Game 99: July 27, 1999 (W: 8-6)
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Commentary (by me)

My wife and I were at this game in Baltimore.  We decided to take a vacation together, and we had never seen the Baltimore Inner Harbor, so we decided to plan a trip around when the Rangers were there.  I know it's kinda geeky, but hey, it's something cool to do for a Rangers fan.  :)

What was cool was that where we were sitting there was at least two other groups of Ranger fans.  A family of four from Carrolton, and some people behind us who I think were from The Colony.  It was quite cool having around 12 Ranger fans there, and we could shout for the Rangers - that was quite cool.   What was not cool was the ballpark.  It was friggin hot!  I had forgotten what humidity outside the state of Texas was like.  Yikes!   My wife and I also met the author of a baseball book in one of the resturants before the game started.  The book is called "Minor Players, Major Dreams".  I've ordered it from Amazon, so I hope to have some commentary up on it before too long.

It was cool that we won the game, but to tell you the truth, I was paying more attention to the Ballpark itself - I tend to do that when I'm in a place I've never been before.  I'll have my full report on Baltimore's stadium up shortly.

Game Recap

BALTIMORE (TICKER) -- Luis Alicea belted his first homer of the season and Aaron Sele continued to get strong support as the Texas Rangers cooled off the Baltimore Orioles, 8-6, and matched a season high with their ninth straight victory.

Alicea smacked a two-run homer in the top of the second while Sele allowed five runs and eight hits over six-plus innings with three walks and two strikeouts. The Rangers have scored 44 runs in Sele's last five starts.

Rookies Mike Venafro and Jeff Zimmerman tossed scoreless innings before John Wetteland recorded the final three outs for his major league-leading 30th save in 37 chances. Wetteland gave up a solo homer to Brady Anderson, who also had a two-run shot in the seventh.

"Every game the last two months seems to have come down to the last pitch," Texas manager Johnny Oates said. "Fortunately, we have been winning a lot of them."

Zimmerman has not allowed a run in 28 1/3 consecutive innings over 25 appearances, both Texas records. He has been unscored upon since giving up three runs in 1 1/3 innings at Baltimore on May 22.

Texas, which also won nine in a row from May 24-June 2, increased its lead over second-place Oakland to 8 1/2 games in the American League West. The Rangers have not won 10 straight since a team-record 14-game run from May 12-27, 1991.

"We have a club giving an entire team effort," Texas third baseman Todd Zeile said. "Sele pitched well. The bullpen is doing the job. We are getting timely hits when we need them."

The Rangers (59-40) moved 19 games over .500 for the first time since September 15, 1996 and remained one-half game behind Cleveland in the race for the second-best record in the AL.

"It's at home where we are close to playing our best baseball, but when we are clicking on all cylinders we can beat anybody," Texas shortstop Royce Clayton said.

Baltimore had a six-game winning streak stopped and lost for only the third time in 14 games.

"Obviously, we came up short," Orioles manager Ray Miller said. "They are a hot club right now, and they showed it."

The Orioles grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first on Albert Belle's two-run homer, but the Rangers reached Baltimore ace Mike Mussina (13-5) for four runs in the second on Alicea's homer and Rusty Greer's two-run double.

Belle has belted seven homers in his last 10 games, including three in Sunday's 8-7 victory over Anaheim.

But Alicea lifted a sacrifice fly in the third before Clayton's two-run triple in the fourth staked the Rangers to a 7-2 advantage.

"It was just bad pitching," Mussina said. "You get behind them, they are going to hurt you, which tonight was a good example of."

Zeile, who had four singles, came through with a run-scoring hit in the ninth, giving him an RBI in seven straight games.

"I didn't know about that streak, but if I didn't have teammates on base, it couldn't happen," he said. "You have to have the opportunity to do it."

The defeat snapped a personal four-game winning streak for Mussina, who allowed seven runs -- six earned -- and 11 hits over 4 2/3 innings in his second-shortest outing of the year. The righthander lasted 3 2/3 frames in a 14-8 loss at Tampa Bay on April 21.

"I was disappointed in the way I threw," Mussina said. "I didn't even give us a chance. When I didn't get ahead, I made a pitch they could hit."

"Mussina is a competitor, even when he is off," Zeile added. "You have to take advantage of whatever you can when you face him."

Anderson had an RBI double in the fifth before his home run pulled Baltimore within 7-5 in the seventh. It was his first multi-homer game of the season and the 15th of his career.

The Orioles' center fielder went 3-for-4 with four RBI and is batting .409 (18-for-44) over his last 13 contests.

Four Baltimore relievers combined to allow only one run and three hits over the final 4 1/3 innings. Jesse Orosco made his 1,065th career appearance and needs six to tie all-time leader Dennis Eckersley. Hoyt Wilhelm is second with 1,070.

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

A view of where I was sitting for this game from the Orioles Seat Selector	A fan wants Cal's 400th	Albert "Show me the Money" Belle hits a home run in the 1st	Aaron Sele gets pissed over Belle's homer	Luis Alicea gets congrats for his 2nd inning homer

Mike Mussina after Alicea's home run	A conference after Alicea's home run	Royce Clayton getting into third	Luis Alicea turning a double play

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
TEXAS               0  4  1   0  2  0   0  0  1     8 14  1
BALTIMORE           2  0  0   0  1  0   2  0  1     6 11  1   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  TEX - AARON SELE, MIKE VENAFRO (7TH), JEFF ZIMMERMAN
                  (8TH), JOHN WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ
            BAL - MIKE MUSSINA, ARTHUR RHODES (5TH), AL REYES
                  (7TH), JESSE OROSCO (9TH), SCOTT KAMIENIECKI
                  (9TH) AND CHARLES JOHNSON

             WP - AARON SELE (10-6)
             LP - MIKE MUSSINA (13-5)
           SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (30)

HOME RUNS:  TEX - LUIS ALICEA (1) OFF MUSSINA IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
            BAL - ALBERT BELLE (25) OFF SELE IN THE 1ST, 1 ON
                  BRADY ANDERSON (13) OFF SELE IN THE 7TH, 1 ON
                  BRADY ANDERSON (14) OFF WETTELAND IN THE 9TH, 0 ON

     TIME:  3:11     ATT:  42,949

PROBABLES:  TEX - JOHN BURKETT (3-4, 5.91)
            BAL - SCOTT ERICKSON (6-8, 5.49)

Box Score
TEXAS (8) AT BALTIMORE (6) - FINAL

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore rf             4  0  0  0   1  1   2  .279
I Rodriguez c           5  1  2  0   0  1   1  .310
Greer lf                5  1  3  2   0  0   1  .279
R Palmeiro dh           5  0  1  0   0  0   4  .349
Zeile 3b                5  2  4  1   0  1   2  .303
L Stevens 1b            4  2  1  0   1  1   4  .289
Mateo cf                4  0  0  0   0  1   5  .242
Alicea 2b               3  1  1  3   0  0   3  .170
Clayton ss              4  1  2  2   0  1   1  .247

Totals                 39  8 14  8   2  6  23

BATTING: 2B - Greer 2 (31, Mussina, Orosco); I Rodriguez (17, Mussina);
L Stevens (20, Mussina). 3B - Clayton (3, Mussina). HR - Alicea
(1, 2nd inning off Mussina 1 on, 1 out). SF - Alicea. RBI -
Alicea 3 (9), Greer 2 (62), Clayton 2 (22), Zeile (61). 2-out RBI -
Greer 2, Clayton 2, Zeile. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
Zeile 1, R Palmeiro 1, Mclemore 1. GIDP - L Stevens. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - Zeile (15, ground ball). DP: 2 (Sele-L Stevens,
Clayton-Alicea-L Stevens).

BALTIMORE              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
B Anderson cf           5  2  3  4   0  0   0  .286
Bordick ss              4  0  0  0   1  1   0  .275
Surhoff lf              5  1  2  0   0  1   2  .335
Belle rf                4  1  1  2   1  2   1  .283
Baines dh               3  0  2  0   0  1   3  .342
 a-Conine ph-dh         2  0  1  0   0  0   1  .297
W Clark 1b              4  0  1  0   0  1   2  .306
C Ripken 3b             3  0  0  0   1  0   3  .324
Deshields 2b            4  1  1  0   0  0   3  .271
C Johnson c             3  1  0  0   1  0   3  .246

Totals                 37  6 11  6   4  6  18

a-singled for Baines in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - Baines 2 (11, Sele 2); B Anderson (19, Sele). HR -
Belle (25, 1st inning off Sele 1 on, 2 out); B Anderson 2 (14, 7th inning
off Sele 1 on, 0 out, 9th inning off Wetteland 0 on, 0 out). RBI -
Belle 2 (71), B Anderson 4 (54). 2-out RBI - Belle 2. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - W Clark 1, Baines 2, C Johnson 1.
GIDP - Deshields. Team LOB - 8.

FIELDING: E - Deshields (6, ground ball). Outfield assists - Belle
(I Rodriguez at home). DP: 1 (Bordick-W Clark).

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Sele (W, 10-6)                6       8   5   5   3   2   2   5.66
Venafro (H, 11)               1       0   0   0   0   2   0   2.91
Je Zimmerman (H, 16)          1       1   0   0   1   1   0   0.76
Wetteland (S, 30)             1       2   1   1   0   1   1   4.89

BALTIMORE                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Mussina (L, 13-5)             4 2/3  11   7   6   2   4   1   3.69
Rhodes                        1 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   6.17
Reyes                         2 1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00
Orosco                          1/3   1   1   1   0   0   0   7.06
Kamieniecki                     1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   7.36

Sele pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

Pitches-strikes: Mussina 86-52; Rhodes 17-11; Reyes 25-15;
Orosco 10-6; Kamieniecki 9-4; Sele 104-65; Venafro 16-11;
Je Zimmerman 18-10; Wetteland 17-11.  Ground balls-fly balls:
Mussina 6-3; Rhodes 1-3; Reyes 5-1; Orosco 1-0; Kamieniecki 0-0;
Sele 7-8; Venafro 1-0; Je Zimmerman 1-1; Wetteland 0-2.  Batters
faced: Mussina 27; Rhodes 4; Reyes 7; Orosco 2; Kamieniecki 2;
Sele 28; Venafro 3; Je Zimmerman 5; Wetteland 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Derryl Cousins. 1B--Joe Brinkman. 2B--John Shulock.
3B--Dale Scott.
T--3:11.  Att--42,949.   Weather: 99 degrees, clear.   Wind: 7 mph,
right to left.

AL       TEXAS AT BALTIMORE
         NOTE:  TEXAS' JUAN GONZALEZ WAS SCRATCHED FROM TONIGHT'S LINEUP
                DUE TO A STRAINED RIGHT WRIST.

Game Log

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

Baltimore Starting Lineups -- Brady Anderson CF, Mike Bordick SS, Bj Surhoff LF, Albert Belle RF, Harold Baines DH, Will Clark 1B, Cal Ripken Jr 3B, Delino Deshields 2B, Charles Johnson C, Mike Mussina RHP.

Umpires -- Cousins (HP), Brinkman (1B), Shulock (2B), Scott (3B).

Gametime Weather: 99 degrees, Clear, wind right to left at 7 mph.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore walked. I Rodriguez struck out swinging. Greer singled to right, Mclemore to second. R Palmeiro flied out to shallow center. Zeile struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BALTIMORE 0.

BALTIMORE 1ST: B Anderson grounded out to second. Bordick lined out to left. Surhoff singled to left. Belle homered to left, Surhoff scored. Baines doubled to left. W Clark flied out to center. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BALTIMORE 2.

TEXAS 2ND: L Stevens walked. Mateo struck out looking. Alicea homered to right, L Stevens scored. Clayton singled to right. Mclemore struck out looking. I Rodriguez singled to right, Clayton to third. Greer doubled to deep right, Clayton and I Rodriguez scored. R Palmeiro grounded out to first. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 4, BALTIMORE 2.

BALTIMORE 2ND: C Ripken grounded out to shortstop. Deshields grounded out to second. C Johnson flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 4, BALTIMORE 2.

TEXAS 3RD: Zeile singled to left. L Stevens safe at first on 2nd baseman Deshields' fielding error, Zeile to second. Mateo grounded into fielder's choice to third, Zeile to third, L Stevens out at second. Alicea hit sacrifice fly to center, Zeile scored. Clayton grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Mateo out at second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) TEXAS 5, BALTIMORE 2.

BALTIMORE 3RD: B Anderson grounded out to shortstop. Bordick lined out to first. Surhoff struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 5, BALTIMORE 2.

TEXAS 4TH: Mclemore grounded out to first. I Rodriguez doubled to left. Greer fouled out to third. R Palmeiro singled to right, I Rodriguez thrown out at home. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 5, BALTIMORE 2.

BALTIMORE 4TH: Belle grounded out to third. Baines doubled to right. W Clark singled to right, Baines to third. C Ripken lined into double play, pitcher to first, W Clark doubled off first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 5, BALTIMORE 2.

TEXAS 5TH: Zeile singled to right. L Stevens doubled to left center, Zeile to third. Mateo grounded out to pitcher. Alicea grounded out to second. Clayton tripled to deep right center, Zeile and L Stevens scored. Arthur Rhodes relieved Mike Mussina. Mclemore flied out to right. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, BALTIMORE 2.

BALTIMORE 5TH: Deshields reached on infield single. C Johnson fouled out to catcher. B Anderson doubled to left, Deshields scored. Bordick walked. Surhoff flied out to right. Belle walked, B Anderson to third, Bordick to second. Baines struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, BALTIMORE 3.

TEXAS 6TH: I Rodriguez flied out to deep center. Greer grounded out to second. R Palmeiro flied out to right center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, BALTIMORE 3.

BALTIMORE 6TH: W Clark flied out to right. C Ripken safe at first on 3rd baseman Zeile's fielding error. Deshields grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, C Ripken out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 7, BALTIMORE 3.

TEXAS 7TH: Al Reyes relieved Arthur Rhodes. Zeile singled to left. L Stevens grounded into double play, shortstop to first, Zeile out at second. Mateo grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, BALTIMORE 3.

BALTIMORE 7TH: C Johnson walked. B Anderson homered to right, C Johnson scored. Mike Venafro relieved Aaron Sele. Bordick struck out swinging. Surhoff grounded out to third. Belle struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, BALTIMORE 5.

TEXAS 8TH: Alicea grounded out to second. Clayton struck out swinging. Mclemore fouled out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, BALTIMORE 5.

BALTIMORE 8TH: Conine hit for Baines. Jeff Zimmerman relieved Mike Venafro. Conine singled to center. W Clark struck out swinging. C Ripken walked, Conine to second. Deshields fouled out to third. C Johnson grounded into fielder's choice to second, C Ripken out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, BALTIMORE 5.

TEXAS 9TH: I Rodriguez grounded out to second. Jesse Orosco relieved Al Reyes. Greer doubled to left center. R Palmeiro grounded out to pitcher. Scott Kamieniecki relieved Jesse Orosco. Zeile singled to center, Greer scored. L Stevens struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 8, BALTIMORE 5.

BALTIMORE 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Jeff Zimmerman. B Anderson homered to right. Bordick flied out to shallow right. Surhoff singled to right. Belle struck out swinging. Conine flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 8, BALTIMORE 6.