Game 103: July 31, 1999 (L: 12-8)
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Commentary (by me)

I was at this game (was one of my season ticket games), and quite honestly, I wish I didn't have to be.  I was so tired from the trip home last night (I never got in until 2AM, and I was supposed to be home around 10PM or so).  Tack on the heat, and I wasn't feeling that good during this game, and it had nothing to do with the team.  I was feeling queasy, so I left in the top of the 7th inning - I abhor this kind of behaviour, but I will do it for illness.  :(

The game itself wasn't a whole lot better.   It looked good early, with a 5-0 lead after two innings, but that was about it for us, except for a couple more runs late in the game.  We had a pitching meltdown, which is rare for us this season, unlike past seasons.  :)

Jonathan Johnson pitched several innings in the middle, and appeared to be a sacrificial lamb.  He was lit up pretty well, but he stayed out there for three full innings, when he should have rightfully been pulled very quickly.   He was sent right back down after this appearance, I doubt we'll see him again this season before the September callups.

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- Jermaine Dye is hotter than July.

Dye continued his torrid hitting during the sweltering heat with five RBI as the Kansas City Royals overcame an early five-run deficit in a 12-8 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Dye, who is hitting .410 (16-for-39) during a nine-game hitting streak, pulled the Royals within 5-4 with a run-scoring groundout in the fifth. He capped a five-run sixth-inning outburst with a two-run double that gave Kansas City a 9-5 lead.

Dye boosted his team-leading RBI total to 83 by plating a pair of runs with a single in the seventh that stretched the advantage to 12-5. He had 32 RBI for the month of July, matching John Mayberry's club record established in 1975.

The Rangers had won 11 of 12 games and appeared well on their way to another victory when Rafael Palmeiro blasted a three-run homer off rookie starter Dan Reichert in the first. The lead swelled to 5-0 in the second on an RBI single by Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez's run-scoring groundout.

Reichert (1-0) notched his first career win despite yielding five runs and eight hits over five innings.

"(Reichert) struggled again, but we stuck with him," Kansas City manager Tony Muser said. "He showed signs of a good sinker and he stayed in the strike zone with the fastball."

"The first inning was kind of rough but I settled down in the third, fourth and fifth innings and got in a good groove with my sinker," Reichert added.

Rookie Carlos Beltran and Carlos Febles drove in two runs apiece for Kansas City, which had lost five straight road games. Febles left the game in the seventh after being hit in the mouth by fellow rookie Jonathan Johnson's pitch. He was hospitalized for precautionary X-rays.

Johnny Damon went 3-for-5 and scored two runs while playing in his 264th consecutive game, surpassing Hal McRae for the club record. Damon has the second-longest current streak in the majors, one game behind Baltimore's B.J. Surhoff.

Reliever Mike Munoz (1-1) took the loss, surrendering three runs and three hits without retiring a batter in the sixth.

During Kansas City's rally in the sixth, the club announced that they had dealt starter Kevin Appier to the Oakland Athletics for righthanders Blake Stein, Brad Rigby and Jeff D'Amico just hours before tonight's trade deadline.

"This is just a continuation of a plan of rebuilding. We're moving forward," Muser said.

Texas starter Rick Helling failed to notch his third straight win. He surrendered four runs and seven hits over five innings while walking four and striking out two.

"It wasn't one of my better starts tonight," Helling said. "I wasn't real sharp with my control. I couldn't throw strikes. I'm disappointed that we had a 5-0 lead and I could only go five innings. I should be able to go six, seven or eight in that situation. I didn't take the loss but I was responsible for it."

Johnson was pounded for five runs and nine hits in three innings.

"I would suggest a few changes," Texas manager Johnny Oates said. "(Johnson) gave us a few innings, but he'll have to pitch down better and hold the runners better."

The Rangers staged a comeback of their own in the eighth. Jon Shave snapped out of an 0-for-15 funk with a two-run single and Lee Stevens followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 12-8. Ken Ray relieved Matt Whiesenant and walked fellow rookie Ruben Mateo to put runners at first and second.

But Scott Service induced Royce Clayton into an inning-ending lineout and tossed a scoreless ninth for his eighth save.

Kansas City's Mike Sweeney went 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Scott Pose went 3-for-5 and sparked the sixth-inning rally with a single after leftfielder Rusty Greer dropped a foul ball.

"I had the long at-bat to Pose to start the third and after he got the single, everything went downhill from there," Helling added.

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

Nolan Ryan is presented with a portrait before the game.	"Come and get me, Reichert!"	Raffy gets congrats for his three run home run in the 1st - would have been a Grand Slam if Pudge wasn't picked off.  :(

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
KANSAS CITY         0  0  1   2  1  5   3  0  0    12 19  0
TEXAS               3  2  0   0  0  0   0  3  0     8 13  2   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  KAN - DAN REICHERT, ALVIN MORMAN (6TH), MATT
                  WHISENANT (7TH), KEN RAY (8TH), SCOTT SERVICE
                  (8TH) AND CHAD KREUTER
            TEX - RICK HELLING, MIKE MUNOZ (6TH), JONATHAN
                  JOHNSON (6TH), TIM CRABTREE (9TH) AND IVAN
                  RODRIGUEZ, GREGG ZAUN (8TH)

             WP - DAN REICHERT (1-0)
             LP - MIKE MUNOZ (1-1)
           SAVE - SCOTT SERVICE (8)

HOME RUNS:  KAN - NONE
            TEX - RAFAEL PALMEIRO (25) OFF REICHERT IN THE 1ST, 2 ON

     TIME:  3:45     ATT:  46,549

PROBABLES:  KAN - BRIAN BARBER (1-2, 7.02)
            TEX - AARON SELE (10-6, 5.66)


Box Score
KANSAS CITY (12) AT TEXAS (8) - FINAL

KANSAS CITY            ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Damon cf                5  2  3  1   1  0   2  .306
Febles 2b               3  2  2  2   1  0   1  .271
 J Hansen 2b            1  0  0  0   0  1   2  .200
Beltran dh              4  1  2  2   1  1   7  .303
Sweeney 1b              5  2  2  0   1  1   6  .337
Dye rf                  6  0  2  5   0  1   2  .311
Randa 3b                6  1  1  0   0  2   3  .331
Kreuter c               5  1  2  1   1  1   2  .258
Pose lf                 4  2  3  0   1  0   2  .321
R Sanchez ss            4  1  2  1   0  0   2  .281
 a-Holbert ph-ss        1  0  0  0   0  1   2  .000

Totals                 44 12 19 12   6  8  31

a-struck out for R Sanchez in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - R Sanchez (11, Helling); Randa (23, Helling);
Damon (31, M Munoz); Dye (25, Johnson). 3B - Sweeney (1, Helling).
SF - Beltran. RBI - R Sanchez (39), Kreuter (33), Febles 2 (41),
Dye 5 (83), Damon (59), Beltran 2 (73). 2-out RBI - Febles, Dye 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Beltran 2, Pose 1,
J Hansen 1, Kreuter 1. GIDP - Sweeney.  Team LOB - 13.

BASERUNNING: SB - Febles (17, 2nd base off Johnson/I Rodriguez);
Damon (20, 2nd base off Johnson/I Rodriguez). CS - Febles (4, 2nd base
by Helling/I Rodriguez).

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore 2b-lf          6  1  1  0   0  0   1  .280
I Rodriguez c           4  1  3  1   0  0   0  .320
 Alicea 2b              2  0  0  0   0  0   0  .170
Greer lf                3  1  1  0   1  0   1  .279
 Zaun c                 1  1  1  0   1  0   0  .232
J Gonzalez rf           5  1  1  1   1  1   3  .305
R Palmeiro dh           2  2  1  3   3  0   0  .343
Zeile 3b                2  0  0  0   2  0   5  .306
 Shave 3b               1  0  1  2   0  0   0  .224
L Stevens 1b            4  0  2  1   1  1   1  .280
Mateo cf                4  0  1  0   1  0   3  .234
Clayton ss              5  1  1  0   0  2   6  .254

Totals                 39  8 13  8  10  4  20

BATTING: 2B - Clayton (11, Reichert); Mclemore (15, Whisenant).
HR - R Palmeiro (25, 1st inning off Reichert 2 on, 2 out).
RBI - R Palmeiro 3 (88), I Rodriguez (63), J Gonzalez (86), Shave 2 (7),
L Stevens (58). 2-out RBI - R Palmeiro 3, Shave 2, L Stevens.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Mateo 1, Zeile 3, Clayton 3.
Team LOB - 14.

BASERUNNING: CS - I Rodriguez (6, 2nd base by Reichert).

FIELDING: E - L Stevens (7, catch); Greer (4, drop foul). DP: 1
(Clayton-Mclemore-L Stevens).

KANSAS CITY                  ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Reichert (W, 1-0)             5       8   5   5   6   1   1  16.07
A Morman                      1 2/3   1   0   0   1   1   0   3.31
Whisenant                     1       3   3   3   2   2   0   5.91
Ray (H, 2)                    0       0   0   0   1   0   0   9.64
Service (S, 8)                1 1/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   5.37

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Helling                       5       7   4   3   4   2   0   4.36
M Munoz (L, 1-1; BS, 2)       0       3   3   3   0   0   0   4.06
Johnson                       3       9   5   5   2   3   0  15.00
Crabtree                      1       0   0   0   0   3   0   3.43

M Munoz pitched to 3 batters in the 6th.
Ray pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.
Johnson pitched to 2 batters in the 9th.

WP - Helling. IBB - R Palmeiro (by Reichert). HBP - Febles (by Johnson).
Pitches-strikes: Helling 104-56; M Munoz 7-4; Johnson 62-38;
Crabtree 14-9; Reichert 100-56; A Morman 30-18; Whisenant 33-12; Ray 6-2;
Service 13-10.  Ground balls-fly balls: Helling 5-7; M Munoz 0-0;
Johnson 4-2; Crabtree 0-0; Reichert 11-2; A Morman 1-3; Whisenant 0-1;
Ray 0-0; Service 1-3.  Batters faced: Helling 25; M Munoz 3; Johnson 21;
Crabtree 3; Reichert 28; A Morman 7; Whisenant 8; Ray 1; Service 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Jim Evans. 1B--Eric Cooper. 2B--Larry Mccoy. 3B--Tim Welke.
T--3:45.  Att--46,549.   Weather: 101 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 16 mph, in from center.

AL       KANSAS CITY AT TEXAS
         NOTE:  KANSAS CITY PITCHER ALVIN MORMAN LEFT THE GAME IN THE
                BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH INNING WITH AN APPARENT LEFT ARM
                INJURY.  HE WAS REPLACED BY MATT WHISENANT.

AL       KANSAS CITY AT TEXAS
         NOTE:  KANSAS CITY'S CARLOS FEBLES LEFT THE GAME AFTER BEING HIT
                IN THE MOUTH BY A PITCH IN THE TOP OF THE SEVENTH INNING.
                 HE WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL FOR PRECAUTIONARY X-RAYS.
                ALVIN MORMAN LEFT THE GAME IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
                INNING WITH A MILD STRAIN OF HIS LEFT HAMSTRING.

AL       KANSAS CITY AT TEXAS
         NOTE:  THE TRIPLE BY KANSAS CITY'S MIKE SWEENEY IN THE FIFTH
                INNING EXTENDED HIS HITTING STREAK TO 13 GAMES.

Game Log

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- Johnny Damon CF, Carlos Febles 2B, Carlos Beltran DH, Mike Sweeney 1B, Jermaine Dye RF, Joe Randa 3B, Chad Kreuter C, Scott Pose LF, Rey Sanchez SS, Dan Reichert 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, Rick Helling RHP.

Umpires -- Evans (HP), Cooper (1B), L Mccoy (2B), T Welke (3B).

Gametime Weather: 101 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind in from center at 16 mph.

KANSAS CITY 1ST: Damon popped out to shallow center. Febles safe at first on 1st baseman L Stevens' fielding error. Febles caught stealing, catcher to shortstop. Beltran walked. Sweeney flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore grounded out to second. I Rodriguez singled to center. I Rodriguez caught stealing, pitcher. Greer walked. J Gonzalez walked, Greer to second. R Palmeiro homered to right, Greer and J Gonzalez scored. Zeile walked. L Stevens singled to center, Zeile to third. Mateo popped out to shallow left. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 3.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: Dye flied out to left center. Randa grounded out to third. Kreuter popped out to shallow center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 3.

TEXAS 2ND: Clayton doubled to deep right center. Mclemore grounded out to second, Clayton to third. I Rodriguez singled to right, Clayton scored. Greer singled to center, I Rodriguez to third. J Gonzalez grounded out to second, I Rodriguez scored, Greer to second. R Palmeiro intentionally walked. Zeile grounded into fielder's choice to third, Greer out at third. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 5.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: Pose continued to bat after dropped foul ball by left fielder Greer. Pose singled to left. Pose to second on Helling wild pitch. R Sanchez doubled to left, Pose scored. Damon reached on infield single, R Sanchez to third. Febles walked, Damon to second. Beltran struck out looking. Sweeney grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Febles out at second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 1, TEXAS 5.

TEXAS 3RD: L Stevens grounded out to second. Mateo grounded out to third. Clayton grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 1, TEXAS 5.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: Dye grounded out to third. Randa doubled to left. Kreuter singled to right, Randa scored. Pose walked, Kreuter to second. R Sanchez popped out to shallow right. Damon walked, Kreuter to third, Pose to second. Febles reached on infield single, Kreuter scored, Pose to third, Damon to second. Beltran flied out to center. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 3, TEXAS 5.

TEXAS 4TH: Mclemore grounded out to first. I Rodriguez reached on infield single. Greer grounded into fielder's choice to first, I Rodriguez out at second. J Gonzalez singled to right, Greer to second. R Palmeiro walked, Greer to third, J Gonzalez to second. Zeile grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 3, TEXAS 5.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: Sweeney tripled to right center. Dye grounded out to third, Sweeney scored. Randa struck out swinging. Kreuter flied out to shallow left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, TEXAS 5.

TEXAS 5TH: L Stevens walked. Mateo lined out to right. Clayton struck out swinging. Mclemore grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, TEXAS 5.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: Mike Munoz relieved Rick Helling. Pose singled to left. R Sanchez reached on bunt single to third, Pose to second. Damon doubled to right, Pose scored, R Sanchez to third. Jonathan Johnson relieved Mike Munoz. Febles singled to left, R Sanchez scored, Damon to third. Beltran hit sacrifice fly to left, Damon scored. Febles stole second. Sweeney walked. Dye doubled to center, Febles and Sweeney scored. Randa grounded out to first, Dye to third. Kreuter walked. Pose grounded out to first. (5 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 9, TEXAS 5.

TEXAS 6TH: Alvin Morman relieved Dan Reichert. I Rodriguez flied out to right. Greer lined out to shortstop. J Gonzalez grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 9, TEXAS 5.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: R Sanchez grounded out to second. Damon singled to right. Damon stole second. Febles hit by pitch. Beltran singled to left, Damon scored, Febles to third. Beltran to second advancing on throw. Sweeney struck out swinging. Dye singled to center, Febles and Beltran scored. Randa flied out to right. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 12, TEXAS 5.

TEXAS 7TH: J Hansen at second. R Palmeiro flied out to deep center. Zeile walked. L Stevens struck out looking. Mateo reached on infield single, Zeile to second. Matt Whisenant relieved Alvin Morman. Clayton struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 12, TEXAS 5.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: Mclemore in left. Alicea at second. Zaun catching. Shave at third. Kreuter singled to right. Pose singled to right, Kreuter to second. Holbert hit for R Sanchez. Holbert struck out swinging. Damon grounded into fielder's choice to first, Kreuter to third, Pose out at second. J Hansen struck out looking. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 12, TEXAS 5.

TEXAS 8TH: Holbert at short. Mclemore doubled to right. Alicea flied out to deep right center, Mclemore to third. Zaun walked. J Gonzalez struck out looking. R Palmeiro walked, Zaun to second. Shave singled to right, Mclemore and Zaun scored, R Palmeiro to third. L Stevens singled to left center, R Palmeiro scored, Shave to third. Ken Ray relieved Matt Whisenant. Mateo walked, L Stevens to second. Scott Service relieved Ken Ray. Clayton lined out to center. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 12, TEXAS 8.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: Beltran singled to right. Sweeney singled to center, Beltran to third. Tim Crabtree relieved Jonathan Johnson. Dye struck out looking. Randa struck out swinging. Kreuter struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 12, TEXAS 8.

TEXAS 9TH: Mclemore grounded out to first. Alicea flied out to left. Zaun singled to right. J Gonzalez popped out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 12, TEXAS 8.