Game 122: Aug 19, 1999 (L: 8-0)
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My Commentary

Well, the other shoe had to fall.  It seemed that the Rangers spent themselves in the first three games, not even showing up for this one, losing it 8-0.  If we had anything at all this night, it was left behind in the rain delay at the start of the game.

Not a whole lot to talk about Ranger wise.  Mike Morgan continued to be ineffective for the most part in the second half of the season (damn).  Other than that, there isn't anything to talk about here from a Ranger fan perspective, except one nice pickoff by Pudge of Jim Thome at third.  Oh yeah, and Danny Kolb looked pretty good in his 5 1/3 innings in relief of Morgan.  

Mike Morgan has definitely taken the title of "Most disgusting cap" from John Wetteland - it's no contest.

-- Joe Siegler

Game Recap

CLEVELAND (TICKER) -- The Cleveland Indians did more than just save face by salvaging the finale of their four-game series with the Texas Rangers. They showed their fellow division leaders they were capable of shutting them down.

The unlikely combination of Steve Karsay, Steve Reed, Paul Shuey and Mike Jackson yielded only seven hits as the Indians avenged a trio of brutal defeats with a convincing 8-0 victory over the Rangers.

Texas outscored Cleveland 34-10 in the first three games of the series but ran into a pitcher on a significant roll in Karsay (10-1).

Making just his second start of the season, the righthander gave up four hits and struck out four to post his 10th straight victory, the first eight coming in relief.

"I love going out there every five days but I'll go where I'm needed," Karsay said.

"I'd love to give (Karsay) another start if it's good for the ballclub," Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove added.

Karsay is the first Indians hurler to win 10 straight decisions since Fritz Peterson did it from July 27-September 19, 1975. Reed, Shuey and Jackson combined to keep the Indians off the board over the final three frames, surrendering one hit each.

"The key for me was pitching inside," Karsay said. "They are a great hitting team and you have to knock them off the plate. You can't let them lean out over the dish and swing away or you'll have what happened to us the last three nights."

Jesse Levis, Jim Thome and Richie Sexson drove in two runs apiece for the Indians, who posted their fourth shutout win of the season.

Rafael Palmeiro, who had four homers and 12 RBI in seven games against the Indians before going hitless in three at-bats tonight, was quite impressed with Karsay's performance.

"Karsay was throwing 95 and 98 miles an hour and his breaking ball was working," Palmeiro said. "That's the best stuff I've seen this year. It was just not our night and we knew they would come out swinging."

Juan Gonzalez went 3-for-3 with a walk for the Rangers, who failed to complete their first four-game sweep at Cleveland since August 1978. Texas had a four-game winning streak snapped and was shut out for the fifth time this season.

Veteran righthander Mike Morgan (12-8) suffered his fourth straight miserable outing, yielding five runs and seven hits in only 2 2/3 innings. Morgan has allowed 22 runs and 36 hits over 17 2/3 innings over his last four starts.

Texas had its lead in the American League West shaved to 5 1/2 games over second-place Oakland, while the Indians extended their bulge in the Central to 16 games over the Chicago White Sox.

The Rangers lead the season series, 5-3.

The start of the game was delayed 89 minutes by rain. Morgan ran into trouble in the second, surrendering the game's first run on an RBI groundout by Levis, and experienced some serious difficulty in the third.

Omar Vizquel, who had his 12-game hitting streak snapped, started the frame with a harmless groundout to third. But Roberto Alomar singled and Manny Ramirez drew a walk before David Justice made it 2-0 with a run-scoring single to left.

Morgan walked Thome to load the bases and Sexson followed with a two-run double to center, giving the Indians a four-run cushion.

"The rain delay didn't hurt me," Morgan said. "I hung a slider and Sexson hit it. That was big. I've got to get out there and execute, make my pitches. Getting ground balls is my game, that takes me deep into the game."

Thome was picked off at third by catcher Ivan Rodriguez but Morgan was unable to take advantage of the break, surrendering a walk to Enrique Wilson and another RBI single to Levis before manager Johnny Oates called for rookie reliever Danny Kolb.

Recap #2

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Steve Karsay keeps giving the Cleveland Indians relief -- even in a starting role.

Karsay pitched five shutout innings to win his 10th straight decision as the Indians halted the Texas Rangers' four-game winning streak, 8-0 Thursday night.

Karsay (10-1) allowed four hits in his second straight start after 42 relief outings. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, then gave up just two hits and one walk over the next four innings.

Despite Karsay's fine work in the rotation, manager Mike Hargrove said he will consider moving the right-hander back into a setup relief role.

"I just don't know right now," Hargrove said. "I would love to give him another start, but I don't know if it is best for the club. He has been outstanding in both roles this season."

Steve Reed, Paul Shuey and Mike Jackson completed Cleveland's fourth shutout this season and first at home since an 11-0 win over the New York Yankees on June 21, 1998.

Richie Sexson and Jim Thome each had two RBI as the Indians avoided their first four-game sweep at home since Sept. 9-12, 1996, by the California Angels.

Karsay, on the disabled list from July 3 to July 26 with a strained rib cage muscle, lowered his ERA to 2.41 and became the first Indians pitcher to win 10 decisions in a row since Fritz Peterson in 1975.

"Now that I'm totally healthy, I like going out there every five days and would love to start again," Karsay said. "It is not in my hands. I will do whatever is best for the team."

Karsay stabilized a pitching staff that had been rocked by the Rangers for 34 runs in three nights.

"Karsay threw as good as any pitcher has against us this year," said Rafael Palmeiro, who went 0-for-3 after homering in three straight games.

Sexson's two-run double keyed a four-run third inning off Mike Morgan (12-8).

Roberto Alomar got a one-out single, went to second on a walk to Manny Ramirez and scored on a single by David Justice. After Thome walked to load the bases, Sexson lined a double into the gap in left-center for a 4-0 lead.

"The way Karsay was throwing, that pretty much put the game away," Texas manager Johnny Oates said.

Thome then was picked off third by Texas catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who has picked off eight runners this season, including four at third.

Jesse Levis later had an RBI single in the inning to make it 5-0.

Levis drove in Cleveland's first run with a second-inning groundout, and Thome had RBI singles in the fourth and sixth innings.

Morgan allowed five runs on seven hits over 2 2/3 innings, his second-shortest outing in 26 starts this season.

GAME NOTES: The start of the game was delayed 89 minutes by rain. ... Juan Gonzalez had three of Texas' seven hits. ... Cleveland has committed only 16 errors in its last 36 games. ... The Indians' Dwight Gooden, out with a strained right shoulder since Aug. 3, pitched three innings in his first rehabilitation start at Double-A Akron, yielding three hits and one earned run. ... Johnny Allen (1937) and Gaylord Perry (1974) share the Indians' record of 15 consecutive wins.

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

Indians starter Steve Karsay	Indians starter Steve Karsay again	Enrique Wilson gets back in at first	Pudge is thrown out attempting to steal third base	Dave Roberts is most definitely out at second.  :)

Danny Kolb is handed the ball by Johnny Oates

Box Score

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

BATTERIES:  TEX - MIKE MORGAN, DANNY KOLB (3RD) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ,
                  GREGG ZAUN (8TH)
            CLE - STEVE KARSAY, STEVE REED (6TH), PAUL SHUEY (8TH),
                  MIKE JACKSON (9TH) AND JESSE LEVIS

             WP - STEVE KARSAY (10-1)
             LP - MIKE MORGAN (12-8)
           SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS:  TEX - NONE
            CLE - NONE

     TIME:  2:56     ATT:  43,263

PROBABLES:  BOS - MARK PORTUGAL (7-10, 5.11)
            TEX - ESTEBAN LOAIZA (5-1, 4.82)

            CLE - BARTOLO COLON (12-4, 4.14)
            SEA - JOHN HALAMA (9-4, 4.03)

Box Score
TEXAS (0) AT CLEVELAND (8) - FINAL

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore 2b-rf          4  0  0  0   0  1   0  .276
I Rodriguez c           3  0  1  0   1  1   1  .331
 Alicea lf              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .181
Greer lf                4  0  1  0   0  0   2  .289
 Zaun c                 0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .224
J Gonzalez rf           3  0  3  0   1  0   0  .311
 Shave 2b               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .242
R Palmeiro dh           3  0  0  0   1  1   4  .333
Zeile 3b                4  0  0  0   0  1   5  .303
L Stevens 1b            3  0  0  0   1  2   1  .282
Clayton ss              4  0  1  0   0  1   2  .266
T Goodwin cf            4  0  1  0   0  0   1  .243

Totals                 32  0  7  0   4  7  16

BATTING: 2B - J Gonzalez (23, Karsay); T Goodwin (9, Karsay);
I Rodriguez (21, Shuey). Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Zeile 2, Clayton 1, Greer 1. GIDP - R Palmeiro.  Team LOB - 9.

BASERUNNING: CS - I Rodriguez (8, 3rd base by Karsay/Levis).

FIELDING: E - Clayton (15, ground ball). DP: 3 (Zeile-Mclemore-L Stevens,
Clayton-Mclemore-L Stevens, Clayton-Shave-L Stevens).

CLEVELAND              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Roberts cf              5  0  1  1   0  0   4  .292
Vizquel ss              4  0  0  0   1  0   2  .339
R Alomar 2b             3  2  1  0   2  0   1  .322
M Ramirez rf            2  2  0  0   2  0   4  .321
 A Ramirez rf           1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .255
Justice lf              4  1  2  1   0  0   4  .305
Thome dh                3  0  2  2   1  1   0  .286
Sexson 1b               4  2  2  2   0  0   4  .251
E Wilson 3b             2  1  1  0   2  0   0  .264
Levis c                 4  0  2  2   0  1   0  .188

Totals                 32  8 11  8   8  2  19

BATTING: 2B - E Wilson (20, Morgan); Sexson (12, Morgan).
RBI - Levis 2 (2), Justice (75), Sexson 2 (76), Thome 2 (79),
Roberts (3). 2-out RBI - Levis, Thome. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Justice 1, Roberts 2, Sexson 1. GIDP - Vizquel, Sexson,
R Alomar.  Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: Picked off - Thome (3rd base, I Rodriguez).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (Sexson-Vizquel-Shuey).

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Morgan (L, 12-8)              2 2/3   7   5   5   4   1   0   5.87
Kolb                          5 1/3   4   3   2   4   1   0   3.93

CLEVELAND                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Karsay (W, 10-1)              5       4   0   0   3   4   0   2.41
Reed                          2       1   0   0   0   2   0   3.27
Shuey                         1       1   0   0   1   0   0   3.34
M Jackson                     1       1   0   0   0   1   0   4.27

Pitches-strikes: Karsay 94-57; Reed 22-14; Shuey 24-16; M Jackson 11-9;
Morgan 73-41; Kolb 89-50.  Ground balls-fly balls: Karsay 7-3; Reed 1-3;
Shuey 2-1; M Jackson 1-1; Morgan 5-1; Kolb 13-2.  Batters faced: Karsay 21;
Reed 7; Shuey 4; M Jackson 4; Morgan 18; Kolb 22.

UMPIRES: HP--Rich Garcia. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Brian Onora. 3B--Laz Diaz.
T--2:56   Att--43,263.   Weather: 65 degrees, cloudy.   Wind: 9 mph,
in from right.

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

AL       TEXAS AT CLEVELAND
         NOTE:  THE GAME IS UNDERWAY AFTER A ONE HOUR, 29 MINUTE RAIN
                DELAY.

Game Log

Texas Starting Lineups -- Mark Mclemore 2B, Ivan Rodriguez C, Rusty Greer LF, Juan Gonzalez RF, Rafael Palmeiro DH, Todd Zeile 3B, Lee Stevens 1B, Royce Clayton SS, Tom Goodwin CF, Mike Morgan 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, Enrique Wilson 3B, Jesse Levis C, Steve Karsay RHP.

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

Gametime Weather: 65 degrees, Cloudy, wind in from right at 9 mph.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore struck out swinging. I Rodriguez walked. Greer reached on infield single, I Rodriguez to second. I Rodriguez caught stealing, catcher to third. J Gonzalez singled to left, Greer to second. R Palmeiro walked, Greer to third, J Gonzalez to second. Zeile fouled out to catcher. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 1ST: Roberts singled to right. Vizquel grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Roberts out at second. R Alomar walked, Vizquel to second. M Ramirez flied out to right. Justice grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 0.

TEXAS 2ND: L Stevens grounded out to second. Clayton struck out looking. T Goodwin grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: Thome struck out looking. Sexson singled to left. E Wilson doubled to right, Sexson to third. Levis grounded out to shortstop, Sexson scored, E Wilson to third. Roberts grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 1.

TEXAS 3RD: Mclemore grounded out to first. I Rodriguez grounded out to third. Greer grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 3RD: Vizquel grounded out to third. R Alomar singled to left. M Ramirez walked, R Alomar to second. Justice singled to left, R Alomar scored, M Ramirez to second. Thome walked, M Ramirez to third, Justice to second. Sexson doubled to left center, M Ramirez and Justice scored, Thome to third. Thome picked off at third, catcher to third. E Wilson walked. Levis singled to right, Sexson scored, E Wilson to third. Danny Kolb relieved Mike Morgan. Roberts grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Levis out at second. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 5.

TEXAS 4TH: J Gonzalez doubled to deep left. R Palmeiro struck out swinging. Zeile fouled out to catcher. L Stevens walked. Clayton grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 5.

CLEVELAND 4TH: Vizquel grounded out to second. R Alomar walked. M Ramirez safe at first on shortstop Clayton's fielding error, R Alomar to second. Justice grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, R Alomar to third, M Ramirez out at second. Thome singled to right, R Alomar scored, Justice to second. Sexson flied out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 6.

TEXAS 5TH: T Goodwin doubled to right center. Mclemore grounded out to second, T Goodwin to third. I Rodriguez struck out swinging. Greer flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 6.

CLEVELAND 5TH: E Wilson walked. Levis singled to right, E Wilson to third. Roberts grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, E Wilson scored, Levis out at second. Vizquel grounded into double play, third to second to first, Roberts out at second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 7.

TEXAS 6TH: Steve Reed relieved Steve Karsay. J Gonzalez singled to right. R Palmeiro flied out to left center. Zeile struck out looking. L Stevens struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 7.

CLEVELAND 6TH: R Alomar grounded out to shortstop. M Ramirez walked. Justice singled to right, M Ramirez to third. Thome singled to right, M Ramirez scored, Justice to third. Sexson grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Thome out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 8.

TEXAS 7TH: Clayton flied out to right. T Goodwin grounded out to second. Mclemore flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 8.

CLEVELAND 7TH: E Wilson grounded out to third. Levis struck out swinging. Roberts grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 8.

TEXAS 8TH: A Ramirez in right. Paul Shuey relieved Steve Reed. I Rodriguez doubled to right. Greer lined out to left. J Gonzalez walked. R Palmeiro grounded into double play, first to shortstop to pitcher, J Gonzalez out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 8.

CLEVELAND 8TH: Mclemore in right. Alicea in left. Zaun catching. Shave at second. Vizquel walked. R Alomar grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Vizquel out at second. A Ramirez flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 8.

TEXAS 9TH: Mike Jackson relieved Paul Shuey. Zeile grounded out to third. L Stevens struck out swinging. Clayton singled to right. T Goodwin flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, CLEVELAND 8.