Game
97: July 24, 1999 (W: 5-3)[ Previous Game | Next Game ]
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Game
97: July 24, 1999 (W: 5-3)
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Commentary Game Recap Game Photos Box/Line Score Game Log |
TX Rangers Media Notes |
Commentary (by me)
Not available, but we certainly seem to like
to let Tampa Bay get back into things late in the game, don't we? :)
Loaiza looked weak at the start, but got much better after the first two innings.
Game Recap
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA (TICKER) -- Lee Stevens and Ivan Rodriguez both homered for the second straight game as the surging Texas Rangers extended their winning streak to seven with a 5-3 victory over the slumping Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Stevens hit the go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning and Rodriguez provided insurance with a solo blast in the seventh as the Rangers moved 17 games over .500 (57-40) for the first time since the end of the 1996 season.
Texas also extended its lead over second-place Oakland to 7 1/2 games in the American League West. The winning streak is the Rangers' longest since a nine-game run from May 24-June 2.
In only his second start of the season, Esteban Loaiza (2-1) gave up three runs, four hits and five walks in five innings, including a bases-loaded walk in the second inning. Rookies Mike Venafro and Jeff Zimmerman combined for three scoreless innings before John Wetteland pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his major league-leading 28th save.
Alan Newman (1-2), recalled from Triple-A Durham before the game, surrendered Stevens' homer and retired just one batter to take the loss. Starter Dave Eiland allowed two runs and five hits in five innings.
John Flaherty had an RBI double and Wade Boggs added a sacrifice fly for Tampa Bay, which has lost four straight and nine of its last 11 games.
Boggs singled in the first inning to move within 12 hits of the coveted 3,000 plateau.
After falling behind, 3-0, Texas began its comeback in the fourth inning, when Rusty Greer led off with a walk, Rafael Palmeiro doubled and Todd Zeile lifted a sacrifice fly. Stevens cut the deficit to one run with an RBI single.
Newman walked Zeile with one out in the sixth and Stevens followed by hitting a 1-2 pitch over the left-field wall for his 16th homer, giving Texas a 4-3 lead.
"He hit a cutter away," Newman said. "Usually I'll get a fly ball or a ground ball out of it. But he stayed with it and drove it. I actually thought it was a fly ball when he hit it."
Newman was brought up to replace lefthander Wilson Alvarez, who went on the 15-day disabled list with left triceps inflammation.
After hitting one career homer against lefthanders entering this series, Stevens has homered off southpaws in back-to-back games. He hit a two-run shot off lefthanded reliever Mike Duvall on Friday.
"I'll hit against anybody," Stevens said. "It worked out tonight. I don't care if it's a lefthander, I just go up and try to see the ball."
In the seventh, Rodriguez smacked an 0-2 pitch from reliever Esteban Yan over the center-field wall for his third hit of the game and 17th homer of the season.
"We have a very good hitting team," Texas manager Johnny Oates said. "When we are down two or three runs, I expect and encourage them to come back. It is also important for our pitchers to shut the opponent down so we have the opportunity to come back. Because with our lineup, before you know it, we could put up seven runs in one inning."
Texas played without right fielder Juan Gonzalez, who left Friday's game with a jammed right wrist and is listed as day-to-day.
Photos
(Click on any of them for
a larger image)
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| Ranger starter Esteban Loaiza |
Line Score
AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TEXAS 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 5 11 0
TAMPA BAY 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: TEX - ESTEBAN LOAIZA, MIKE VENAFRO (6TH), JEFF
ZIMMERMAN (8TH), JOHN WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN
RODRIGUEZ
TAM - DAVE EILAND, ALAN NEWMAN (6TH), ESTEBAN YAN
(6TH), ALBIE LOPEZ (8TH), ROBERTO HERNANDEZ
(9TH) AND JOHN FLAHERTY
WP - ESTEBAN LOAIZA (2-1)
LP - ALAN NEWMAN (1-2)
SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (28)
HOME RUNS: TEX - LEE STEVENS (16) OFF NEWMAN IN THE 6TH, 1 ON
IVAN RODRIGUEZ (17) OFF YAN IN THE 7TH, 0 ON
TAM - NONE
TIME: 2:36 ATT: 22,780
PROBABLES: TEX - RICK HELLING (7-7, 4.47)
TAM - ROLANDO ARROJO (2-5, 6.63)
Box Score
TEXAS (5) AT TAMPA BAY (3) - FINAL
TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
Mclemore 2b 5 0 1 0 0 2 0 .279
I Rodriguez c 5 1 3 1 0 0 0 .309
Greer lf 3 1 0 0 1 1 1 .275
R Palmeiro dh 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .352
Zeile 3b 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 .294
L Stevens 1b 4 1 2 3 0 0 2 .294
R Kelly rf 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 .312
Mateo cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 .253
Clayton ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .243
Totals 35 5 11 5 2 5 13
BATTING: 2B - R Palmeiro 2 (20, Eiland 2); I Rodriguez (16, Eiland).
HR - L Stevens (16, 6th inning off Newman 1 on, 1 out); I Rodriguez
(17, 7th inning off Yan 0 on, 1 out). SF - Zeile. RBI - Zeile (59),
L Stevens 3 (57), I Rodriguez (58). Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Mateo 1, Greer 1, Clayton 1. Team LOB - 6.
BASERUNNING: SB - R Kelly (5, 2nd base off Yan/Flaherty).
CS - Mclemore (4, 2nd base by R Hernandez/Flaherty); I Rodriguez
(5, 2nd base by R Hernandez/Flaherty).
FIELDING: DP: 2 (Clayton-Mclemore-L Stevens 2).
TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
Da Martinez cf 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 .291
Boggs 3b 3 1 1 1 0 1 3 .295
Trammell lf 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .257
Mcgriff 1b 1 0 0 0 3 0 2 .325
Flaherty c 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .280
Sorrento dh 4 0 0 0 0 3 4 .236
Ledesma 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .262
R Butler rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .222
Lamb ss 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .210
a-Cairo ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .304
Totals 29 3 5 3 6 5 13
a-grounded to shortstop for Lamb in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - Flaherty (12, Loaiza). SF - Boggs. RBI - Flaherty (47),
Da Martinez (48), Boggs (21). 2-out RBI - Flaherty. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - Sorrento 3, Mcgriff 2. GIDP - Trammell,
Flaherty. Team LOB - 6.
TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
Loaiza (W, 2-1) 5 4 3 3 5 3 0 6.98
Venafro (H, 10) 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.98
Je Zimmerman (H, 15) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.78
Wetteland (S, 28) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.65
TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
Eiland 5 5 2 2 1 4 0 5.83
Newman (L, 1-2; BS, 1) 1/3 1 2 2 1 0 1 9.00
Yan 1 2/3 2 1 1 0 1 1 5.16
A Lopez 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 7.39
R Hernandez 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3.42
Venafro pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.
Pitches-strikes: Eiland 72-43; Newman 14-9; Yan 24-18; A Lopez
9-7; R Hernandez 11-6; Loaiza 80-39; Venafro 28-17; Je Zimmerman
9-6; Wetteland 14-9. Ground balls-fly balls: Eiland 3-8; Newman
1-0; Yan 2-2; A Lopez 2-1; R Hernandez 1-0; Loaiza 4-8; Venafro
3-2; Je Zimmerman 2-0; Wetteland 2-1. Batters faced: Eiland 21;
Newman 3; Yan 7; A Lopez 4; R Hernandez 3; Loaiza 24; Venafro 7;
Je Zimmerman 2; Wetteland 3.
UMPIRES: HP--Tim Welke. 1B--Gary Cederstrom. 2B--Jim Reynolds.
3B--Tim Mcclelland.
T--2:36. Att--22,780. Indoors.
Texas Starting Lineups -- Mark Mclemore 2B, Ivan Rodriguez C, Rusty Greer LF, Rafael Palmeiro DH, Todd Zeile 3B, Lee Stevens 1B, Roberto Kelly RF, Ruben Mateo CF, Royce Clayton SS, Esteban Loaiza RHP.
Tampa Bay Starting Lineups -- Dave Martinez CF, Wade Boggs 3B, Bubba Trammell LF, Fred Mcgriff 1B, John Flaherty C, Paul Sorrento DH, Aaron Ledesma 2B, Rich Butler RF, David Lamb SS, Dave Eiland RHP.
Umpires -- T Welke (HP), Cederstrom (1B), Reynolds (2B), T Mcclelland (3B).
Gametime Weather: Indoors
TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore grounded out to second. I Rodriguez flied out to deep right. Greer struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, TAMPA BAY 0.
TAMPA BAY 1ST: Da Martinez flied out to left. Boggs reached on infield single. Trammell popped out to shallow left. Mcgriff walked, Boggs to second. Flaherty doubled to left center, Boggs scored, Mcgriff to third. Sorrento struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, TAMPA BAY 1.
TEXAS 2ND: R Palmeiro doubled to left. Zeile struck out looking. L Stevens flied out to center. R Kelly reached on infield single, R Palmeiro to third. Mateo flied out to left. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, TAMPA BAY 1.
TAMPA BAY 2ND: Ledesma singled to center. R Butler singled to right, Ledesma to second. Lamb walked, Ledesma to third, R Butler to second. Da Martinez walked, Ledesma scored, R Butler to third, Lamb to second. Boggs hit sacrifice fly to left, R Butler scored. Trammell grounded out to first, Lamb to third, Da Martinez to second. Mcgriff lined out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, TAMPA BAY 3.
TEXAS 3RD: Clayton struck out swinging. Mclemore struck out swinging. I Rodriguez flied out to right center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, TAMPA BAY 3.
TAMPA BAY 3RD: Flaherty flied out to center. Sorrento grounded out to second. Ledesma lined out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, TAMPA BAY 3.
TEXAS 4TH: Greer walked. R Palmeiro doubled to right, Greer to third. Zeile hit sacrifice fly to left center, Greer scored. L Stevens singled to center, R Palmeiro scored. R Kelly flied out to center. Mateo grounded out to pitcher. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, TAMPA BAY 3.
TAMPA BAY 4TH: R Butler grounded out to second. Lamb grounded out to first. Da Martinez struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, TAMPA BAY 3.
TEXAS 5TH: Clayton grounded out to shortstop. Mclemore flied out to left. I Rodriguez doubled to left. Greer lined out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, TAMPA BAY 3.
TAMPA BAY 5TH: Boggs popped out to shortstop. Trammell walked. Mcgriff walked, Trammell to second. Flaherty flied out to right, Trammell to third. Sorrento struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 2, TAMPA BAY 3.
TEXAS 6TH: Alan Newman relieved Dave Eiland. R Palmeiro grounded out to second. Zeile walked. L Stevens homered to left, Zeile scored. Esteban Yan relieved Alan Newman. R Kelly singled to left. Mateo flied out to right. R Kelly stole second. Clayton grounded out to third. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 4, TAMPA BAY 3.
TAMPA BAY 6TH: Mike Venafro relieved Esteban Loaiza. Ledesma flied out to center. R Butler grounded out to first. Lamb flied out to right center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 4, TAMPA BAY 3.
TEXAS 7TH: Mclemore struck out swinging. I Rodriguez homered to center. Greer flied out to left. R Palmeiro grounded out to first. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 5, TAMPA BAY 3.
TAMPA BAY 7TH: Da Martinez singled to center. Boggs struck out looking. Trammell grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Da Martinez out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 5, TAMPA BAY 3.
TEXAS 8TH: Albie Lopez relieved Esteban Yan. Zeile singled to center. L Stevens grounded into fielder's choice to second, Zeile out at second. R Kelly grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, L Stevens out at second. Mateo flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 5, TAMPA BAY 3.
TAMPA BAY 8TH: Mcgriff walked. Jeff Zimmerman relieved Mike Venafro. Flaherty grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Mcgriff out at second. Sorrento struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 5, TAMPA BAY 3.
TEXAS 9TH: Roberto Hernandez relieved Albie Lopez. Clayton grounded out to shortstop. Mclemore singled to left center. Mclemore caught stealing, catcher to second. I Rodriguez singled to center. I Rodriguez caught stealing, catcher to shortstop. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 5, TAMPA BAY 3.
TAMPA BAY 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Jeff Zimmerman. Ledesma grounded out to second. R Butler fouled out to catcher. Cairo hit for Lamb. Cairo grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 5, TAMPA BAY 3.