Game
130: Aug 28, 1999 (W: 9-7)[ Previous Game | Next Game ]
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Game
130: Aug 28, 1999 (W: 9-7)
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TX Rangers Media Notes |
Not available - didn't catch enough of the game. However, I did catch Jeff Fassero's Ranger debut. That's about what I expected - he allowed the Blue Jays to get back into the game at the end and make the score much closer than the game seemed to be going.
-- Joe Siegler
Game Recap
TORONTO (TICKER) -- Not even a former New York Yankee could slow the Texas Rangers.
Red-hot Rusty Greer had three hits and three RBI and Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez homered off David Wells as the Rangers sent the Toronto Blue Jays to their eighth straight home loss, 9-7.
Rafael Palmeiro continued his torrid month with two more RBI, helping Texas to its third consecutive win. At 78-52, the Rangers are 26 games over .500 for the second time in team history and the first since finishing 94-68 in 1977.
"The key is we're playing great and we're winning and we're in first place. And that's really what I'm concerned with," said Palmeiro, who tied Gonzalez's record for RBI in a month with 38. He already owns the club mark for homers with 16 in August.
The Rangers have lost only three times in the last 13 games and two of those defeats came against the Yankees. But Wells (12-9), who spent the previous two seasons with New York, was roughed up and failed to reach the fifth inning.
Palmeiro's RBI single in the first put Texas ahead for good. Greer delivered a two-run single in the second and Gonzalez followed with a two-run blast, his fourth career homer off Wells.
"Anytime you score runs early it puts your pitcher a little more at ease," said Greer, whose 11-game hitting streak includes eight multi-hit contests. "Today we scored some runs early and gave him some confidence. It was a good ballclub win."
Staked to a seven-run lead, Aaron Sele (15-7) won for the eighth time in nine decisions. He gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings with two walks and nine strikeouts. After newly acquired Jeff Fassero surrendered three runs in the ninth, John Wetteland got the last three outs for his 35th save in 42 chances.
"Facing Wells, we knew we were going to have a tough task. Our guys were able to get some runs early. We played hard," Sele said. "The Jays came back and made it interesting, but our bullpen has done the job all year and they did it again."
Toronto's Shannon Stewart went 4-for-5, extending his hitting streak to 25 games. But the Blue Jays have dropped 11 of their last 15 and are three games behind Boston in the American League wild card race.
The home losing streak is Toronto's longest since moving into SkyDome in 1991. The Jays lost 11 consecutive games at Exhibition Stadium in 1977, their inaugural season.
Texas padded its lead in the third on consecutive one-out doubles by Roberto Kelly and Royce Clayton. A leadoff homer in the fourth by Rodriguez made it 7-0. Despite retiring the next three hitters, Wells was replaced by Kelvim Escobar to start the fifth after allowing seven runs and nine hits.
"Location is everything. You make a bad pitch and they're going to capitalize on it," Wells said. "That's what happened. I've got to be better next time."
"David's a great pitcher. I've played with him and against him. Today we were able to get to him early and we got some big hits with two outs," Palmeiro added. "He wasn't on his game today."
Toronto got to Sele in the bottom of the fourth. Tony Fernandez delivered a two-out double ahead of Darrin Fletcher's 14th home run.
Palmeiro drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the sixth for his record-tying RBI. But the Blue Jays answered with two runs in the bottom half as Fernandez came through with an RBI double and scored on Tony Batista's sacrifice fly.
Greer's RBI double in the eighth gave Texas a seemingly comfortable five-run cushion. But Fassero, acquired Friday from Seattle, made things interesting in the ninth.
After working a scoreless eighth, the veteran lefthander failed to retire any of the three batters he faced in the ninth. Stewart led off with a single, Brian McRae doubled and Shawn Green singled in a run.
Wetteland yielded a sacrifice fly to Carlos Delgado and struck out Fernandez and Batista around Green's run-scoring double.
Recap #2
TORONTO (AP) -- There's no home-field advantage at SkyDome these days.
Juan Gonzalez hit a two-run homer off David Wells and the Texas Rangers handed the Toronto Blue Jays their eighth straight home loss, 9-7 Saturday.
Gonzalez's shot in the second inning gave the Rangers a 5-0 lead over the Blue Jays, who haven't won at home since Aug. 1.
"We've lost eight in a row at home because we've been behind early and been playing catch up," catcher Darrin Fletcher said. "It would be nice to get ahead in a ball game early, and let them chase us for a change."
Wells (12-9) gave up a season high seven runs on nine hits and two walks in four innings. He left with a 5.41 ERA.
"I don't have a remedy for why we're losing at home, we're just going through some bad times here," Wells said. "I got the ball up in the zone and they capitalized on it. I got my butt kicked. It's kind of embarrassing."
Rafael Palmeiro drove in two runs and tied Gonzalez's team record of 38 RBI in a month. Rusty Greer had three hits and drove in three runs.
"We we're able to get to Wells early with some big hits. He just didn't have his 'A' game today," Palmeiro said.
Aaron Sele (15-7) won for the eighth time in nine starts. He struck out eight in six innings.
"When you spot one of the better pitchers in the league a seven-run lead, they know it would very embarrassing to give it up, so they bear down, and that's what Sele did," Fletcher said.
The Blue Jays fell three games behind Boston in the AL wild-card race. Texas has won 10 of 13.
"We're not panicking yet, it's still August," Shawn Green said.
Jeff Fassero, acquired Friday from Seattle, made his debut for the Rangers. He pitched a scoreless eighth, but was charged with three runs in the ninth.
Green's RBI single finished Fassero. John Wetteland got his 35th save, giving up Carlos Delgado's sacrifice fly and Darrin Fletcher's RBI double.
"We just couldn't hit a seven-run homer," Fletcher said.
Gonzalez hit his 29th homer during a four-run second inning that made it 5-0. Rusty Greer added a two-run single.
Royce Clayton had an RBI double in the third and Ivan Rodriguez hit a solo home run in the fourth for a 7-0 lead.
Toronto's Shannon Stewart tied his career high with four hits and extended his hitting streak to 25 games.
Fletcher hit a two-run homer in the fourth for the Blue Jays, and they closed to 8-4 in the sixth on Tony Fernandez's RBI double and Tony Batista's sacrifice fly.
Greer doubled home a run in the ninth.
GAME NOTES: Rodriguez, the Gold Glove and All-Star catcher, had his first passed ball of the season in the fifth inning. ... After a cameraman focused on Wells in the dugout in the second inning, the pitcher shoved the camera aside and cursed. ... Blue Jays assistant general manager Dave Stewart was interviewed Thursday for Milwaukee's vacant GM job. ... Palmeiro has 126 RBI, second most in the majors to Manny Ramirez's 131.
Photos
(Click on any of them for
a larger image)
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| Texas starter Aaron Sele | Toronto starter David Wells | Luis Alicea slides into third |
Line Score
AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TEXAS 1 4 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 9 14 1
TORONTO 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 3 7 14 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: TEX - AARON SELE, TIM CRABTREE (7TH), JEFF FASSERO
(8TH), JOHN WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ
TOR - DAVID WELLS, KELVIM ESCOBAR (5TH), JOHN
FRASCATORE (8TH), BILLY KOCH (9TH) AND DARRIN
FLETCHER
WP - AARON SELE (15-7)
LP - DAVID WELLS (12-9)
SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (35)
HOME RUNS: TEX - JUAN GONZALEZ (29) OFF D WELLS IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
IVAN RODRIGUEZ (29) OFF D WELLS IN THE 4TH, 0 ON
TOR - DARRIN FLETCHER (14) OFF SELE IN THE 4TH, 1 ON
TIME: 3:21 ATT: 31,117
PROBABLES: TEX - JOHN BURKETT (4-7, 6.43)
TOR - ROY HALLADAY (8-5, 4.37)
Box Score
TEXAS (9) AT TORONTO (7) - FINAL
TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
Alicea 2b 4 3 2 0 1 0 1 .190
I Rodriguez c 5 2 3 1 0 2 3 .328
Greer lf 4 1 3 3 1 0 0 .305
J Gonzalez dh 5 1 1 2 0 2 6 .308
R Palmeiro 1b 4 0 1 2 1 2 1 .340
Zeile 3b 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 .303
R Kelly rf 5 1 2 0 0 1 3 .315
Clayton ss 5 0 1 1 0 2 1 .264
T Goodwin cf 5 1 1 0 0 1 1 .236
Totals 41 9 14 9 4 11 19
BATTING: 2B - R Kelly (14, D Wells); Clayton (15, D Wells);
Greer (36, Frascatore). HR - J Gonzalez (29, 2nd inning off
D Wells 1 on, 2 out); I Rodriguez (29, 4th inning off D Wells
0 on, 0 out). RBI - R Palmeiro 2 (126), Greer 3 (86), J Gonzalez
2 (106), Clayton (33), I Rodriguez (89). 2-out RBI - R Palmeiro 2,
Greer 2, J Gonzalez 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
R Kelly 2, Alicea 1, Zeile 2, R Palmeiro 1. Team LOB - 9.
BASERUNNING: SB - T Goodwin 2 (31, 2nd base off D Wells/Fletcher,
3rd base off D Wells/Fletcher); Alicea (2, 2nd base off D Wells/Fletcher).
FIELDING: E - Clayton (17, ground ball). PB - I Rodriguez.
DP: 1 (I Rodriguez-Clayton).
TORONTO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
Stewart lf 5 1 4 0 0 1 1 .312
Mcrae cf 4 1 1 0 1 2 3 .179
Sh Green rf 5 1 1 1 0 3 3 .315
C Delgado 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 2 .270
T Fernandez 3b 4 2 2 1 1 1 1 .340
Fletcher c 5 1 3 3 0 0 1 .288
T Batista ss 4 0 1 1 0 2 3 .284
W Greene dh 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .205
a-Brumfield ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250
Bush 2b 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .316
Totals 39 7 14 7 2 12 19
a-reached on error for W Greene in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - T Fernandez 2 (40, Sele 2); Bush (20, Sele);
C Delgado (37, Sele); Mcrae (2, Fassero); Fletcher (22, Wetteland).
HR - Fletcher (14, 4th inning off Sele 1 on, 2 out). SF - T Batista,
C Delgado. RBI - Fletcher 3 (65), T Fernandez (68), T Batista (52),
Sh Green (105), C Delgado (120). 2-out RBI - Fletcher 3. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - Sh Green 1, C Delgado 1, Bush 1,
T Batista 1. Team LOB - 9.
BASERUNNING: CS - Stewart (14, 2nd base by Sele/I Rodriguez).
TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
Sele (W, 15-7) 6 8 4 4 2 9 1 4.95
Crabtree 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.77
Fassero 1 4 3 3 0 0 0 7.52
Wetteland (S, 35) 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.96
TORONTO ip h r er bb so hr era
D Wells (L, 12-9) 4 9 7 7 2 5 2 5.41
Escobar 3 2 1 1 2 4 0 5.94
Frascatore 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 3.58
Koch 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.34
Fassero pitched to 3 batters in the 9th.
WP - Escobar, Crabtree. Pitches-strikes: D Wells 104-68;
Escobar 50-31; Frascatore 13-9; Koch 15-10; Sele 103-63;
Crabtree 20-13; Fassero 32-18; Wetteland 10-8. Ground balls-fly
balls: D Wells 3-4; Escobar 3-2; Frascatore 0-2; Koch 2-0; Sele 3-5;
Crabtree 1-1; Fassero 1-2; Wetteland 0-1. Batters faced: D Wells 23;
Escobar 13; Frascatore 5; Koch 4; Sele 27; Crabtree 4; Fassero 8;
Wetteland 4.
UMPIRES: HP--Bill Miller. 1B--Greg Kosc. 2B--Dan Morrison.
3B--Ed Hickox.
T--3:21. Att--31,117. Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 24 mph, in from left.
AL TEXAS AT TORONTO
NOTE: TEXAS' RUSTY GREER EXTENDED HIS HITTING STREAK TO 11
GAMES WITH A SINGLE IN THE TOP OF THE FIRST INNING.
AL TEXAS AT TORONTO
NOTE: TORONTO'S SHANNON STEWART EXTENDED HIS HITTING STREAK TO
25 GAMES WITH A SINGLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE FIRST INNING.
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.
Toronto Starting Lineups -- Shannon Stewart LF, Brian Mcrae CF, Shawn Green RF, Carlos Delgado 1B, Tony Fernandez 3B, Darrin Fletcher C, Tony Batista SS, Willie Greene DH, Homer Bush 2B, David Wells LHP.
Umpires -- Miller (HP), Kosc (1B), Morrison (2B), Hickox (3B).
Gametime Weather: 86 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind in from left at 24 mph.
TEXAS 1ST: Alicea singled to left. I Rodriguez struck out swinging. Greer singled to right, Alicea to third. J Gonzalez fouled out to first. R Palmeiro singled to center, Alicea scored, Greer to second. Zeile walked, Greer to third, R Palmeiro to second. R Kelly struck out swinging. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, TORONTO 0.
TORONTO 1ST: Stewart singled to center. Mcrae struck out looking. Stewart caught stealing, catcher to shortstop. Sh Green struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, TORONTO 0.
TEXAS 2ND: Clayton lined out to shortstop. T Goodwin singled to center. T Goodwin stole second. Alicea walked. T Goodwin stole third, Alicea stole second. I Rodriguez struck out swinging. Greer singled to center, T Goodwin and Alicea scored. J Gonzalez homered to left, Greer scored. R Palmeiro struck out looking. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 5, TORONTO 0.
TORONTO 2ND: C Delgado grounded out to third. T Fernandez walked. Fletcher flied out to center. T Batista struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 5, TORONTO 0.
TEXAS 3RD: Zeile flied out to center. R Kelly doubled to left. Clayton doubled to center, R Kelly scored. T Goodwin flied out to center, Clayton to third. Alicea grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 6, TORONTO 0.
TORONTO 3RD: W Greene flied out to right. Bush struck out looking. Stewart reached on infield single. Mcrae flied out to shallow left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 6, TORONTO 0.
TEXAS 4TH: I Rodriguez homered to center. Greer grounded out to pitcher. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro grounded out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, TORONTO 0.
TORONTO 4TH: Sh Green struck out looking. C Delgado popped out to shallow left. T Fernandez doubled to left center. Fletcher homered to right, T Fernandez scored. T Batista grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, TORONTO 2.
TEXAS 5TH: Kelvim Escobar relieved David Wells. Zeile struck out swinging. R Kelly grounded out to second. Clayton grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, TORONTO 2.
TORONTO 5TH: W Greene grounded out to second. Bush doubled to right. Stewart struck out looking. Mcrae walked. Bush to third on I Rodriguez passed ball. Sh Green struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 7, TORONTO 2.
TEXAS 6TH: T Goodwin grounded out to first. Alicea singled to center. I Rodriguez singled to right, Alicea to second. Alicea to third, I Rodriguez to second on Escobar wild pitch. Greer walked. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro walked, Alicea scored, I Rodriguez to third, Greer to second. Zeile popped out to shallow right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 8, TORONTO 2.
TORONTO 6TH: C Delgado doubled to left. T Fernandez doubled to deep center, C Delgado scored. Fletcher singled to right, T Fernandez to third. T Batista hit sacrifice fly to left center, T Fernandez scored. W Greene struck out looking. Bush struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 8, TORONTO 4.
TEXAS 7TH: R Kelly flied out to right. Clayton struck out swinging. T Goodwin struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 8, TORONTO 4.
TORONTO 7TH: Tim Crabtree relieved Aaron Sele. Stewart singled to right. Mcrae struck out swinging. Stewart to second on Crabtree wild pitch. Sh Green flied out to deep right. C Delgado grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 8, TORONTO 4.
TEXAS 8TH: John Frascatore relieved Kelvim Escobar. Alicea lined out to second. I Rodriguez reached on infield single. Greer doubled to center, I Rodriguez scored. J Gonzalez flied out to deep left. R Palmeiro struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 9, TORONTO 4.
TORONTO 8TH: Jeff Fassero relieved Tim Crabtree. T Fernandez flied out to shallow right. Fletcher grounded out to first. T Batista singled to left. Brumfield hit for W Greene. Brumfield safe at first on shortstop Clayton's fielding error, T Batista to second. Bush flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) TEXAS 9, TORONTO 4.
TEXAS 9TH: Billy Koch relieved John Frascatore. Zeile grounded out to shortstop. R Kelly reached on infield single. Clayton struck out swinging. T Goodwin grounded into fielder's choice to second, R Kelly out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 9, TORONTO 4.
TORONTO 9TH: Stewart singled to right. Mcrae doubled to deep left center, Stewart to third. Sh Green singled to center, Stewart scored, Mcrae to third. John Wetteland relieved Jeff Fassero. C Delgado hit sacrifice fly to right, Mcrae scored. Sh Green to second on fielder indifference. T Fernandez struck out swinging. Fletcher doubled to right center, Sh Green scored. T Batista struck out looking. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 9, TORONTO 7.