Game 100: July 28, 1999 (L: 8-6)
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Commentary (by me)

Our second of two games at Camden Yards.  This place is great - my full report on the Orioles' ballpark is coming soon.  

Big difference between this game over the last game was that my wife and I were by ourselves this time - no Ranger fans around, so we had to chill out a bit.  Was a bit rainy before the game, but our seats were undercover, so that helped, even though it had more or less stopped raining by the time we had walked over to the hotel.  There's a shot of what my seats looked like in the pictures below.

We lost this game by the same score that we won by last night.  I felt Burkett was left in just a tad bit too long, but he didn't pitch all that bad, either.  Cal Ripken missed his 400th home run by about a foot or two - the ball was just foul past the left field foul pole.  Damn, I really wanted to see that.  :)  We did get a couple of Ranger home runs - one by former Oriole Todd Zeile, and another by Ruben Mateo, which was opposite field, not that far away from where I was sitting.  That was nice - and the home runs were about the only time my wife and I actively "cheered" the Rangers this game.  :)

Game Recap

BALTIMORE (TICKER) -- Charles Johnson had a season-high four RBI as the Baltimore Orioles remained hot and snapped the Texas Rangers' nine-game winning streak with an 8-4 victory.

Baltimore, which has won seven of its last eight and 12 of 15 games, took a 2-0 lead when Johnson stroked a two-out, two-run double in the second inning.

Mike Bordick and B.J. Surhoff snapped a 4-4 tie with back-to-back RBI singles in the sixth before Johnson doubled home two more runs in the seventh, giving Baltimore an 8-4 cushion.

"It felt good to drive in some runs, real good," Johnson said. "I haven't been able to do that lately."

Scott Erickson (7-8) earned his sixth straight win, despite allowing four runs and six hits over six innings. The righthander, who has been the subject of persistent trade rumors as the deadline approaches, is unbeaten in his last 10 outings since a June 4 loss to Philadelphia. Erickson improved to 8-6 lifetime against Texas.

"I'm keeping my pitches down, slowing my mechanics," he said. "I had a rough start to the season but you can't give up. (The rumors are) a non-factor, ridiculous to even bring it up. There is no point in talking about it."

Rookie Ruben Mateo belted his fourth homer with two out in the eighth off reliever Doug Johns to pull Texas within 8-6. But closer Mike Timlin tossed a scoreless ninth for his 12th save.

"With Mike, he has been consistent in the strike zone and it's made him tougher," Johnson added. "Come in and throw strikes, that is what a closer does."

Todd Zeile and Luis Alicea each drove in a pair of runs for Texas, which had not lost since an 8-6 setback to Arizona on July 17. Zeile has knocked in a run in eight straight games, amassing 13 RBI during that stretch.

The Rangers failed in a bid for 10 straight wins for the first time since a franchise-record 14-game run from May 12-27, 1991. They also won nine straight from May 24-June 2. Texas remained 8 1/2 games ahead of Oakland in the American League West.

Texas starter John Burkett (3-5) slipped to 0-5 lifetime against Baltimore, allowing six runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings.

"I wasn't able to hold them down when I had to," he said.

The start of the game was delayed 37 minutes due to rain.

Cal Ripken went 3-for-5 to pull within 37 hits of 3,000, surpassing Baltimore great Willie Keeler for 26th place on the all-time list.

"It is fun to watch great players, especially when you look at the things they have done in their career and when they struggle people say they are through and all that stuff," Baltimore manager Ray Miller said.

Will Clark singled with one out in the second and moved to third on Delino DeShields' base hit. Johnson followed with a double to left, plating both runners to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead.

Zeile led off the fourth with his 15th home run. But the Orioles scored two more in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single by DeShields and Mike Bordick's run-scoring groundout that made it 4-1.

Erickson walked Rusty Greer and Rafael Palmeiro to start the sixth before Zeile smacked an RBI single to right. Lee Stevens grounded to second to move the runners up before Alicea's two-run single knotted the game, 4-4.

The Orioles again responded in the bottom half. Ripken led off with a single and moved to second on DeShields' sacrifice. Anderson drew an intentional walk with one out before Bordick plated Ripken with a single to right.

Mike Munoz relieved Burkett and was greeted by Surhoff's run-scoring single that made it 6-4.

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	Delino DeShields scores	Another angle of DeShields scoring	Rusty goes for a ball and misses it	Cal fields a ball

Will Clark & Delino DeShields	Zeile bobbles the ball	Cal almost hit his 400th homer.  Damn, I didn't see it.  :(

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
TEXAS               0  0  0   1  0  3   0  2  0     6  8  1
BALTIMORE           0  2  0   2  0  2   2  0  x     8 13  1   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  TEX - JOHN BURKETT, MIKE MUNOZ (6TH), TIM CRABTREE
                  (6TH), DANNY PATTERSON (8TH) AND IVAN
                  RODRIGUEZ
            BAL - SCOTT ERICKSON, DOUG JOHNS (7TH), MIKE TIMLIN
                  (9TH) AND CHARLES JOHNSON

             WP - SCOTT ERICKSON (7-8)
             LP - JOHN BURKETT (3-5)
           SAVE - MIKE TIMLIN (12)

HOME RUNS:  TEX - TODD ZEILE (15) OFF ERICKSON IN THE 4TH, 0 ON
                  RUBEN MATEO (4) OFF D JOHNS IN THE 8TH, 1 ON
            BAL - NONE

     TIME:  3:14     ATT:  41,692

PROBABLES:  TEX - MIKE MORGAN (10-6, 5.36)
            BAL - JUAN GUZMAN (5-8, 4.21)

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

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore rf             5  0  1  0   0  0   1  .281
I Rodriguez c           5  0  1  0   0  0   1  .309
Greer lf                3  1  1  0   2  0   1  .280
R Palmeiro dh           3  1  0  0   1  2   3  .346
Zeile 3b                3  3  2  2   1  0   0  .306
L Stevens 1b            4  0  0  0   0  0   1  .286
Mateo cf                4  1  1  2   0  1   2  .242
Alicea 2b               4  0  1  2   0  1   1  .173
Clayton ss              4  0  1  0   0  1   1  .247

Totals                 35  6  8  6   4  5  11

BATTING: HR - Zeile (15, 4th inning off Erickson 0 on, 0 out);
Mateo (4, 8th inning off D Johns 1 on, 2 out). RBI - Zeile 2 (63),
Alicea 2 (11), Mateo 2 (16). 2-out RBI - Alicea 2, Mateo 2. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - Alicea 1, R Palmeiro 1, Clayton 1,
Greer 1. GIDP - I Rodriguez. Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: SB - I Rodriguez (19, 2nd base off Erickson/C Johnson).

FIELDING: E - Zeile (16, ground ball).

BALTIMORE              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
B Anderson cf           1  1  0  0   2  0   1  .285
 b-Amaral ph-cf         1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .305
Bordick ss              5  0  2  2   0  1   4  .277
Surhoff lf              5  0  1  1   0  1   6  .333
Belle rf                4  0  0  0   1  1   2  .280
Baines dh               3  0  0  0   0  1   1  .338
 a-Conine ph-dh         2  0  1  0   0  0   3  .299
W Clark 1b              4  2  2  0   1  1   0  .310
C Ripken 3b             5  3  3  0   0  1   3  .329
Deshields 2b            2  2  2  1   2  0   0  .278
C Johnson c             5  0  2  4   0  2   6  .249

Totals                 37  8 13  8   6  8  27

a-hit into fielder's choice for Baines in the 6th; b-lined to second
for B Anderson in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - C Johnson 2 (14, Burkett, Crabtree); W Clark (13, Burkett);
Conine (21, D Patterson). S - Deshields. RBI - C Johnson 4 (40),
Deshields (19), Bordick 2 (41), Surhoff (79). 2-out RBI - C Johnson 2,
Bordick, Surhoff. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - B Anderson 1,
Surhoff 2, Conine 2, C Johnson 2. Team LOB - 13.

FIELDING: E - C Ripken (12, ground ball).
DP: 1 (Deshields-Bordick-W Clark).

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Burkett (L, 3-5)              5 2/3   8   6   6   2   5   0   6.16
M Munoz                       0       1   0   0   1   0   0   3.35
Crabtree                      1 1/3   3   2   2   1   2   0   3.72
D Patterson                   1       1   0   0   2   1   0   4.91

BALTIMORE                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Erickson (W, 7-8)             6       6   4   4   3   4   1   5.52
D Johns (H, 7)                2       1   2   2   1   1   1   4.36
Timlin (S, 12)                1       1   0   0   0   0   0   4.61

M Munoz pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.

IBB - B Anderson (by Burkett). HBP - B Anderson (by Burkett).
Pitches-strikes: Erickson 103-60; D Johns 34-20; Timlin 13-7;
Burkett 110-63; M Munoz 9-5; Crabtree 31-19; D Patterson 28-15.
Ground balls-fly balls: Erickson 7-7; D Johns 3-2; Timlin 1-2;
Burkett 5-7; M Munoz 0-0; Crabtree 1-1; D Patterson 1-1.
Batters faced: Erickson 27; D Johns 8; Timlin 4; Burkett 29;
M Munoz 2; Crabtree 8; D Patterson 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Joe Brinkman. 1B--John Shulock. 2B--Dale Scott.
3B--Derryl Cousins.
T--3:14.  Att--41,692.  Weather: 73 degrees, cloudy.   Wind: 5 mph,
left to right.

AL       TEXAS AT BALTIMORE
         NOTE:  THE START OF THE GAME IS BEING DELAYED DUE TO RAIN.

AL       TEXAS AT BALTIMORE
         NOTE:  THE START OF THE GAME IS BEING DELAYED DUE TO RAIN.  THE
                PITCHERS HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO WARMUP.

AL       TEXAS AT BALTIMORE
         NOTE:  THE GAME IS UNDERWAY AFTER A RAIN DELAY.

AL       TEXAS AT BALTIMORE
         NOTE:  BALTIMORE'S BRADY ANDERSON LEFT THE GAME IN THE BOTTOM OF
                THE SEVENTH INNING WITH A SORE LEFT ANKLE.

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, John Burkett 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, Scott Erickson RHP.

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

Gametime Weather: 73 degrees, Cloudy, wind left to right at 5 mph.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore grounded out to second. I Rodriguez flied out to left. Greer singled to right. R Palmeiro flied out to right center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BALTIMORE 0.

BALTIMORE 1ST: B Anderson hit by pitch. Bordick struck out swinging. Surhoff grounded into fielder's choice to second, B Anderson out at second. Belle grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Surhoff out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BALTIMORE 0.

TEXAS 2ND: Zeile grounded out to shortstop. L Stevens flied out to shallow left. Mateo safe at second on 3rd baseman C Ripken's fielding error. Alicea struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 0, BALTIMORE 0.

BALTIMORE 2ND: Baines struck out looking. W Clark singled to right. C Ripken struck out looking. Deshields singled to shallow left center, W Clark to third. C Johnson doubled to left, W Clark and Deshields scored. B Anderson flied out to left. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BALTIMORE 2.

TEXAS 3RD: Clayton flied out to right center. Mclemore lined out to left. I Rodriguez singled to left. I Rodriguez stole second. Greer walked. R Palmeiro struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, BALTIMORE 2.

BALTIMORE 3RD: Bordick safe at first on 3rd baseman Zeile's fielding error. Surhoff flied out to left. Belle struck out looking. Baines flied out to left center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 0, BALTIMORE 2.

TEXAS 4TH: Zeile homered to center. L Stevens popped out to shallow left. Mateo lined out to second. Alicea grounded out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 2.

BALTIMORE 4TH: W Clark doubled to shallow left. C Ripken singled to left, W Clark to third. Deshields singled to center, W Clark scored, C Ripken to second. C Johnson popped out to first. B Anderson walked, C Ripken to third, Deshields to second. Bordick grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, C Ripken scored, Deshields to third, B Anderson out at second. Surhoff lined out to left. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 4.

TEXAS 5TH: Clayton struck out looking. Mclemore singled to left. I Rodriguez grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Mclemore out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 4.

BALTIMORE 5TH: Belle grounded out to shortstop. Baines lined out to right. W Clark popped out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, BALTIMORE 4.

TEXAS 6TH: Greer walked. R Palmeiro walked, Greer to second. Zeile singled to right, Greer scored, R Palmeiro to second. L Stevens grounded out to second, R Palmeiro to third, Zeile to second. Mateo struck out swinging. Alicea singled to right, R Palmeiro and Zeile scored. Alicea to second advancing on throw. Clayton grounded out to shortstop. (3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 4, BALTIMORE 4.

BALTIMORE 6TH: C Ripken singled to right. Deshields sacrificed C Ripken to second. C Johnson struck out swinging. B Anderson intentionally walked. Bordick singled to left, C Ripken scored, B Anderson to third. Mike Munoz relieved John Burkett. Surhoff singled to right, B Anderson scored, Bordick to third. Belle walked, Surhoff to second. Conine hit for Baines. Tim Crabtree relieved Mike Munoz. Conine grounded into fielder's choice to third, Surhoff out at third. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 4, BALTIMORE 6.

TEXAS 7TH: Doug Johns relieved Scott Erickson. Mclemore grounded out to third. I Rodriguez grounded out to second. Greer lined out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 4, BALTIMORE 6.

BALTIMORE 7TH: W Clark struck out swinging. C Ripken singled to center. Deshields walked, C Ripken to second. C Johnson doubled to left, C Ripken and Deshields scored. Amaral hit for B Anderson. Amaral lined out to second. Bordick singled to shallow center, C Johnson to third. Surhoff struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 4, BALTIMORE 8.

TEXAS 8TH: Amaral in center. R Palmeiro struck out swinging. Zeile walked. L Stevens grounded out to third. Mateo homered to right, Zeile scored. Alicea popped out to shallow left. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 6, BALTIMORE 8.

BALTIMORE 8TH: Danny Patterson relieved Tim Crabtree. Belle grounded out to shortstop. Conine doubled to left. W Clark walked. C Ripken flied out to left. Deshields walked, Conine to third, W Clark to second. C Johnson struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 6, BALTIMORE 8.

TEXAS 9TH: Mike Timlin relieved Doug Johns. Clayton reached on infield single. Mclemore flied out to left. I Rodriguez flied out to deep center, Clayton to second. Greer grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 6, BALTIMORE 8.