Game 95: July 22, 1999 (W: 9-7)
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Commentary (by me)

Remember last week when the Rangers lost a game due to the sun in left field?  Well, I got a big look first hand at this.  I showed up at the ballpark at 4:30 when the gates opened to take some pictures at the ballpark that will show up on this web site shortly.   Anyways, I spent a lot of time out in left field on all three levels of the ballpark, and JEEZ!  It was friggin sunny as all hell, and I got a bit sunburnt.  I can imagine how bad it was for Rusty, you can hardly see anything up high.

I had bought a cheap seat because my real purpose in going was to take pictures.  So, I got in for $5, but I managed to get into the 200 level right before the game started, and I ended up sitting in section 225, one section over from Hornman.  :)   This was their "Christmas in July" game, there were Christmas trees and Christmas music being played before the game.  It was pretty cute.

Anyway, the Angels struck fast, with Mo Vaughn rumbling all the way around from first base - in fact, Mo scored the first three runs!  We were down 3-0, and with Burkett pitching, I didn't have a good feeling when we went down 3-0.  However, we busted out in the bottom of the third for a big six spot, which was highlighted by Rafael Palmeiro's grand slam.  This was the second grand slam that I've seen with my own eyes this year (also saw Roberto Kelly's slam awhile back).  That put us up 6-3, and in the 4th, we kept the Angels off the board, so I was thinking things were going to go well for Burkett, who didn't pitch all that well, he needed to be rescued three times with inning ending double plays.  The Angels crept back getting another run in each the 5th and 6th, bringing them back within one.  We then scored two in the bottom of the sixth, which included a solo shot by Zeile.  However, in the 7th and 8th, the Angels scored another run in each, bringing them back to within one run again.   We picked up an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th, and Zimmerman came in to close the game in the 9th (Wetteland is still having back spasms).  In fact, the 9th was the only inning the Angels didn't get a hit (they scored one run in every inning except the 4th and 9th).  

We used a lot of pitchers tonight - Burkett went 5.1 and was just "eh".  We also used Venafro, Patterson, Munoz, Crabtree, & Jeff Zimmerman.  This was a really exciting game for me, both from the grand slam I saw to the general "feel".  It was a great game to be at.

We swept the two game series, and Oakland finally lost, so we're up 6 on the A's, 9 on the Mariners, and 12.5 on the Angels, who are down for the count.

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- Rafael Palmeiro highlighted a six-run third inning with his second grand slam of the season as the Texas Rangers handed the Anaheim Angels their season-high seventh straight loss, 9-7.

Palmeiro belted a 2-1 pitch from Angels starter Steve Sparks (4-7) over the right-field wall with two outs in the third, giving the Rangers a 6-3 advantage. It was the seventh career grand slam for Palmeiro, who also connected for one on June 5 against Arizona.

Rookie Ruben Mateo added three hits and two RBI and Todd Zeile smacked a solo homer for the Rangers, who extended their winning streak to five games.

Rangers starter John Burkett (3-4) earned the win despite allowing five runs and 12 hits over 5 1/3 innings. The veteran righthander walked three and struck out one.

Four relievers combined to allow two runs over 2 2/3 innings before rookie Jeff Zimmerman retired the side in order in the ninth for his third save and second in as many days. Zimmerman has closed the last two nights in place of John Wetteland, who is sidelined with a stiff back.

"I take it one inning at a time. The pressure is the same whatever inning you're in," said Zimmerman, who has worked a team-record 26 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

"It doesn't matter if I'm pitching in the fifth inning or ninth inning," he added. "I approach the inning the same way. The only thing that's different is the crowd noise. It pumps you up so much and gives you a shot of adrenaline."

Mo Vaughn and rookie Troy Glaus smacked solo homers for the Angels, who are mired in their longest losing streak since also dropping seven in a row from September 9-17, 1996.

Sparks surrendered eight runs -- three earned -- and eight hits over 5 1/3 innings. In his last two starts, the knuckleballer has been roughed up for 10 earned runs and 17 hits in nine innings.

The Angels scored once in each of the first three innings to build a 3-0 lead. Tim Salmon, who had three hits, doubled home a run in the first, Glaus hit his 17th homer in the second and Vaughn his 18th in the next inning. Vaughn was 3-for-5 and scored three runs.

But that lead disappeared in the third. Lee Stevens led off with a single but was forced at second on Mateo's grounder. Glaus committed an error that allowed Royce Clayton to reach and Mark McLemore walked to load the bases.

Ivan Rodriguez came through with a hard single into left field, plating a pair of runs. Rusty Greer walked to reload the bases and Sparks retired the dangerous Juan Gonzalez on an infield popout. But Palmeiro followed with his 23rd homer to clear the bases.

"I drove it and I didn't think it was going to be a home run," Palmeiro said. "I thought it was going off the wall but it ended up in the seats. You have to sit back and wait and hope it doesn't knuckle too much. It put us in the game and gave us four runs right away."

"It was a knuckleball. You try to keep it away, but he just reached out and got it," commented Sparks. "It was the type of evening where you try to keep the ball low. I'm very disappointed with how I pitched today."

The Angels chipped away at Texas' lead, scoring in the fifth and sixth on run-scoring singles by Garret Anderson and Randy Velarde, respectively

However, the Rangers restored their three-run advantage in the bottom of the sixth. Zeile connected for his 12th homer with one out and, after Stevens doubled, Mateo singled him home.

As was the case earlier in the game, the Angels continued to chip away at the lead with a single run in both the seventh and eighth.

Reggie Williams plated a run in the seventh with an infield hit and Velarde delivered his second run-scoring single in the next inning.

Anaheim had 15 hits but left nine runners.

Mateo's second RBI single of the contest in the eighth closed the scoring.

Photos
(Click on any of them for a larger image)
I took a ton of pictures at this game, I'll be posting them shortly.

Santa Claus throws out the first pitch	Mo Vaughn watches his home run sail	Steve Decker breaks his bat on a hit	Raffy watches his grand slam sail	Raffy gets congrats for his slam

Royce Clayton turns a double play	John Huson crashes into Pudge in the 8th

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
ANAHEIM             1  1  1   0  1  1   1  1  0     7 15  1
TEXAS               0  0  6   0  0  2   0  1  x     9 10  1   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  ANA - STEVE SPARKS, JARROD WASHBURN (6TH),
                  SHIGETOSHI HASEGAWA (8TH) AND STEVE DECKER
            TEX - JOHN BURKETT, MIKE VENAFRO (6TH), DANNY
                  PATTERSON (7TH), MIKE MUNOZ (8TH), TIM
                  CRABTREE (8TH), JEFF ZIMMERMAN (9TH) AND IVAN
                  RODRIGUEZ

             WP - JOHN BURKETT (3-4)
             LP - STEVE SPARKS (4-7)
           SAVE - JEFF ZIMMERMAN (3)

HOME RUNS:  ANA - TROY GLAUS (17) OFF BURKETT IN THE 2ND, 0 ON
                  MO VAUGHN (18) OFF BURKETT IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
            TEX - RAFAEL PALMEIRO (23) OFF SPARKS IN THE 3RD, 3 ON
                  TODD ZEILE (12) OFF SPARKS IN THE 6TH, 0 ON

     TIME:  3:10     ATT:  31,101

PROBABLES:  ANA - MIKE FYHRIE (0-2, 7.16)
            BAL - JUAN GUZMAN (4-8, 4.53)

            TEX - MIKE MORGAN (10-6, 5.38)
            TAM - RYAN RUPE (4-4, 4.63)

Box Score
ANAHEIM (7) AT TEXAS (9) - FINAL

ANAHEIM                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Erstad lf               4  0  0  0   1  0   3  .258
Velarde 2b              5  0  2  2   0  1   2  .311
Vaughn 1b               5  3  3  1   0  0   2  .285
Salmon rf               4  1  3  1   1  0   1  .325
G Anderson cf           5  0  1  1   0  0   2  .292
Glaus 3b                4  1  1  1   1  1   2  .236
O Palmeiro dh           3  0  1  0   0  0   2  .286
 a-R Williams ph-dh     2  0  1  1   0  1   0  .233
Decker c                4  1  2  0   0  0   1  .222
Disarcina ss            2  0  1  0   1  0   1  .241
 b-Huson ph-ss          0  1  0  0   1  0   0  .257

Totals                 38  7 15  7   5  3  16

a-singled for O Palmeiro in the 7th; b-walked for Disarcina in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - Salmon 2 (11, Burkett 2); Decker (4, Burkett).
HR - Glaus (17, 2nd inning off Burkett 0 on, 0 out); Vaughn
(18, 3rd inning off Burkett 0 on, 0 out). RBI - Salmon (27),
Glaus (43), Vaughn (60), G Anderson (46), Velarde 2 (45), R Williams (6).
2-out RBI - Salmon, Velarde, R Williams. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - G Anderson 1, Velarde 1, Vaughn 1, Salmon 1.
GIDP - O Palmeiro, Erstad, Glaus. Team LOB - 9.

BASERUNNING: Picked off - O Palmeiro (1st base, I Rodriguez).

FIELDING: E - Glaus (12, ground ball). Outfield assists - G Anderson
(Zeile at home). DP: 1 (Sparks-Velarde-Vaughn).

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore 2b             4  1  0  0   1  1   5  .282
I Rodriguez c           4  1  1  2   0  0   0  .305
Greer lf                3  1  0  0   1  0   0  .275
J Gonzalez rf           4  0  0  0   0  1   3  .309
R Palmeiro dh           3  1  1  4   1  0   0  .348
 Alicea pr              0  1  0  0   0  0   0  .165
Zeile 3b                4  1  2  1   0  1   0  .291
L Stevens 1b            4  1  2  0   0  0   2  .288
Mateo cf                4  1  3  2   0  0   1  .270
Clayton ss              3  1  1  0   1  1   3  .248

Totals                 33  9 10  9   4  4  14

BATTING: 2B - Mateo (7, Sparks); L Stevens (19, Sparks); Zeile
(28, Washburn). HR - R Palmeiro (23, 3rd inning off Sparks 3 on,
2 out); Zeile (12, 6th inning off Sparks 0 on, 1 out). RBI -
I Rodriguez 2 (55), R Palmeiro 4 (82), Zeile (55), Mateo 2 (14).
2-out RBI - R Palmeiro 4. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Mclemore 1. GIDP - Mclemore. Team LOB - 4.

BASERUNNING: SB - Mateo (2, 2nd base off Hasegawa/Decker).

FIELDING: E - L Stevens (6, throw). DP: 3 (Mclemore-Clayton-L Stevens,
Clayton-Mclemore-L Stevens 2).

ANAHEIM                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Sparks (L, 4-7)               5 1/3   8   8   3   2   1   2   5.16
Washburn                      2       1   1   1   1   2   0   7.71
Hasegawa                        2/3   1   0   0   1   1   0   4.69

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Burkett (W, 3-4)              5 1/3  12   5   5   3   1   2   5.91
Venafro (H, 9)                1 1/3   2   1   1   1   0   0   3.12
D Patterson (H, 3)              1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   4.34
M Munoz (H, 7)                  2/3   1   1   1   1   0   0   3.35
Crabtree (H, 10)                1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   3.37
Je Zimmerman (S, 3)           1       0   0   0   0   2   0   0.79

Pitches-strikes: Burkett 99-60; Venafro 21-10; D Patterson 6-4;
M Munoz 13-6; Crabtree 4-4; Je Zimmerman 11-9; Sparks 93-56;
Washburn 35-21; Hasegawa 16-8.  Ground balls-fly balls: Burkett
11-3; Venafro 2-1; D Patterson 1-0; M Munoz 2-0; Crabtree 0-1;
Je Zimmerman 0-1; Sparks 7-8; Washburn 3-1; Hasegawa 0-0.
Batters faced: Burkett 27; Venafro 7; D Patterson 1; M Munoz 4;
Crabtree 1; Je Zimmerman 3; Sparks 26; Washburn 8; Hasegawa 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Mark Johnson. 1B--Brian Onora. 2B--Rich Garcia.
3B--Mike Reilly.
T--3:10.  Att--31,101.   Weather: 94 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 13 mph, in from center.

Game Log

Anaheim Starting Lineups -- Darin Erstad LF, Randy Velarde 2B, Mo Vaughn 1B, Tim Salmon RF, Garret Anderson CF, Troy Glaus 3B, Orlando Palmeiro DH, Steve Decker C, Gary Disarcina SS, Steve Sparks RHP.

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

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

Gametime Weather: 94 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind in from center at 13 mph.

ANAHEIM 1ST: Erstad grounded out to first. Velarde struck out swinging. Vaughn singled to right center. Salmon doubled to left center, Vaughn scored. G Anderson popped out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore grounded out to first. I Rodriguez grounded out to second. Greer flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 1, TEXAS 0.

ANAHEIM 2ND: Glaus homered to right center. O Palmeiro popped out to second. Decker singled to left. Disarcina popped out to first. Erstad walked, Decker to second. Velarde grounded into fielder's choice to third, Decker out at third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 2, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 2ND: J Gonzalez popped out to shallow left. R Palmeiro popped out to third. Zeile grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 2, TEXAS 0.

ANAHEIM 3RD: Vaughn homered to center. Salmon singled to right. G Anderson grounded into fielder's choice to second, Salmon out at second. Glaus walked, G Anderson to second. O Palmeiro grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Glaus out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 3, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 3RD: L Stevens singled to center. Mateo grounded into fielder's choice to third, L Stevens out at second. Clayton safe at first on 3rd baseman Glaus' fielding error, Mateo to second. Mclemore walked, Mateo to third, Clayton to second. I Rodriguez singled to left, Mateo and Clayton scored, Mclemore to second. Greer walked, Mclemore to third, I Rodriguez to second. J Gonzalez popped out to first. R Palmeiro homered to right, Mclemore, I Rodriguez and Greer scored. Zeile struck out looking. (6 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) ANAHEIM 3, TEXAS 6.

ANAHEIM 4TH: Decker grounded out to second. Disarcina singled to center. Erstad grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Disarcina out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 3, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 4TH: L Stevens grounded out to shortstop. Mateo doubled to left center. Clayton singled to left, Mateo to third. Mclemore grounded into double play, pitcher to second to first, Clayton out at second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 3, TEXAS 6.

ANAHEIM 5TH: Velarde grounded out to shortstop. Vaughn singled to left. Salmon doubled to left, Vaughn to third. G Anderson singled to center, Vaughn scored, Salmon to third. Glaus grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, G Anderson out at second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 4, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 5TH: I Rodriguez flied out to center. Greer fouled out to third. J Gonzalez flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 4, TEXAS 6.

ANAHEIM 6TH: O Palmeiro singled to right. O Palmeiro picked off at first, catcher to first. Decker doubled to deep right center. Disarcina walked. Mike Venafro relieved John Burkett. Erstad safe at first on 1st baseman L Stevens' throwing error, Decker to third, Disarcina to second, Disarcina out at second overrunning base. Velarde singled to left, Decker scored, Erstad to second. Vaughn grounded out to third. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 1 Error) ANAHEIM 5, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 6TH: R Palmeiro flied out to left. Zeile homered to center. L Stevens doubled to left. Mateo singled to center, L Stevens scored. Jarrod Washburn relieved Steve Sparks. Clayton struck out swinging. Mclemore popped out to shallow right. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 5, TEXAS 8.

ANAHEIM 7TH: Salmon walked. G Anderson grounded out to catcher, Salmon to second. Glaus flied out to right, Salmon to third. R Williams hit for O Palmeiro. R Williams reached on infield single, Salmon scored. Danny Patterson relieved Mike Venafro. Decker grounded out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 6, TEXAS 8.

TEXAS 7TH: I Rodriguez grounded out to second. Greer grounded out to pitcher. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 6, TEXAS 8.

ANAHEIM 8TH: Mike Munoz relieved Danny Patterson. Huson hit for Disarcina. Huson walked. Erstad grounded out to shortstop, Huson to second. Velarde singled to center, Huson scored. Velarde to second advancing on throw. Vaughn grounded out to second, Velarde to third. Tim Crabtree relieved Mike Munoz. Salmon popped out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 7, TEXAS 8.

TEXAS 8TH: Huson at short. R Palmeiro walked. Zeile doubled to left, R Palmeiro to third. L Stevens grounded out to second. Shigetoshi Hasegawa relieved Jarrod Washburn. Alicea ran for R Palmeiro. Mateo singled to center, Alicea scored, Zeile thrown out at home. Mateo stole second. Clayton walked. Mclemore struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 7, TEXAS 9.

ANAHEIM 9TH: Jeff Zimmerman relieved Tim Crabtree. G Anderson flied out to right. Glaus struck out swinging. R Williams struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ANAHEIM 7, TEXAS 9.