Game 123: Aug 20, 1999 (W: 4-3)
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My Commentary

The Rangers passed the 2 million mark in attendance on this night, and I was part of it, because I was there.  I'm always at a baseball game August 20th, as that's my birthday (this year, my 34th).  Since I was about 6 or 7, I'd always go to a game on my birthday.  Back then, I was living in Philadelphia, and it was the Phillies at the Vet for me.  As a kid, I loved it.  I kept this tradition up all these years, I think only missing one or two along the way.  Now that I'm married (that happened in 96), these seemed to mean a lot more to me.  My wife and I have always loved watching the Rangers play the Red Sox, and it always seems to be good baseball when we play the Bosox.  This was no exception.

We got there to a surprisingly cool night at the ballpark (well, relatively cool, it was still 99 degrees when the game started, but it did NOT feel that way.  Esteban Loaiza was the starter, and given his performance the last several outings, he seemed to have been the starter we've been looking for him to be ever since we got him for Todd Van Poppel & Warren Morris (the Pirates' starting second baseman all year, and a possible Rookie of the Year player) last July.  Esteban looked sharp, and even managed to battle out of a jam, which has always been his undoing in the past (losing his cool when in a jam).  He went 6 innings (and 1 batter in the 7th) giving up 5 hits and 3 runs, but he seemed more dominating than that, at least to me he did.  Our bullpen was again excellent, allowing nothing in the final 3 innings of the game.   Wetteland pitched for the first time in a save situation in some time, and came though.  Even if he did back up Durwood Merrill's remark about him being a "heart attack waiting to happen".

Our offense was again mostly powered by Rafael Palmeiro.  I think now the question (if there ever really was one) as to which first baseman we should have had from 1994-1998 has been answered.  Oh man, are the Orioles kicking themselves for not signing him after last year.  This guy is awesome!  A few weeks back, I saw him hit a grand slam, and the two run shot tonight gave us two of our four runs.  Raffy also supplied one of the others with a single.   However, the four runs we had after the third inning was it.  Boston's bullpen took over and did a great job shutting us down for longer than we shut them down for.  

I always like playing Boston, and this game was no different.  I was there, it was a great ballgame, and they won on my birthday.  I loved it so much, my wife and I decided to come back on Sunday night.  They're giving away some decent looking baseball caps, so I walked down to the ticket office around 8:30 and got a couple of seats up in Section 342 for a total price of $10.  Both of us in the door for $10 plus we get two baseball caps?  You can still get in the damn door for a decent price.  Sure, they've raised the ticket prices three years in a row, but you can still get in and get a bargain if you know how to play the game.

-- Joe Siegler

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- Rafael Palmeiro continued his power surge with a two-run homer and three RBI and Esteban Loaiza went six-plus strong innings for his sixth straight win as the Texas Rangers held on for a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Palmeiro followed Juan Gonzalez's leadoff double in the second inning against Mark Portugal (7-11) with his team-leading 34th home run, giving Texas a 2-0 lead.

"Certain at-bats, you are so focused that all you see is the ball and not the seams, spin or anything like that," Palmeiro said. "That was one of those pitches. I couldn't tell you what pitch that was."

Palmeiro, who added an RBI single in the third, has homered in four of his last five games. He is just 7-for-36 (.194) in his last 10 games, but five of those hits have been home runs.

"They just come in streaks. I'm not doing anything differently," Palmeiro said. "I'm just taking advantage of good pitches to hit. It's hard to maintain a pace like that."

"He got us on the board again tonight. I would like to have seen him put the ball in play later in the game with the bases loaded, and that's just a manager talking," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. "He's had a lot of big homers and RBI this year."

Loaiza (6-1) continued his late-season push, winning for the fifth time in six starts since moving into the rotation. He allowed three runs and five hits, walking three and striking out five.

"I felt good. I was just trying to keep my pitches low and throw strikes," Loaiza said. "I've been able to mix my curve, slider, sinker and fastball. I'm just trying to move the ball around, hit my corners and hit my spots. The players behind me deserve a lot of credit. They're the ones getting on base and driving the runs in."

"To say he pitched well would be an understatement. The only problem he had was in the fifth inning," Oates said.

Mike Munoz and Tim Crabtree combined in the seventh and rookie Jeff Zimmerman worked a perfect eighth. John Wetteland set down the first two batters in the ninth before pinch-hitter Reggie Jefferson singled and Trot Nixon walked. But Wetteland got Jose Offerman on a flyout to right for his 34th save, tying for the league lead.

"Same old, same old with three shutout innings tonight," Oates said of his bullpen. "How many times have we seen it this year? They've done a great job this year."

The Rangers have won five of their last six games, extending their lead over second-place Oakland in the American League West to 6 1/2 games.

Boston matined a one-game lead over the A's in the American League wild card race.

The Rangers completed their scoring in the third. Tom Goodwin led off with a single, moved to second two outs later on a groundout and scored on Rusty Greer's single.

Boston halved the decicit in the fifth. Butch Huskey drilled Loaiza's first pitch over the center-field wall for his 19th homer. Jason Varitek walked, moved to third on Darren Lewis' single and Nixon followed with a sacrifice fly

Loaiza had worked 13 2/3 scoreless innings before Huskey's homer.

The Red Sox scored the game's final run in the seventh. Lewis led off with a triple and came home on Nixon's second sacrifice fly of the game.

Portugal lost his third straight start, dropping to 0-4 lifetime against Texas. He allowed four runs and nine hits over six innings, walking one and fanning four.

"I felt fine. I made the pitches I wanted," Portugal said. "I'm going to pitch again in five days. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat."

Recap #2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Esteban Loaiza had won five consecutive games -- all against teams with losing records. On Friday night, he beat the team leading the AL wild-card race.

Loaiza allowed three runs in six innings to win his sixth straight decision, and Rafael Palmeiro drove in three runs as the Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3.

Loaiza is 5-0 in six starts since joining the rotation on July 24. He is also 6-1 since coming off the disabled list July 4 after breaking his hand in a car door.

Loaiza gave up five hits in six-plus innings, striking out five and walking three. He has not allowed more than three runs since becoming a starter and Texas is unbeaten is all seven of his starts this season.

"I'm just moving the ball around, hitting my spots and the corners, and mixing up my pitches," said Loaiza, who had an ERA over 7.00 as a reliever. "I'm just looking at the glove and throwing the ball there."

Loaiza (6-1) cruised through the first four innings, allowing two hits, but struggled in the fifth. He gave up two runs and two hits and walked three in the inning.

Boston, which began the night one game ahead of Oakland in the AL wild-card race, trailed 4-0 before Butch Huskey homered on the first pitch of the fifth, ending Loaiza's consecutive scoreless innings streak at 13 2/3.

Trot Nixon's sacrifice fly pulled the Red Sox to 4-2. With runners on first and second, Loaiza pitched around Nomar Garciaparra, the league's top hitter, to load the bases. He then got Mike Stanley to hit an inning-ending flyout to the warning track on a 3-2 count.

"I gave Pudge (catcher Ivan Rodriguez) a sign that if Garciaparra wanted to chase a pitch out of the strike zone he could, but we weren't going to give him anything good to hit," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. "He got the ball up a little, but luckily Stanley got underneath a little. I was glad it wasn't hit about 10 more feet. That was the key at-bat of the ballgame."

Darren Lewis chased Loaiza with a leadoff triple in the seventh and scored on Nixon's sacrifice fly off reliever Mike Munoz.

John Wetteland pitched the ninth for his 34th save in 41 chances, tying Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees -- his former setup man -- for the major league lead.

Mark Portugal (7-11) allowed all four runs and nine hits in six innings and dropped to 0-4 against Texas.

Palmeiro's two-run homer in the second was his fourth in five games and 34th this season. Palmeiro has 348 career homers, moving him into a tie with George Foster for 55th on the career list. The Rangers have 15 in their last six games.

"He's has been in a groove for the last eight or nine years," Portugal said. "I left the ball up. Good hitters hit mistake pitches."

Palmeiro and Rusty Greer added RBI singles in the third.

"We held them to four runs, so we had a chance to win this ballgame," Huskey said. "Their pitching came through though."

GAME NOTES: Despite going 1-for-3 Friday, Texas' Mark McLemore is 4-for-29 in his last seven games ... Rangers closer John Wetteland turns 33 Saturday ... The Rangers went over the 2 million mark (2,003,004) in home attendance with Friday's game, the fifth straight season they've done it. ... Palmeiro's 34 home runs this season are the seventh-highest season total for the Rangers, eclipsing Dean Palmer's 33 in 1993.

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

Texas starter Esteban Loaiza	Boston starter Mark Portugal	Jose Offerman is thrown out at second by Pudge attempting to steal

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
BOSTON              0  0  0   0  2  0   1  0  0     3  6  0
TEXAS               0  2  2   0  0  0   0  0  x     4 10  0   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  BOS - MARK PORTUGAL, RICH GARCES (7TH) AND JASON
                  VARITEK
            TEX - ESTEBAN LOAIZA, MIKE MUNOZ (7TH), TIM CRABTREE
                  (7TH), JEFF ZIMMERMAN (8TH), JOHN WETTELAND
                  (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

             WP - ESTEBAN LOAIZA (6-1)
             LP - MARK PORTUGAL (7-11)
           SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (34)

HOME RUNS:  BOS - BUTCH HUSKEY (19) OFF LOAIZA IN THE 5TH, 0 ON
            TEX - RAFAEL PALMEIRO (34) OFF PORTUGAL IN THE 2ND, 1 ON

     TIME:  2:50     ATT:  35,036

PROBABLES:  BOS - BRIAN ROSE (6-4, 4.80)
            TEX - RICK HELLING (9-7, 4.35)

Box Score
BOSTON (3) AT TEXAS (4) - FINAL

BOSTON                 ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Offerman 2b             3  0  0  0   2  0   3  .287
John Valentin 3b        4  0  0  0   0  1   3  .254
N Garciaparra ss        3  0  1  0   1  0   0  .359
Stanley 1b              3  0  0  0   0  2   4  .266
 a-Daubach ph-1b        1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .332
Oleary lf               4  0  0  0   0  2   0  .284
B Huskey dh             4  1  1  1   0  1   0  .300
Varitek c               3  1  0  0   1  0   0  .260
D Lewis cf              3  1  2  0   0  1   0  .262
 b-Jefferson ph         1  0  1  0   0  0   0  .298
 Sadler pr              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .265
T Nixon rf              1  0  1  2   1  0   1  .268

Totals                 30  3  6  3   5  7  11

a-grounded to third for Stanley in the 8th; b-singled for D Lewis
in the 9th.

BATTING: 3B - D Lewis (6, Loaiza). HR - B Huskey (19, 5th inning
off Loaiza 0 on, 0 out). SF - T Nixon 2. RBI - B Huskey (63),
T Nixon 2 (36). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Stanley 2,
Offerman 1. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: CS - Offerman (11, 2nd base by Crabtree/I Rodriguez).

FIELDING: DP: 2 (Varitek-Offerman, John Valentin-Offerman-Stanley).

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore 2b             3  0  1  0   1  0   1  .277
I Rodriguez c           4  0  0  0   0  1   1  .328
Greer lf                3  1  2  1   1  0   0  .292
J Gonzalez rf           3  1  2  0   1  0   1  .314
R Palmeiro dh           4  1  2  3   0  1   3  .334
Zeile 3b                4  0  1  0   0  1   2  .303
L Stevens 1b            4  0  1  0   0  0   1  .282
Clayton ss              4  0  0  0   0  1   2  .263
T Goodwin cf            3  1  1  0   0  1   0  .244

Totals                 32  4 10  4   3  5  11

BATTING: 2B - J Gonzalez (24, Portugal); L Stevens (21, Portugal).
HR - R Palmeiro (34, 2nd inning off Portugal 1 on, 0 out). RBI -
R Palmeiro 3 (111), Greer (75). 2-out RBI - Greer, R Palmeiro.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Zeile 1, Clayton 1,
R Palmeiro 2. GIDP - Clayton. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - Mclemore (10, 3rd base off R Garces/Varitek).
CS - Mclemore (7, 2nd base by Portugal/Varitek).

BOSTON                       ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Portugal (L, 7-11)            6       9   4   4   1   4   1   5.15
R Garces                      2       1   0   0   2   1   0   1.66

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Loaiza (W, 6-1)               6       5   3   3   3   5   1   4.79
M Munoz (H, 9)                  1/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   3.65
Crabtree (H, 12)                2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   2.96
Je Zimmerman (H, 20)          1       0   0   0   0   1   0   1.24
Wetteland (S, 34)             1       1   0   0   1   1   0   4.28

Loaiza pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.

WP - Portugal.  Pitches-strikes: Loaiza 90-51; M Munoz 7-3;
Crabtree 6-3; Je Zimmerman 9-7; Wetteland 22-12; Portugal 94-66;
R Garces 40-23.  Ground balls-fly balls: Loaiza 2-11; M Munoz
0-1; Crabtree 0-1; Je Zimmerman 2-0; Wetteland 1-1; Portugal
7-6; R Garces 4-1.  Batters faced: Loaiza 26; M Munoz 2;
Crabtree 1; Je Zimmerman 3; Wetteland 5; Portugal 26; R Garces 9.

UMPIRES: HP--Joe Brinkman. 1B--Tim Mcclelland. 2B--Eric Cooper.
3B--Dan Iassogna.
T--2:50.  Att--35,036.   Weather: 99 degrees, clear.   Wind: 10 mph,
left to right.

Game Log

Boston Starting Lineups -- Jose Offerman 2B, John Valentin 3B, Nomar Garciaparra SS, Mike Stanley 1B, Troy Oleary LF, Butch Huskey DH, Jason Varitek C, Darren Lewis CF, Trot Nixon RF, Mark Portugal 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, Royce Clayton SS, Tom Goodwin CF, Esteban Loaiza RHP.

Umpires -- Brinkman (HP), T Mcclelland (1B), Cooper (2B), Iassogna (3B).

Gametime Weather: 99 degrees, Clear, wind left to right at 10 mph.

BOSTON 1ST: Offerman flied out to left. John Valentin flied out to center. N Garciaparra singled to left. Stanley struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore walked. I Rodriguez struck out swinging. Mclemore caught stealing, catcher to second. Greer grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TEXAS 0.

BOSTON 2ND: Oleary flied out to center. B Huskey popped out to shallow right. Varitek flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 2ND: J Gonzalez doubled to left center. J Gonzalez to third on Portugal wild pitch. R Palmeiro homered to center, J Gonzalez scored. Zeile singled to right. L Stevens flied out to deep right center. Clayton grounded into double play, third to second to first, Zeile out at second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TEXAS 2.

BOSTON 3RD: D Lewis struck out looking. T Nixon singled to center. Offerman flied out to center. John Valentin grounded into fielder's choice to third, T Nixon out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 3RD: T Goodwin singled to left. Mclemore flied out to deep right. I Rodriguez grounded out to first, T Goodwin to second. Greer singled to left center, T Goodwin scored. J Gonzalez singled to center, Greer to second. R Palmeiro singled to center, Greer scored, J Gonzalez to second. Zeile struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TEXAS 4.

BOSTON 4TH: N Garciaparra lined out to center. Stanley struck out swinging. Oleary struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 4TH: L Stevens grounded out to second. Clayton grounded out to shortstop. T Goodwin struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TEXAS 4.

BOSTON 5TH: B Huskey homered to center. Varitek walked. D Lewis singled to left, Varitek to third. T Nixon hit sacrifice fly to left, Varitek scored. Offerman walked, D Lewis to second. John Valentin struck out looking. N Garciaparra walked, D Lewis to third, Offerman to second. Stanley flied out to deep center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 2, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 5TH: Mclemore popped out to shallow left. I Rodriguez lined out to right. Greer singled to left center. J Gonzalez lined out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 2, TEXAS 4.

BOSTON 6TH: Oleary flied out to right. B Huskey grounded out to third. Varitek fouled out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 2, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 6TH: R Palmeiro struck out looking. Zeile popped out to second. L Stevens doubled to deep right. Clayton grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 2, TEXAS 4.

BOSTON 7TH: D Lewis tripled to deep right. Mike Munoz relieved Esteban Loaiza. T Nixon hit sacrifice fly to right, D Lewis scored. Offerman walked. Tim Crabtree relieved Mike Munoz. Offerman caught stealing, catcher to second. John Valentin popped out to third. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 3, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 7TH: Rich Garces relieved Mark Portugal. T Goodwin grounded out to second. Mclemore singled to left. I Rodriguez grounded out to pitcher, Mclemore to second. Greer walked. Mclemore stole third. J Gonzalez walked, Greer to second. R Palmeiro popped out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 3, TEXAS 4.

BOSTON 8TH: Jeff Zimmerman relieved Tim Crabtree. N Garciaparra grounded out to first. Daubach hit for Stanley. Daubach grounded out to third. Oleary struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 3, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 8TH: Daubach at first. Zeile grounded out to pitcher. L Stevens grounded out to first. Clayton struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 3, TEXAS 4.

BOSTON 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Jeff Zimmerman. B Huskey struck out swinging. Varitek grounded out to first. Jefferson hit for D Lewis. Jefferson singled to left. Sadler ran for Jefferson. T Nixon walked, Sadler to second. Offerman flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 3, TEXAS 4.