Game 120: Aug 17, 1999 (W: 15-4)
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My Commentary

I won't be writing commentary for this game - I forgot all about my daily update due to a few projects at my real job.  I remembered about 10 minutes before the end of the day, so I don't have any time for an update.  Suffice it to say..  CRIPES!

38 runs in the last 3 games.  28 of them in two against the Indians - what a pasting!

-- Joe Siegler

Game Recap

CLEVELAND (TICKER) -- The Texas Rangers' second straight rout of the Cleveland Indians was over early.

Todd Zeile's two-run double highlighted a six-run first inning and Juan Gonzalez hit a three-run homer in the next frame as the Rangers crushed Cleveland, 15-4, for their third straight win.

One night after rallying for 10 runs over the final three innings in a 13-5 rout of the Indians, Texas raced to an 11-run lead by the third. Every Rangers' starter had at least one hit and seven had two or more.

Tom Goodwin went 4-for-5 to fuel the 19-hit assault and Luis Alicea and Rafael Palmeiro also homered for Texas. That was more than enough support for Aaron Sele (13-7), who won for the sixth in time in his last seven decisions.

"I can't explain it," Goodwin said of his success against Cleveland. "I'm just trying to make it last as long as I can and try to do something every day to help the team."

The Rangers have outscored opponents, 38-9, in the last three games but downplayed the significance of two lopsided wins against a possible postseason opponent.

"Winning games is more important to us. Their motivation may not be as high," shortstop Royce Clayton said. "You understand that, it's only human. When you don't have anyone chasing your tail, it's hard. We are battling a team that is playing tremendous baseball. (The Athletics) are right in the thick of things."

Mark Langston (1-2) was gone by the second inning with a strained left quadricep. He surrendered six runs and six hits with a walk, an error and a wild pitch in the first. Tom Martin fared only slightly better, giving up six runs and eight hits in three innings.

"The last two days have not been pretty. To give up 30 runs in the last two games is not something we strive for," Indians manager Mike Hargrove said. "We didn't make good pitches tonight. Everything was up in the zone and over the plate. Bad hitters hit those pitches. When you make them against a team as good as this one, they make you pay dearly."

Cleveland has lost two in a row following a six-game winning streak.

"Does it bother me that we haven't played better against Texas this season? Hell, yeah," Hargrove added. "Texas has a good ballclub and to beat them, we have to play well. For them to beat us, they have to play well. But they didn't have to play well tonight because we really stunk."

Red-hot Ivan Rodriguez started the first-inning uprising with a one-out infield single. Rusty Greer singled and Gonzalez walked, but Palmeiro struck out. Zeile came through with a double and Roberto Kelly's infield hit made it 3-0.

"Todd Zeile had the biggest at-bat in the game with his two-out double. That set the tone for the night," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. "The Indians had a shot to get out of the inning without allowing a run. Once he got that hit, we got some breaks and some infield hits."

A wild pitch plated Zeile and Royce Clayton's double gave the Rangers' a five-run cushion. Langston fielded Goodwin's infield single but threw wildly to first, allowing Clayton to score.

Gonzalez's 28th homer gave him 99 RBI and made it 9-0. The Indians got on the board in the bottom of the second on a run-scoring double by Einar Diaz, but Texas kept pouring it on in the third.

Goodwin singled ahead of Alicea's second home run of the season and Gonzalez scored on Palmeiro's two-out double for a 12-1 cushion.

Coming off his first loss in more than a month, Sele gave up four runs and seven hits in seven innings with three walks and six strikeouts. Mike Venafro and Danny Patterson each worked a scoreless innings to help Texas improve to 3-3 on a seven-game road trip that concludes Wednesday night.

"I ended up sitting for 35 minutes in the first inning and I had to get loosened up all over again," Sele said. "It wasn't a lack of concentration, it was mechanics. Once the game slowed down, I was able to settle down."

After consecutive two-homer games, Rodriguez had three more hits and scored twice. He is batting .437 (38-for-87) in his last 18 games with 11 homers and 27 RBI.

The Rangers continued to get contributions from the bottom third of the order as Kelly, Clayton and Goodwin combined to go 8-for-15 with three RBI and five runs scored.

Carlos Baerga's two-run blast in the sixth inning was his first home run for Cleveland since July 24, 1996. He was re-acquired from the San Diego Padres on Monday.

Recap #2

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Oakland is motivating Texas in the AL West race.

"Winning games now might be a little more important to us than to them," Royce Clayon said Tuesday night after the Rangers routed the Cleveland Indians 15-4.

Juan Gonzalez hit a three-run homer and Tom Goodwin had four of the Rangers' 19 hits.

Texas maintained a 5½-game lead over the second-place Athletics, while Cleveland, coasting toward its fifth consecutive AL Central title, was slowed momentarily.

Aaron Sele (13-7), staked to a 6-0 lead before his first pitch, got his sixth win in seven decisions. Sele, who contained Cleveland with slow breaking balls, allowed all four runs and seven hits in seven innings.

Texas, which rallied for a 13-5 win Monday night, scored 23 runs in a seven-inning span, taking a 12-1 lead after three innings. The last team to reach double digits in consecutive games against Cleveland had been Seattle on April 8-9, 1997.

"The last two games have not been pretty," Indians manager Mike Hargrove said. "Giving up 28 runs is not exactly something you strive for."

Mark Langston (1-2) lasted just one inning, his shortest outing since Aug. 20, 1997, against the New York Yankees. Langston, who left with a strained quadriceps, allowed six runs -- five earned -- and six hits as his ERA rose to 5.34.

"He pulled it on the last pitch he made in the inning," Hargrove said. "To finish off an inning like that with an injury is tough to take."

Carlos Baerga, re-signed by Cleveland on Monday, hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Rafael Palmeiro hit his 32nd homer for Texas.

Texas took a 6-0 lead in the first on Todd Zeile's two-run double, Royce Clayton's RBI double, run-scoring singles by Roberto Kelly and Goodwin and a run-scoring wild pitch.

"Todd had the biggest bat of the night with that double," Texas manager Johnny Oates said. "Bases loaded and two outs and he delivers. That got us going."

Gonzalez hit his 28th homer off Tom Martin in the second for a 9-0 lead.

Luis Alicea, who had made two outs in the first inning and was hitting .179, joined the onslaught with a two-run homer in a three-run third that made it 12-1. The homer was Alicea's second in 135 at-bats this year.

Einar Diaz had an RBI double in the Cleveland second. He also doubled and scored Omar Vizquel's single to in the fifth.

Goodwin's fourth hit, an RBI single, made it 13-2 in the sixth. Another run scored in the inning on Alicea's fourth groundout.

Palmeiro homered in the seventh.

"Beating the Indians is not the forefront of our focus," Oates said. "Our focus is to win the division."

GAME NOTES: Texas has 17 homers in its last five games. ... Texas scored 10 or more runs for the 15th time this season and third game in a row. ... Every Texas starter had at least one hit by the third inning. ... Diaz is batting .429 (18-for-42) with two outs and runners in scoring position. ... Baerga's homer was his first with the Indians since July 24, 1996. ... Goodwin's last four-hit game had been Aug. 3, 1997, also against Cleveland. ... Palmeiro is hitting .476 (10-for-21) against Cleveland this season and Ivan Rodriguez, who went 3-for-5, is hitting .522 (12-for-23).

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

Ranger starter Aaron Sele	Cleveland pitcher Mark Langston tries to apply the tag on Todd Zeile...	... in the first inning after a wild pitch.  (Same shot, different angle)	Juan hits a home run in the second	Carlos Baerga's longball in the sixth

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
TEXAS               6  3  3   0  0  2   1  0  0    15 19  0
CLEVELAND           0  1  0   0  1  2   0  0  0     4  9  1   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  TEX - AARON SELE, MIKE VENAFRO (8TH), DANNY
                  PATTERSON (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ, GREGG ZAUN
                  (8TH)
            CLE - MARK LANGSTON, TOM MARTIN (2ND), DAVID RISKE
                  (5TH), PAUL ASSENMACHER (7TH), PAUL SHUEY
                  (9TH) AND EINAR DIAZ

             WP - AARON SELE (13-7)
             LP - MARK LANGSTON (1-2)
           SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS:  TEX - JUAN GONZALEZ (28) OFF T MARTIN IN THE 2ND, 2 ON
                  LUIS ALICEA (2) OFF T MARTIN IN THE 3RD, 1 ON
                  RAFAEL PALMEIRO (32) OFF ASSENMACHER IN THE 7TH, 0 ON
            CLE - CARLOS BAERGA (1) OFF SELE IN THE 6TH, 1 ON

     TIME:  3:01     ATT:  42,987

PROBABLES:  TEX - JOHN BURKETT (3-6, 6.30)
            CLE - CHARLES NAGY (13-7, 4.89)



Box Score
TEXAS (15) AT CLEVELAND (4) - FINAL

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Alicea 2b               6  1  1  3   0  0   3  .181
I Rodriguez c           5  2  3  0   0  1   1  .334
 Zaun c                 1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .224
Greer lf                5  2  2  0   1  2   0  .287
J Gonzalez dh           4  3  1  3   2  0   1  .307
R Palmeiro 1b           5  1  2  2   0  1   5  .336
 Shave 1b               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .242
Zeile 3b                4  1  2  2   1  0   1  .306
R Kelly rf              5  2  2  1   0  1   2  .315
Clayton ss              5  2  2  1   0  3   1  .267
T Goodwin cf            5  1  4  1   0  0   0  .245

Totals                 45 15 19 13   4  9  14

BATTING: 2B - Zeile (31, Langston); Clayton (12, Langston);
I Rodriguez 2 (20, T Martin, Riske); R Palmeiro (24, T Martin).
3B - T Goodwin (4, T Martin). HR - J Gonzalez (28, 2nd inning off
T Martin 2 on, 0 out); Alicea (2, 3rd inning off T Martin 1 on,
0 out); R Palmeiro (32, 7th inning off Assenmacher 0 on, 2 out).
RBI - Zeile 2 (75), R Kelly (30), Clayton (29), J Gonzalez 3 (99),
Alicea 3 (14), R Palmeiro 2 (105), T Goodwin (18). 2-out RBI -
Zeile 2, R Kelly, Clayton, R Palmeiro 2. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - Zeile 1, Alicea 1. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (Clayton-Alicea-Shave).

CLEVELAND              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Roberts cf              4  0  1  0   1  0   0  .333
Vizquel ss              4  0  1  1   1  0   2  .340
R Alomar 2b             3  0  0  0   0  1   3  .325
 E Wilson 2b            1  0  1  0   0  0   0  .263
M Ramirez rf            3  0  0  0   0  2   3  .323
 A Ramirez rf           1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .259
Justice lf              4  1  2  0   0  0   2  .300
Thome dh                3  0  1  0   1  1   1  .284
Sexson 1b               4  1  0  0   0  2   3  .249
Baerga 3b               4  1  1  2   0  0   1  .375
E Diaz c                4  1  2  1   0  0   0  .267

Totals                 35  4  9  4   3  6  16

BATTING: 2B - E Diaz 2 (15, Sele 2); E Wilson (19, Sele). HR -
Baerga (1, 6th inning off Sele 1 on, 2 out). RBI - E Diaz (29),
Vizquel (50), Baerga 2 (2). 2-out RBI - E Diaz, Baerga 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Justice 1, Vizquel 1,
A Ramirez 1, Baerga 1. GIDP - Sexson. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - Langston (2, throw). Outfield assists - Justice
(I Rodriguez at home). DP: 1 (Justice-E Diaz).

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Sele (W, 13-7)                7       7   4   4   3   6   1   5.21
Venafro                       1       2   0   0   0   0   0   2.62
D Patterson                   1       0   0   0   0   0   0   4.62

CLEVELAND                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Langston (L, 1-2)             1       6   6   5   1   1   0   5.34
T Martin                      3       8   6   6   1   3   2   9.00
Riske                         2       3   2   2   2   1   0   9.00
Assenmacher                   2       2   1   1   0   2   1   7.86
Shuey                         1       0   0   0   0   2   0   3.39

WP - Langston.  Pitches-strikes: Langston 39-24; T Martin 50-31;
Riske 42-25; Assenmacher 30-22; Shuey 9-9; Sele 123-72; Venafro
11-6; D Patterson 13-8.  Ground balls-fly balls: Langston 2-0;
T Martin 4-2; Riske 2-2; Assenmacher 2-2; Shuey 1-0; Sele 9-6;
Venafro 3-0; D Patterson 3-0.  Batters faced: Langston 10;
T Martin 18; Riske 10; Assenmacher 8; Shuey 3; Sele 31; Venafro 4;
D Patterson 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Onora. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Rich Garcia. 3B--Jim
Reynolds.
T--3:01.  Att--42,987.   Weather: 80 degrees, clear.   Wind: 6 mph,
left to right.

AL       TEXAS AT CLEVELAND
         NOTE:  CLEVELAND PITCHER MARK LANGSTON LEFT THE GAME AFTER THE
                FIRST INNING WITH A STRAINED LEFT QUADRICEP.

AL       TEXAS AT CLEVELAND
         NOTE:  CLEVELAND'S OMAR VIZQUEL EXTENDED HIS HITTING STREAK TO
                11 GAMES WITH A SINGLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH INNING.

Game Log

Texas Starting Lineups -- Luis Alicea 2B, Ivan Rodriguez C, Rusty Greer LF, Juan Gonzalez DH, Rafael Palmeiro 1B, Todd Zeile 3B, Roberto Kelly RF, Royce Clayton SS, Tom Goodwin CF, Aaron Sele RHP.

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- Dave Roberts CF, Omar Vizquel SS, Roberto Alomar 2B, Manny Ramirez RF, David Justice LF, Jim Thome DH, Richie Sexson 1B, Carlos Baerga 3B, Einar Diaz C, Mark Langston LHP.

Umpires -- Onora (HP), Diaz (1B), Garcia (2B), Reynolds (3B).

Gametime Weather: 80 degrees, Clear, wind left to right at 6 mph.

TEXAS 1ST: Alicea grounded out to shortstop. I Rodriguez reached on infield single. Greer singled to shallow left center, I Rodriguez to second. J Gonzalez walked, I Rodriguez to third, Greer to second. R Palmeiro struck out looking. Zeile doubled to left center, I Rodriguez and Greer scored, J Gonzalez to third. R Kelly reached on infield single, J Gonzalez scored, Zeile to third. Zeile scored, R Kelly to second on Langston wild pitch. Clayton doubled to deep center, R Kelly scored. T Goodwin reached on infield single, Clayton to third. Clayton scored on pitcher Langston's throwing error. Alicea grounded out to shortstop. (6 Runs, 6 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 6, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 1ST: Roberts singled to right. Vizquel walked, Roberts to second. R Alomar struck out swinging. M Ramirez struck out swinging. Justice grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 6, CLEVELAND 0.

TEXAS 2ND: Tom Martin relieved Mark Langston. I Rodriguez doubled to left. Greer singled to left, I Rodriguez to third. J Gonzalez homered to left, I Rodriguez and Greer scored. R Palmeiro lined out to right. Zeile flied out to deep center. R Kelly reached on infield single. Clayton struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 9, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: Thome walked. Sexson grounded into fielder's choice to third, Thome out at second. Baerga grounded out to first, Sexson to second. E Diaz doubled to left, Sexson scored. Roberts walked. Vizquel grounded out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 9, CLEVELAND 1.

TEXAS 3RD: T Goodwin singled to center. Alicea homered to left center, T Goodwin scored. I Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop. Greer grounded out to shortstop. J Gonzalez walked. R Palmeiro doubled to deep right center, J Gonzalez scored. Zeile grounded out to first. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 12, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 3RD: R Alomar flied out to deep left center. M Ramirez flied out to left center. Justice flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 12, CLEVELAND 1.

TEXAS 4TH: R Kelly struck out looking. Clayton struck out swinging. T Goodwin tripled to right. Alicea grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 12, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 4TH: Thome grounded out to second. Sexson struck out swinging. Baerga grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 12, CLEVELAND 1.

TEXAS 5TH: David Riske relieved Tom Martin. I Rodriguez doubled to left. Greer walked. J Gonzalez flied out to right, I Rodriguez to third. R Palmeiro fouled out to left, I Rodriguez thrown out at home. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 12, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 5TH: E Diaz doubled to deep left. Roberts grounded out to second, E Diaz to third. Vizquel singled to right, E Diaz scored. R Alomar flied out to left. M Ramirez struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 12, CLEVELAND 2.

TEXAS 6TH: A Ramirez in right. Zeile walked. R Kelly grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Zeile out at second. Clayton singled to right, R Kelly to second. T Goodwin singled to right center, R Kelly scored, Clayton to third. Alicea grounded into fielder's choice to first, Clayton scored, T Goodwin out at second. I Rodriguez struck out looking. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 14, CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 6TH: Justice singled to shallow right center. Thome struck out looking. Sexson struck out swinging. Baerga homered to right center, Justice scored. E Diaz flied out to left center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 14, CLEVELAND 4.

TEXAS 7TH: E Wilson at second. Paul Assenmacher relieved David Riske. Greer struck out looking. J Gonzalez grounded out to third. R Palmeiro homered to right center. Zeile singled to center. R Kelly flied out to deep left center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 15, CLEVELAND 4.

CLEVELAND 7TH: Roberts popped out to second. Vizquel grounded out to shortstop. E Wilson doubled to deep right. A Ramirez grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 15, CLEVELAND 4.

TEXAS 8TH: Clayton struck out swinging. T Goodwin grounded out to first. Alicea flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 15, CLEVELAND 4.

CLEVELAND 8TH: Mike Venafro relieved Aaron Sele. Zaun catching. Shave at first. Justice singled to left. Thome singled to center, Justice to second. Sexson grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Thome out at second, Justice to third. Baerga grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 15, CLEVELAND 4.

TEXAS 9TH: Paul Shuey relieved Paul Assenmacher. Zaun struck out swinging. Greer struck out swinging. J Gonzalez grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 15, CLEVELAND 4.

CLEVELAND 9TH: Danny Patterson relieved Mike Venafro. E Diaz grounded out to shortstop. Roberts grounded out to second. Vizquel grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 15, CLEVELAND 4.