers LHP.

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

Gametime Weather: 68 degrees, Clear, wind out to right at 12 mph.

TEXAS 1ST: R Kelly lined out to right. I Rodriguez grounded out to third. Greer struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 1ST: T Phillips doubled to deep left center. Tejada sacrificed T Phillips to third. Grieve singled to center, T Phillips scored. Jaha flied out to right. Ja Giambi struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, OAKLAND 1.

TEXAS 2ND: J Gonzalez doubled to right center. R Palmeiro flied out to right, J Gonzalez to third. Zeile hit sacrifice fly to left center, J Gonzalez scored. Clayton singled to center. Shave grounded into fielder's choice to third, Clayton out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 2ND: Stairs walked. Ra Hernandez flied out to center. Chavez homered to left, Stairs scored. R Christenson fouled out to first. T Phillips popped out to third. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 3.

TEXAS 3RD: Alicea flied out to shallow center. R Kelly singled to center. I Rodriguez grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, R Kelly out at second. Greer flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 3RD: Tejada grounded out to shortstop. Grieve lined out to left center. Jaha struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, OAKLAND 3.

TEXAS 4TH: J Gonzalez singled to center. R Palmeiro singled to right, J Gonzalez to second. Zeile singled to center, J Gonzalez scored, R Palmeiro to second. R Palmeiro to third on center fielder R Christenson's fielding error. Clayton grounded into fielder's choice to third, Zeile to second, R Palmeiro out at home. Shave walked, Zeile to third, Clayton to second. Alicea struck out swinging. R Kelly struck out looking. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 2, OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 4TH: Ja Giambi struck out swinging. Stairs flied out to center. Ra Hernandez flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, OAKLAND 3.

TEXAS 5TH: I Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop. Greer flied out to center. J Gonzalez popped out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 5TH: Chavez struck out looking. R Christenson singled to right. T Phillips fouled out to third. Tejada struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, OAKLAND 3.

TEXAS 6TH: R Palmeiro reached on infield single. Zeile hit by pitch, R Palmeiro to second. Clayton sacrificed R Palmeiro to third, Zeile to second. Shave walked. Alicea grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, Zeile to third, Shave to second, R Palmeiro out at home. R Kelly doubled to right, Zeile and Shave scored, Alicea to third. Brad Rigby relieved Kenny Rogers. I Rodriguez struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 4, OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 6TH: L Stevens at first. Grieve homered to center. Jaha doubled to left center. Mike Venafro relieved Rick Helling. Ja Giambi grounded out to second. Stairs struck out swinging. Jeff Zimmerman relieved Mike Venafro. Ra Hernandez grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 4, OAKLAND 4.

TEXAS 7TH: Greer struck out swinging. J Gonzalez walked. Buddy Groom relieved Brad Rigby. R Palmeiro walked, J Gonzalez to second. Tim Worrell relieved Buddy Groom. Zeile grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Gonzalez to third, R Palmeiro out at second. Clayton walked, Zeile to second. L Stevens singled to left, J Gonzalez and Zeile scored, Clayton to third. L Stevens stole second. Clayton scored on catcher Ra Hernandez's throwing error. Alicea walked. Sc Green hit for R Kelly on a 1-2 count. Sc Green struck out swinging, strikeout charged to R Kelly. (3 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) TEXAS 7, OAKLAND 4.

OAKLAND 7TH: Sc Green in center. Chavez singled to right. R Christenson grounded out to pitcher, Chavez to second. T Phillips flied out to right, Chavez to third. Tejada grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, OAKLAND 4.

TEXAS 8TH: Chad Harville relieved Tim Worrell. I Rodriguez singled to right. Greer grounded into fielder's choice to second, I Rodriguez out at second. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. Greer caught stealing, catcher to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, OAKLAND 4.

OAKLAND 8TH: Grieve grounded out to third. Jaha struck out looking. Ja Giambi flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, OAKLAND 4.

TEXAS 9TH: R Palmeiro popped out to shallow right. Zeile flied out to right. Clayton struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, OAKLAND 4.

OAKLAND 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Jeff Zimmerman. Stairs popped out to shallow left. Ra Hernandez walked. Chavez flied out to left center. Raines hit for R Christenson. Raines walked, Ra Hernandez to second. T Phillips walked, Ra Hernandez to third, Raines to second. Tejada popped out to shallow center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, OAKLAND 4.