Game 88: July 15, 1999 (W: 3-2)
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Commentary (by me)

Well, there really wasn't much to talk about in this game until the 9th inning.  :)

We had some nice D in the field, with Ruben Mateo gunning down Tony Womack at the plate from way out in the outfield, Jon Shave making a great diving stop at first base (not his normal position).  However, Pudge had an off night, he had two bad throws including one that sailed into center field.  Bill Jones made a comment on TV that we get spoiled seeing Pudge throw, and expect that every one he throws will be perfect.  I agree with that, but it still odd to see him throw two bad in the same game.

Rick Helling gave up a run in the first inning, but then didn't allow anything more except a hit in the second, the Diamondbacks went hitless for like 4 or 5 innings or something before Helling gave up a solo shot in the 8th inning.  All told, Rick Helling pitched very well, going 8 innings, giving up only two runs on 5 hits.  I've been feeling bad for Helling, as he always seems to pitch this way, but he doesn't get the win.  I know everyone says "I'ts the pitcher's job to keep the team in the game", and it is, but damn, he has won like one of his last eight starts, while only losing two, I think.  He needs more run support.

And speaking of run support, Randy Johnson got some, after the Dbacks have scored nothing in his previous four starts.  Coming into this game, I figured we'd be the team that they crushed in support of Randy.  Well, they got two in eight innings.  Not exactly a "crush", but the way Johnson was pitching, it seemed like it was going to be enough.

Randy left in the 9th inning for their new closer, Matt Matei.  He got the first two outs, and it looked like game over.  However, Mantei, for being such a highly regarded starter, pitched rather wild after getting two outs, walking the bases full to Greer, Palmeiro, & Stevens.  After this, Mark McLemore came up.  The count ran to 2-2, and Mark smacked a double up the center that was stopped by the Dbacks' right fielder, but not enough to prevent all three runners from coming around for the win.  Man, was this an exciting win in the bottom of the ninth.  It was more interesting, since virtually every batter after the first two outs ran the count full.  McLemore was 2-2 when he got the hit, so Matei was always "just about there" to getting the job done, but our hitters rode it out, and we won a really thrilling game.

One other thing - 6 of the 7 Ranger hits in this game came with two outs.  The one other was Mac's single in the 8th.

Matt Williams of the Dbacks did get his career 1,500th hit in the first inning, which is always nice to see. 

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- Randy Johnson's luck continues to be all bad.

The "Big Unit" finally received some run support, but watched new closer Matt Mantei blow a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth as the Texas Rangers edged the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2.

Mark McLemore ripped a bases-clearing three-run double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to deny Johnson yet again and give the Rangers a stunning victory.

"He's (Mantei) a guy that I hadn't seen before, but he was throwing a lot of pitches and I had been watching him for a few batters," McLemore said. "In that situation, I was looking for the fastball, something I could drive."

Johnson, who was on the short end of four straight shutouts, tossed eight scoreless innings before Mantei (1-3) started the ninth.

The reliever, acquired in a trade from the Florida Marlins last Friday, retired the first two batters but then ran into control problems. He walked three straight pinch-hitters -- all on 3-2 counts -- to load the bases and tie a major league-record.

Texas manager Johnny Oates started an entire righthanded lineup and Rusty Greer was the first lefthander to bat for the Rangers in the ninth. Greer, Rafael Palmeiro and Lee Stevens all drew walks against Mantei.

"When he (Arizona manager Buck Showalter) brought in the righthanded pitcher, it gave me the opportunity to bring in my three lefthanded hitters," Oates said.

McLemore ripped a 2-2 offering into right-center field, helping the Rangers improve to 4-35 when trailing after eight innings.

"This was as exciting a win as we've had all season," Oates said. "We beat a good pitcher, even though he was in the dugout when the game ended."

The Diamondbacks suffered their seventh loss when leading after eight (40-7) as Mantei threw just 19 of his 36 pitches for strikes.

"We were a strike away a couple times, but that's the way the game is," Showalter said. "We pitched 8 2/3 innings and were just an out away. They had some good pinch-hitters. They fouled off a lot of strikes. If we are going to get where we want to go, we've got to pitch the last inning."

Mike Venafro (3-1) earned the win with a scoreless inning in relief of Rick Helling, who surrendered two runs and five hits over eight innings.

"I hadn't thrown in eight days, so it was one of those games where I just battled," Helling said. "I was a little rusty coming out and threw a lot of curves. They've got a great lineup, a typical American League lineup. When you face Randy Johnson, you want to keep it close and I was able to do that. I was just happy to keep us in the game."

Johnson, who allowed six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts, has yielded only six runs and 25 hits over 40 innings in his last five starts.

"I was pleased about the way I pitched," Johnson said. "I just got to go out and pitch the way I've been pitching. Hitting your spots is what pitching is all about."

Johnson was on the mound when St. Louis rookie Jose Jimenez pitched a no-hitter on June 25 and suffered a 2-0 loss at Cincinnati in his next start despite setting an Arizona franchise record with 17 strikeouts. He again lost to Jimenez, 1-0, on July 5 and to Oakland, 1-0, last Saturday.

Johnson has dropped five straight decisions and has not won since blanking Florida, 2-0, on June 14. However, he did not blame Mantei.

"He's not going to be perfect," Johnson said. "He's human."

The Diamondbacks finally pushed across a run for Johnson in the top of the first as Tony Womack led off with a walk, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Matt Williams, who recorded the 1,500th hit of his career.

Helling blanked Arizona until the eighth inning, when Jay Bell belted his 25th homer to give the Diamondbacks a 2-0 lead.

"Rick resembled his form from last year," said Oates, referring to Helling's 20-7 record.

The Diamondbacks suffered their 15th loss in 22 contests and remained 2 1/2 games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants in the National League West. It marked the 11th time during that stretch that Arizona was held to three runs or less.

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

Randy Johnson either gathering his thoughts or looking for that place behind the mound where you can plug in a garden hose.	Arizona pitcher Randy Johnson	Tony Womack stands on second after having stolen it while umpire Mark Johnson looks on	Jon Shave makes a great diving stop in the first inning	Mark McLemore gets mobbed after his game winning hit

The Big Unit can't believe how the game ended.  That, and Matt Williams tries his best to look like Jay Buhner.

Box Score

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

BATTERIES:  ARI - RANDY JOHNSON, MATT MANTEI (9TH) AND DAMIAN
                  MILLER
            TEX - RICK HELLING, MIKE VENAFRO (9TH) AND IVAN
                  RODRIGUEZ

             WP - MIKE VENAFRO (3-1)
             LP - MATT MANTEI (1-3)
           SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS:  ARI - JAY BELL (25) OFF HELLING IN THE 8TH, 0 ON
            TEX - NONE

     TIME:  2:38     ATT:  33,328

PROBABLES:  ARI - ARMANDO REYNOSO (5-1, 3.46)
            TEX - AARON SELE (8-6, 5.51)

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

ARIZONA                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Womack rf               3  1  1  0   1  0   0  .269
J Bell 2b               3  1  1  1   1  0   2  .286
L Gonzalez dh           4  0  1  0   0  0   1  .359
Ma Williams 3b          3  0  1  1   1  0   0  .319
S Finley cf             3  0  0  0   1  2   3  .266
Dellucci lf             4  0  1  0   0  1   0  .357
T Lee 1b                4  0  0  0   0  1   2  .254
A Fox ss                4  0  0  0   0  1   2  .276
D Miller c              3  0  0  0   0  0   1  .258

Totals                 31  2  5  2   4  5  11

BATTING: 2B - Dellucci (7, Helling). HR - J Bell (25, 8th inning
off Helling 0 on, 1 out). RBI - Ma Williams (83), J Bell (66).
2-out RBI - Ma Williams. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
D Miller 1, S Finley 1, A Fox 1. Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: SB - Womack (39, 2nd base off Helling/I Rodriguez).

FIELDING: PB - D Miller.

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore lf             5  0  2  3   0  0   0  .276
R Kelly rf              4  0  1  0   0  1   1  .313
I Rodriguez c           4  0  2  0   0  1   2  .297
J Gonzalez dh           4  0  1  0   0  2   1  .313
Zeile 3b                4  0  0  0   0  2   2  .281
Mateo cf                4  0  1  0   0  0   0  .184
Clayton ss              2  0  0  0   1  1   0  .243
 a-Greer ph             0  1  0  0   1  0   0  .268
Alicea 2b               2  0  0  0   1  0   0  .162
 b-R Palmeiro ph        0  0  0  0   1  0   0  .355
 Sc Green pr            0  1  0  0   0  0   0  .333
Shave 1b                3  0  0  0   0  2   3  .222
 c-L Stevens ph         0  1  0  0   1  0   0  .285

Totals                 32  3  7  3   5  9   9

a-walked for Clayton in the 9th; b-walked for Alicea in the 9th;
c-walked for Shave in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - R Kelly (10, R Johnson); Mclemore (12, M Mantei).
RBI - Mclemore 3 (25). 2-out RBI - Mclemore 3. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - Zeile 1, I Rodriguez 1, Shave 2.
Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: CS - I Rodriguez (4, 2nd base by R Johnson/D Miller).

FIELDING: E - I Rodriguez (5, throw); Helling (2, throw).
Outfield assists - Mateo (Womack at home).

ARIZONA                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
R Johnson                     8       6   0   0   2   8   0   2.80
M Mantei (L, 1-3; BS, 3)        2/3   1   3   3   3   1   0   3.32

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Helling                       8       5   2   2   3   4   1   4.49
Venafro (W, 3-1)              1       0   0   0   1   1   0   2.77

Pitches-strikes: Helling 118-65; Venafro 11-6; R Johnson 120-79;
M Mantei 36-19.  Ground balls-fly balls: Helling 8-11; Venafro
2-0; R Johnson 6-9; M Mantei 1-0.  Batters faced: Helling 31;
Venafro 4; R Johnson 31; M Mantei 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Eric Cooper. 1B--Durwood Merrill. 2B--Mark Johnson.
3B--Dale Ford.
T--2:38.  Att--33,328.   Weather: 93 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 18 mph, right to left.

ML       ARIZONA AT TEXAS
         NOTE:  THE SINGLE BY ARIZONA'S MATT WILLIAMS IN THE FIRST INNING
                WAS THE 1,500TH HIT OF HIS MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER.

Game Log

Arizona Starting Lineups -- Tony Womack RF, Jay Bell 2B, Luis Gonzalez DH, Matt Williams 3B, Steve Finley CF, Dave Dellucci LF, Travis Lee 1B, Andy Fox SS, Damian Miller C, Randy Johnson LHP.

Texas Starting Lineups -- Mark Mclemore LF, Roberto Kelly RF, Ivan Rodriguez C, Juan Gonzalez DH, Todd Zeile 3B, Ruben Mateo CF, Royce Clayton SS, Luis Alicea 2B, Jon Shave 1B, Rick Helling RHP.

Umpires -- Cooper (HP), D Merrill (1B), Johnson (2B), Ford (3B).

Gametime Weather: 93 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind right to left at 18 mph.

ARIZONA 1ST: Womack walked. Womack stole second. J Bell grounded out to third. L Gonzalez grounded out to first, Womack to third. Ma Williams singled to shallow left, Womack scored. S Finley struck out looking. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore grounded out to third. R Kelly struck out looking. I Rodriguez singled to left. J Gonzalez singled to center, I Rodriguez to third. Zeile struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

ARIZONA 2ND: Dellucci doubled to deep center. T Lee fouled out to third. A Fox struck out swinging. Dellucci to third on catcher I Rodriguez's throwing error. D Miller fouled out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 2ND: Mateo grounded out to third. Clayton flied out to right. Alicea grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

ARIZONA 3RD: Womack singled to left. Womack to second on pitcher Helling's throwing error. J Bell grounded out to shortstop. L Gonzalez singled to left center, Womack thrown out at home. L Gonzalez to second advancing on throw. Ma Williams walked. S Finley grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 3RD: Shave popped out to shortstop. Mclemore grounded out to first. R Kelly doubled to left. R Kelly to third on D Miller passed ball. I Rodriguez lined out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

ARIZONA 4TH: Dellucci grounded out to second. T Lee flied out to left. A Fox lined out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 4TH: J Gonzalez struck out looking. Zeile flied out to right. Mateo singled to left. Clayton walked, Mateo to second. Alicea walked, Mateo to third, Clayton to second. Shave struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

ARIZONA 5TH: D Miller flied out to deep left. Womack flied out to shallow right. J Bell walked. L Gonzalez grounded into fielder's choice to second, J Bell out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 5TH: Mclemore flied out to shallow right. R Kelly grounded out to shortstop. I Rodriguez reached on infield single. I Rodriguez caught stealing, catcher to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

ARIZONA 6TH: Ma Williams lined out to shortstop. S Finley struck out looking. Dellucci struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 6TH: J Gonzalez fouled out to first. Zeile flied out to shallow right center. Mateo popped out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

ARIZONA 7TH: T Lee flied out to right. A Fox flied out to center. D Miller grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 7TH: Clayton struck out looking. Alicea grounded out to shortstop. Shave struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 1, TEXAS 0.

ARIZONA 8TH: Womack grounded out to first. J Bell homered to left. L Gonzalez flied out to deep left center. Ma Williams flied out to shallow center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 2, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 8TH: Mclemore singled to left center. R Kelly flied out to right. I Rodriguez struck out swinging. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 2, TEXAS 0.

ARIZONA 9TH: Mike Venafro relieved Rick Helling. S Finley walked. Dellucci grounded out to shortstop, S Finley to second. T Lee struck out looking. A Fox grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 2, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 9TH: Matt Mantei relieved Randy Johnson. Zeile struck out swinging. Mateo grounded out to pitcher. Greer hit for Clayton. Greer walked. R Palmeiro hit for Alicea. R Palmeiro walked, Greer to second. L Stevens hit for Shave. Sc Green ran for R Palmeiro. L Stevens walked, Greer to third, Sc Green to second. Mclemore doubled to right center, Greer, Sc Green and L Stevens scored. (3 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ARIZONA 2, TEXAS 3.