Game 140: Sep 7, 1999 (W: 4-3)
[ Previous Game | Next Game ]
[ Schedule Menu | Main Page ]

My Commentary

I don't have much time to write this - I'm really busy at work today.  Was an awesome baseball game, and I was even thinking this before Pudge hit the home run to win the game.  This was one of those games that if we had lost, I wouldn't have minded it, but it was great that we won!

Couple of roster moves - Mike Simms was active for the first time all season (although he didn't play), and Rafael Palmeiro was out of the game (as well as tomorrow) with a hand problem leftover from being hit in the hand in the first game of the double header the other night.

The Rangers are now 28 games over 500 for the first time ever.  We could end up winning 100 games this season - it's not all that unlikely.  After this game, there are 22 games left.  If we win 16 of these 22, we'll have 100 wins.  It'll be an awesome season.   It still is a great season, but I'd like to push through and win 100 games.

-- Joe Siegler

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- Ivan Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Texas Rangers a 4-3 victory that prevented the Cleveland Indians from clinching the outright American League Central title.

Rodriguez went the opposite way, hitting reliever Steve Reed's 0-1 pitch just over the right-field fence for his 32nd home run. Reed (3-2) came on to replace starter Charles Nagy and issued a leadoff walk to Royce Clayton before Mark McLemore sacrificed.

"I didn't expect to hit a home run. I just wanted to hit the ball well," said Rodriguez, who needs two homers to tie Terry Steinbach's AL record for catchers. "It was a big home run. It's a good win for us. It's good to come from behind. We will enjoy this and try to come back and win tomorrow. We've been playing well against Cleveland. We've had good luck against them."

Rodriguez's blast helped Aaron Sele (16-7) to his fourth straight win and ninth in the last 10 decisions. The righthander gave up all three runs and six hits over seven innings with two walks and eight strikeouts, defeating Cleveland for the second time in three weeks.

"My job as a starter is to go six or seven and keep the game close, preferably within a run," Sele said. "Pudge came up and hit the big home run for us tonight, and we've got guys in our bullpen who've done it all year long."

"Sele's curveball was wonderful. When he's getting his curve over, he can throw the fastball right by hitters," added Rangers manager Johnny Oates added. "There aren't too many hitters that go up to the plate looking for a curve and if they do, he can respond with a fastball. Sele was really hitting his spots tonight. His performance takes a lot of pressure off of the bullpen."

The Indians could have secured their fifth straight AL Central crown with a victory, but Reed was unable to protect the lead established by starter Charles Nagy, who allowed two runs and six hits in six innings. Cleveland clinched at least a tie for the title when the Chicago White Sox were beaten at Anaheim.

"I felt fine, I was throwing well," Nagy said. "They're pretty solid one through nine. I got a little tired after the fifth. ... We really want to play them tough. You know you might play them in the playoffs."

The Rangers have taken six of nine meetings with Cleveland this season.

"When October 5 gets here and the playoffs start, I don't think there is a lot remembered from the regular season," Oates noted. "There's a new intensity and it's a whole new ballgame."

Texas pitchers retired the last 10 batters, with Jeff Zimmerman working the eighth and John Wetteland breezing through the ninth for his 40th save in 47 chances. Wetteland joined Dennis Eckersley as the only pitchers with four 40-save seasons.

Cleveland jumped on top in the first as Omar Vizquel singled, moved into a tie for the league lead with his 36th stolen base and scored on a two-out single by Manny Ramirez.

The Rangers answered in the second. Lee Stevens led off with a double and scored on Clayton's two-out double. Mark McLemore followed with a triple to plate the go-ahead run.

Ramirez increased his major league-leading RBI total to 143 with a run-scoring single in the third, then doubled and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth on David Justice's forceout.

Recap #2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Based on the recent results, the Texas Rangers shouldn't mind a first-round playoff matchup against the Cleveland Indians. 

"It's always a good win when you beat the best team in the league," Ivan Rodriguez said after his two-run, go-ahead homer in the seventh inning led the Texas Rangers over the Cleveland Indians 4-3 Tuesday night. "It's especially good to win when you come from behind." 

Later Tuesday, Cleveland clinched a tie for its fifth straight AL Central title when second-place Chicago lost 14-1 at Anaheim. The Indians, who lead by 23½ games, can clinch Tuesday night against the Rangers, who are 6-3 against Cleveland this year.

"It doesn't hurt now. In the postseason, it would," Indians manager Mike Hargrove said. "The regular season and the postseason are completely different." 

Texas, which leads the AL West, has won six of nine games against the Indians this season and are 27-16 against the Indians since 1996, including 16-7 at home. 

"When October gets here, nobody will remember what happened tonight," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. "It starts over. There are new lineups, new desperation. It's a whole different ballgame." 

Cleveland took a 3-2 lead into the seventh behind six strong innings from Charles Nagy, who was trying for his first win at Texas in three years. 

Steve Reed (3-2) walked Royce Clayton leading off the seventh and, after Mark McLemore's bunt advanced Clayton to second, Rodriguez lined his 32nd homer into the right-field seats to put Texas in front 4-3. 

"I wasn't trying to hit a home run. I was just trying to hit the ball hard," Rodriguez, two short of matching the league record for homers by a catcher, set by Oakland's Terry Steinbach in 1996. 

Aaron Sele (16-7) benefited from the rally and won for the ninth time in 10 decisions. 

Sele allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked two as the Rangers won for the fourth time in five games. 

John Wetteland pitched the ninth for his 40th save and third in two nights.

Sandy Alomar, who had been sidelined since May 11 after arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone chip in his left knee, went 0-for-3 in his first game back for Cleveland. Alomar was in the trainer's room after the game getting treatment for his knee. 

"It was good to get Sandy back," Nagy said. "He did a good job moving around back there. I'm sure he'll be sore tomorrow." 

Manny Ramirez had three hits and two RBI for the Indians, who had won seven of eight games. 

Cleveland scored in the first on Ramirez's RBI single. Ramirez then played a role in the Rangers' two-run second. 

Lee Stevens led off with a double and Clayton tied the game with a two-out double. McLemore followed with a drive to right-center that Ramirez misplayed into an RBI triple to give Texas a 2-1 lead. 

Ramirez tied it at 2 with a third-inning RBI single. 

Cleveland took a 3-2 lead in the sixth when Ramirez doubled and later scored on David Justice's RBI groundout. 

GAME NOTES: Nagy allowed two runs and six hits, struck out four and walked one. ... Texas 1B-DH Rafael Palmeiro missed the game with a bone bruise on his left wrist. Palmeiro sustained the injury when he was hit on the wrist by a pitch in the first inning of the first game of Monday's doubleheader against the White Sox. ... The Rangers activated OF Mike Simms from the 15-day DL. Simms has been out all season with left heel problems. ... At 84-56, the Rangers are 28 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history. 

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

Rusty dives for it	Omar Visquel steals second	3D House of Baseball Bats - Roberto Alomar strikes out in the 1st	Jim Thome makes an error on a Rusty Greer hit ball	Uh...  No comment.

Dave Justice strikes out in the 9th	"Man, my deodorant is NOT working!"

Box Score

Line Score

AL  FINAL

                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E

                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -

CLEVELAND           1  0  1   0  0  1   0  0  0     3  6  1

TEXAS               0  2  0   0  0  0   2  0  x     4 10  0   (FINAL)



BATTERIES:  CLE - CHARLES NAGY, STEVE REED (7TH), RICARDO RINCON

                  (7TH), SEAN DEPAULA (8TH) AND SANDY ALOMAR JR

            TEX - AARON SELE, JEFF ZIMMERMAN (8TH), JOHN

                  WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ



             WP - AARON SELE (16-7)

             LP - STEVE REED (3-2)

           SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (40)



HOME RUNS:  CLE - NONE

            TEX - IVAN RODRIGUEZ (32) OFF REED IN THE 7TH, 1 ON



     TIME:  2:41     ATT:  26,011



PROBABLES:  CLE - CHRIS HANEY (0-1, 5.16)

            TEX - JOHN BURKETT (6-7, 6.13)



Box Score

CLEVELAND (3) AT TEXAS (4) - FINAL



CLEVELAND              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg

Roberts cf              4  0  0  0   0  1   0  .262

Vizquel ss              4  2  2  0   0  0   0  .333

R Alomar 2b             3  0  0  0   1  1   1  .327

M Ramirez rf            4  1  3  2   0  1   0  .336

Baines dh               4  0  0  0   0  1   3  .313

Thome 1b                3  0  0  0   1  3   0  .282

Justice lf              4  0  0  1   0  3   1  .296

E Wilson 3b             4  0  1  0   0  0   1  .261

S Alomar c              3  0  0  0   0  1   1  .306



Totals                 33  3  6  3   2 11   7



BATTING: 2B - M Ramirez (32, Sele). RBI - M Ramirez 2 (143),

Justice (79). 2-out RBI - M Ramirez 2. Runners left in scoring

position, 2 out - Baines 1. Team LOB - 5.



BASERUNNING: SB - Vizquel (36, 2nd base off Sele/I Rodriguez).



FIELDING: E - Thome (5, bobble).



TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg

Mclemore 2b             4  0  1  1   0  1   1  .279

I Rodriguez c           4  1  1  2   0  1   1  .328

Greer lf                4  0  1  0   0  0   2  .303

J Gonzalez dh           4  0  2  0   0  0   1  .310

Zeile 3b                4  0  1  0   0  1   3  .300

L Stevens 1b            4  1  1  0   0  1   3  .289

R Kelly rf              4  0  2  0   0  1   1  .317

T Goodwin cf            3  0  0  0   0  0   3  .242

Clayton ss              2  2  1  1   2  1   1  .270



Totals                 33  4 10  4   2  6  16



BATTING: 2B - L Stevens (27, Nagy); Clayton (17, Nagy). 3B - Mclemore

(6, Nagy). HR - I Rodriguez (32, 7th inning off Reed 1 on, 1 out).

S - Mclemore, T Goodwin. RBI - Clayton (41), Mclemore (40),

I Rodriguez 2 (97). 2-out RBI - Clayton, Mclemore. Runners left

in scoring position, 2 out - Zeile 1, I Rodriguez 1, Greer 1,

T Goodwin 1, L Stevens 1, Mclemore 1. Team LOB - 9.



CLEVELAND                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era

Nagy                          6       6   2   2   1   4   0   4.53

Reed (L, 3-2; BS, 2)            2/3   3   2   2   1   0   1   3.84

Rincon                          1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   4.75

Depaula                       1       1   0   0   0   2   0  27.00



TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era

Sele (W, 16-7)                7       6   3   3   2   8   0   4.93

Je Zimmerman (H, 24)          1       0   0   0   0   1   0   2.02

Wetteland (S, 40)             1       0   0   0   0   2   0   3.88



Pitches-strikes: Sele 118-71; Je Zimmerman 12-10; Wetteland

14-9; Nagy 102-65; Reed 20-14; Rincon 4-3; Depaula 13-8.

Ground balls-fly balls: Sele 10-3; Je Zimmerman 2-0; Wetteland 0-1;

Nagy 8-6; Reed 1-1; Rincon 1-0; Depaula 1-0.  Batters faced:

Sele 29; Je Zimmerman 3; Wetteland 3; Nagy 26; Reed 6; Rincon 1;

Depaula 4.



UMPIRES: HP--Terry Craft. 1B--Travis Katzenmeier. 2B--Tim Welke.

3B--Mike Dimuro.

T--2:41.  Att--26,011.   Weather: 98 degrees, partly cloudy.

Wind: 16 mph, right to left.



AL       CLEVELAND AT TEXAS

         NOTE:  WARMUPS RE-SENT TO CHANGE THE UMPIRE ROTATION. NO REASON

                HAS BEEN GIVEN FOR THE CHANGE.

Game Log

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- Dave Roberts CF, Omar Vizquel SS, Roberto Alomar 2B, Manny Ramirez RF, Harold Baines DH, Jim Thome 1B, David Justice LF, Enrique Wilson 3B, Sandy Alomar Jr C, Charles Nagy RHP.

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

Umpires -- T Craft (HP), Katzenmeier (1B), T Welke (2B), M Dimuro (3B).

Gametime Weather: 98 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind right to left at 16 mph.

CLEVELAND 1ST: Roberts flied out to deep right. Vizquel singled to left. Vizquel stole second. R Alomar struck out swinging. M Ramirez singled to left, Vizquel scored. Baines grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore flied out to center. I Rodriguez struck out looking. Greer safe at first on 1st baseman Thome's fielding error. J Gonzalez singled to left, Greer to third. Zeile lined out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 1, TEXAS 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: Thome struck out looking. Justice struck out swinging. E Wilson grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 2ND: L Stevens doubled to right center. R Kelly grounded out to shortstop. T Goodwin flied out to center. Clayton doubled to left, L Stevens scored. Mclemore tripled to right center, Clayton scored. I Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 1, TEXAS 2.

CLEVELAND 3RD: S Alomar struck out swinging. Roberts grounded out to shortstop. Vizquel singled to center. R Alomar walked, Vizquel to second. M Ramirez singled to left, Vizquel scored, R Alomar to second. Baines struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 3RD: Greer grounded out to first. J Gonzalez lined out to right. Zeile lined out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, TEXAS 2.

CLEVELAND 4TH: Thome struck out swinging. Justice struck out looking. E Wilson singled to center. S Alomar grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 4TH: L Stevens grounded out to pitcher. R Kelly struck out swinging. T Goodwin grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, TEXAS 2.

CLEVELAND 5TH: Roberts grounded out to second. Vizquel popped out to third. R Alomar grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 5TH: Clayton walked. Mclemore grounded out to pitcher, Clayton to second. I Rodriguez grounded out to second, Clayton to third. Greer grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, TEXAS 2.

CLEVELAND 6TH: M Ramirez doubled to left. Baines grounded out to second, M Ramirez to third. Thome walked. Justice grounded into fielder's choice to second, M Ramirez scored, Thome out at second. E Wilson popped out to shallow right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 6TH: J Gonzalez singled to right. Zeile struck out swinging. L Stevens struck out swinging. R Kelly singled to left, J Gonzalez to second. T Goodwin flied out to center. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, TEXAS 2.

CLEVELAND 7TH: S Alomar grounded out to third. Roberts struck out swinging. Vizquel grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 7TH: Steve Reed relieved Charles Nagy. Clayton walked. Mclemore sacrificed Clayton to second. I Rodriguez homered to right, Clayton scored. Greer reached on infield single. J Gonzalez flied out to deep right. Zeile singled to center, Greer to second. Ricardo Rincon relieved Steve Reed. L Stevens grounded into fielder's choice to third, Zeile out at second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, TEXAS 4.

CLEVELAND 8TH: Jeff Zimmerman relieved Aaron Sele. R Alomar grounded out to third. M Ramirez struck out looking. Baines grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, TEXAS 4.

TEXAS 8TH: Sean Depaula relieved Ricardo Rincon. R Kelly singled to right. T Goodwin sacrificed R Kelly to second. Clayton struck out looking. Mclemore struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, TEXAS 4.

CLEVELAND 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Jeff Zimmerman. Thome struck out swinging. Justice struck out looking. E Wilson flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, TEXAS 4.