Game 113: Aug 11, 1999 (W: 8-2)
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My Commentary

Rick Helling threw a 6 hit complete game win.  It's nice that Rick finally got some run support.  He's been pitching very well in the last two months, but the team just has not been getting it done for him.  Or, if they have, it's been after he's left the game, the win usually going to Jeff Zimmerman.  :)

This game started off pretty well, and that more or less set the tone for the entire game to follow.  Rick Helling struck out the first batter, then walked the next one.  After a popout to Pudge, Helling erased his walk by picking off the runner to end the first.

Our side started well, too.  Mac tripled to start the game, and scored a couple of batters later when Rusty grounded out, bringing Mac in.  Add to that a Raffy solo shot to centerfield, and we were off to a 2-0 lead.  We added a few more in the next inning, and that put us ahead for good.  We also followed with a home run by Roberto Kelly in the 5th, and we picked up the rest of our runs in the 6th, the highlight was a two run double by Tom Goodwin.

The only two runs Detroit got were both on solo home runs by Juan Encarnacion & Damion Easley.  If you remember, Encarnacion also had another homer against Rick Helling on opening day.  The first pitch of the season, to be more precise!  Helling seemed to get a bit weaker towards the end of teh game, but he pitched wonderfully, a great win for him and the team.

We seemed to dominate this one, but then again, we should dominate teams like the Tigers.  I just wish we could perform like this regularly against someone like, oh... the Yankees!

I'm going tomorrow to the game that starts at 6:05.  Ugh, 104º - no fun :(

-- Joe Siegler

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- Rick Helling tossed a six-hitter for his second complete game and third straight win as the Texas Rangers coasted to an 8-2 victory over the lowly Detroit Tigers.

Helling (9-7) made only two mistakes, serving up solo home runs to Juan Encarnacion in the fourth inning and Damion Easley in the seventh. He walked two and struck out eight to avenge an 11-5 loss to the Tigers on Opening Day.

"My breaking ball was consistently down in the strike zone tonight," said Helling. "I wanted to go after guys. I gave up a couple of homers, but as long as they were solo homers that was OK."

The complete game could not have come at a better time for Texas, which relied heavily on its bullpen in each of the previous two contests.

"With the hot weather like it is, I wanted to get the team off to a good start," Helling said. "I didn't want to get the bullpen into the game today."

The potent Rangers pounded Willie Blair early and often en route to their 18th win in 23 games. Tom Goodwin had two hits and three RBI and Royce Clayton added three hits and an RBI for Texas, which owns the best record in the majors since the All-Star break at 20-6.

"We don't have a chance to play .800 baseball the rest of the season, but we have a chance to play .600 baseball," observed Rangers manager Johnny Oates. "You start playing like this and you have confidence and walk with an attitude."

Mark McLemore hit Blair's second pitch of the game to the right-center field gap for a triple. He scored on Rusty Greer's groundout before Rafael Palmeiro hit an 0-1 pitch over the center-field fence for his 29th home run and a 2-0 lead. Palmeiro needs one more RBI to reach 100 for the fifth straight season.

Clayton singled with two outs in the second and came all the way around on Goodwin's double. McLemore followed with a run-scoring single for a 4-0 cushion.

After Encarnacion homered, Roberto Kelly led off the bottom of the fourth with his sixth home run.

The Tigers broke it open in the sixth. Lee Stevens and Kelly produced one-out singles, chasing Blair for Tuesday night's loser, Nelson Cruz. Clayton greeted him with an RBI single, bringing on C.J. Nitkowski, who surrendered a two-run single to Goodwin for an 8-1 bulge.

Making his first start since May 26, Blair (1-9) suffered his fifth straight loss. He surrendered seven runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings with no walks and four strikeouts.

Detroit has lost 12 of its last 14 games and owns the majors' worst record at 44-69.

"We didn't help Willie out from the first pitch of the ballgame," said Tigers manager Larry Parrish.

The bottom third of the Rangers lineup -- Kelly, Clayton and Goodwin -- was a combined 7-for-12 with five RBI and five runs scored.

"The past couple of days we've been able to do some things down there in the dungeon," Clayton noted. "We can contribute, can get on base and do some running. We can put some fear from down there. We take a lot of pride in what we do. It's somewhat of a challenge, but it's important to have some guys down at the bottom who can contribute."

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

Ranger starter Rick Helling	Detroit relief pitcher Masao Kida	Mac slides into third for a triple...	...and he's safe as Dean Palmer tries to tag him out.	Detroit catcher Brad Ausmus goes after a pitch that got away

Deivi Cruz takes his lead off of first as Helling pitches

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
DETROIT             0  0  0   1  0  0   1  0  0     2  6  1
TEXAS               2  2  0   1  0  3   0  0  x     8 12  1   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  DET - WILLIE BLAIR, NELSON CRUZ (6TH), CJ NITKOWSKI
                  (6TH), MASAO KIDA (7TH) AND BRAD AUSMUS
            TEX - RICK HELLING AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

             WP - RICK HELLING (9-7)
             LP - WILLIE BLAIR (1-9)
           SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS:  DET - JUAN ENCARNACION (15) OFF HELLING IN THE 4TH, 0 ON
                  DAMION EASLEY (13) OFF HELLING IN THE 7TH, 0 ON
            TEX - RAFAEL PALMEIRO (29) OFF BLAIR IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
                  ROBERTO KELLY (6) OFF BLAIR IN THE 4TH, 0 ON

     TIME:  2:30     ATT:  27,432

PROBABLES:  DET - DAVE MLICKI (6-10, 5.18)
            TEX - AARON SELE (12-6, 5.28)

Box Score
DETROIT (2) AT TEXAS (8) - FINAL

DETROIT                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
K Bartee cf             3  0  0  0   0  2   2  .190
 a-K Garcia ph-rf       1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .216
Ausmus c                3  0  0  0   1  1   2  .285
J Encarnacion lf        4  1  1  1   0  0   3  .269
Palmer 3b               4  0  0  0   0  1   0  .263
To Clark 1b             4  0  0  0   0  2   0  .266
Easley 2b               4  1  2  1   0  0   0  .259
G Alvarez dh            4  0  1  0   0  0   1  .267
Kapler rf-cf            2  0  0  0   1  1   1  .225
D Cruz ss               3  0  2  0   0  0   1  .268

Totals                 32  2  6  2   2  8  11

a-struck out for K Bartee in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - G Alvarez (2, Helling); D Cruz (22, Helling).
HR - J Encarnacion (15, 4th inning off Helling 0 on, 1 out); Easley
(13, 7th inning off Helling 0 on, 2 out). RBI - J Encarnacion (51),
Easley (50). 2-out RBI - Easley. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - K Bartee 1, J Encarnacion 2, Kapler 1. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: CS - Ausmus (7, 2nd base by Helling).

FIELDING: E - Palmer (13, throw).

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore 2b             5  1  2  1   0  0   2  .290
I Rodriguez c           5  0  0  0   0  0   4  .324
Greer lf                4  0  0  1   0  0   1  .279
R Palmeiro dh           3  1  2  1   1  0   0  .347
Zeile 3b                4  0  0  0   0  1   1  .300
L Stevens 1b            4  1  1  0   0  2   3  .279
R Kelly rf              4  2  2  1   0  1   2  .323
Clayton ss              4  2  3  1   0  0   0  .258
T Goodwin cf            4  1  2  3   0  1   1  .241

Totals                 37  8 12  8   1  5  14

BATTING: 2B - T Goodwin (7, Blair); R Palmeiro (23, Blair). 3B -
Mclemore (5, Blair). HR - R Palmeiro (29, 1st inning off Blair 0 on,
2 out); R Kelly (6, 4th inning off Blair 0 on, 0 out). RBI - Greer (66),
R Palmeiro (99), T Goodwin 3 (15), Mclemore (33), R Kelly (29),
Clayton (26). 2-out RBI - R Palmeiro, T Goodwin, Mclemore. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - L Stevens 1, R Kelly 2. Team LOB - 6.

FIELDING: E - Helling (3, throw).

DETROIT                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Blair (L, 1-9)                5 1/3   9   7   7   0   4   2   6.77
N Cruz                        0       1   1   1   0   0   0   5.94
Nitkowski                     1 1/3   1   0   0   1   1   0   5.59
Kida                          1 1/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   5.12

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Helling (W, 9-7)              9       6   2   2   2   8   2   4.18

N Cruz pitched to 1 batter in the 6th.

WP - Helling.  Pitches-strikes: Helling 124-79; Blair 85-58;
N Cruz 1-1; Nitkowski 27-15; Kida 11-7.  Ground balls-fly balls:
Helling 5-13; Blair 8-4; N Cruz 0-0; Nitkowski 3-0; Kida 3-1.
Batters faced: Helling 34; Blair 25; N Cruz 1; Nitkowski 7; Kida 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Doug Eddings. 1B--Travis Katzenmeier. 2B--Tim
Mcclelland. 3B--Gary Cederstrom.
T--2:30.  Att--27,432.   Weather: 97 degrees, clear.   Wind: 10 mph,
right to left.

Game Log

Detroit Starting Lineups -- Kimera Bartee CF, Brad Ausmus C, Juan Encarnacion LF, Dean Palmer 3B, Tony Clark 1B, Damion Easley 2B, Gabe Alvarez DH, Gabe Kapler RF, Deivi Cruz SS, Willie Blair RHP.

Texas Starting Lineups -- Mark Mclemore 2B, Ivan Rodriguez C, Rusty Greer LF, Rafael Palmeiro DH, Todd Zeile 3B, Lee Stevens 1B, Roberto Kelly RF, Royce Clayton SS, Tom Goodwin CF, Rick Helling RHP.

Umpires -- Eddings (HP), Katzenmeier (1B), T Mcclelland (2B), Cederstrom (3B).

Gametime Weather: 97 degrees, Clear, wind right to left at 10 mph.

DETROIT 1ST: K Bartee struck out swinging. Ausmus walked. J Encarnacion fouled out to catcher. Ausmus caught stealing, pitcher to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore tripled to deep right center. I Rodriguez grounded out to third. Greer grounded out to shortstop, Mclemore scored. R Palmeiro homered to center. Zeile struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 2.

DETROIT 2ND: Palmer struck out swinging. To Clark grounded out to second. Easley flied out to shallow right center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 2ND: L Stevens flied out to deep right. R Kelly struck out swinging. Clayton singled to left. T Goodwin doubled to left, Clayton scored. Mclemore singled to right, T Goodwin scored. I Rodriguez grounded into fielder's choice to third, Mclemore out at second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 4.

DETROIT 3RD: G Alvarez grounded out to shortstop. Kapler walked. Kapler to second on pitcher Helling's throwing error. D Cruz flied out to shallow right center. K Bartee grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 3RD: Greer grounded out to first. R Palmeiro doubled to deep left center. Zeile flied out to shallow left center. L Stevens struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 4.

DETROIT 4TH: Ausmus struck out looking. J Encarnacion homered to left. Palmer flied out to deep right center. To Clark struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 4TH: R Kelly homered to right. Clayton flied out to right. T Goodwin struck out swinging. Mclemore flied out to shallow left center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1, TEXAS 5.

DETROIT 5TH: Easley fouled out to catcher. G Alvarez flied out to right. Kapler flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1, TEXAS 5.

TEXAS 5TH: I Rodriguez grounded out to second. Greer grounded out to second. R Palmeiro grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1, TEXAS 5.

DETROIT 6TH: D Cruz singled to left. K Bartee struck out swinging. Ausmus flied out to right. D Cruz to second on Helling wild pitch. J Encarnacion grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1, TEXAS 5.

TEXAS 6TH: Zeile grounded out to shortstop. L Stevens singled to right. R Kelly singled to left, L Stevens to second. Nelson Cruz relieved Willie Blair. Clayton singled to left center, L Stevens scored, R Kelly to third. Clayton to second advancing on throw. Cj Nitkowski relieved Nelson Cruz. T Goodwin singled to center, R Kelly and Clayton scored. Mclemore grounded into fielder's choice to third, T Goodwin out at second. I Rodriguez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Mclemore out at second. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1, TEXAS 8.

DETROIT 7TH: Palmer grounded out to third. To Clark flied out to left center. Easley homered to right center. G Alvarez doubled to right. Kapler struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2, TEXAS 8.

TEXAS 7TH: Greer safe at first on 3rd baseman Palmer's throwing error. R Palmeiro walked, Greer to second. Zeile grounded out to third, Greer to third, R Palmeiro to second. L Stevens struck out swinging. Masao Kida relieved Cj Nitkowski. R Kelly grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) DETROIT 2, TEXAS 8.

DETROIT 8TH: D Cruz doubled to left. K Garcia hit for K Bartee. K Garcia struck out looking. Ausmus lined out to pitcher. J Encarnacion fouled out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2, TEXAS 8.

TEXAS 8TH: Kapler in center. K Garcia in right. Clayton singled to left. T Goodwin grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Clayton out at second. Mclemore lined out to shortstop. I Rodriguez grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2, TEXAS 8.

DETROIT 9TH: Palmer flied out to deep right center. To Clark struck out swinging. Easley singled to left center. G Alvarez lined out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2, TEXAS 8.