Game 142: Sep 10, 1999 (L: 7-3)
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My Commentary

Ugh.  No commentary.

-- Joe Siegler

Game Recap

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI (TICKER) -- Blake Stein pitched seven strong innings for his first win with the Kansas City Royals and Mendy Lopez set career highs with three hits and three RBI in a 7-3 victory over the first-place Texas Rangers.

Acquired from Oakland at the deadline in the Kevin Appier trade, Stein (1-1) gave up one unearned run and seven hits for his first win since August 19, 1998. Making his seventh start for Kansas City, Stein walked one and struck out three.

"The plan is just to get outs, fly balls, ground balls, it doesn't matter," Stein said. "I had something extra on my fastball but they made some great plays behind me. Defensively, we had a great game. It's been a while (since my last win). I got that big monkey off my back."

Stein needed 134 pitches to get through seven innings.

"When I came out I felt fine, but that's as many as I can throw," Stein said. "I usually do throw a lot of pitches."

"I've caught guys like that. Next to a knuckleballer, that's the toughest guy to catch because you never know when he's going to throw a strike," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. "We chased a lot of pitches up and down. He threw enough strikes that we had to swing the bats."

Scott Service allowed two runs and Tim Byrdak got the final two outs of the eighth before putting the first two batters aboard in the ninth. But Jeff Montgomery came on and got a flyout and a double play for his 10th save of the season and 302nd of his career.

The Royals did most of their scoring in the second, sending 10 batters to the plate against Esteban Loazia (7-4). Jermaine Dye led off with a single and Mike Sweeney walked. Joe Randa singled home Dye and Jeremy Giambi's single loaded the bases before Sal Fasano's single to center made it 3-0.

Lopez's single scored Giambi and Mike Morgan relieved. Johnny Damon flied out, but a single by Ray Holbert put runners on the corners. Carlos Beltran followed with a forceout to score Fasano.

Kansas City posted its third win in four games and ended Texas' four-game winning streak. The Rangers had their lead over Oakland in the American League West cut to 7 1/2 games.

Lopez's two-run single in the eighth provided the Royals with some insurance.

"It was a great night for me. The eighth inning was a big hit for me and the team," Lopez said.

"Mendy's two-run single was big. We haven't been able to score late and it helped take a lot of pressure off the bullpen," Royals manager Tony Muser said. "We earned this win tonight."

Loaiza lost his third straight start after winning his previous seven decisions. He lasted just one-plus inning, yielding five runs and five hits.

"Loazia made some quality pitches and they did their job," Oates said. "He's got Dye 0-2 and gets a grounder. Randa gets a jam shot and Fasano 1-2 ... it was a good pitch but he got the ball to the outfield and did his job."

Royce Clayton, who went 3-for-3, singled with one out in the fifth, moved up on an error by Dye in right field and scored on Mark McLemore's single.

The Rangers pulled within 5-3 in the eighth. Greer and Juan Gonzalez stroked one-out singles and Byrdak relieved. After Rafael Palmeiro struck out, Todd Zeile doubled off the wall in right-center to score both runners.

Recap #2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Blake Stein had done a lot of good things since coming to the Kansas City Royals.

He'd lowered his ERA from almost 17 to under 4, and he'd only lost once in six starts. The problem was, he hadn't won either.

That changed Friday night, when he pitched seven strong innings in a 7-3 win over the Texas Rangers.

"It gets that big monkey off your back," Stein said. "It's been awhile since I had a win in the big leagues, and you start to wonder when it's going to come around again. Fortunately tonight we got some runs early, and that let me settle down a little bit."

Stein (1-1), acquired from Oakland at the trading deadline as part of a deal for Kevin Appier, allowed seven hits, walked one, and struck out three. He didn't record an infield putout until Mark McLemore grounded to second to start an inning-ending double play in the seventh.

"We probably would have scored more runs if we hadn't taken our bats to the plate," Texas manager Johnny Oates said. "We chased a lot of balls up. We chased a lot of balls down. He threw just enough strikes that we had to swing the bats."

Mendy Lopez had three hits and three RBI, both career highs, as Kansas City broke Texas' four-game winning streak.

Jeff Montgomery pitched the ninth for his 10th save in 16 opportunities.

"Steiny's come over here and thrown the ball well in almost every start he's had," Montgomery said. "He just hadn't gotten a win. So you feel good when you're able to finish off a win in a situation like that."

Kansas City took a 5-0 lead with a five-run second inning, highlighted by Sal Fasano's two-run single off starter Esteban Loaiza.

Loaiza (7-4) lost his third straight decision. He gave up five runs and five hits in one-plus innings, retiring the Royals in order in the first but leaving in the second after Kansas City's first six batters reached base safely. Loaiza walked one and had no strikeouts.

Joe Randa and Lopez hit RBI singles in the second, and Carlos Beltran made it 5-0 with an RBI grounder against Mike Morgan.

"I think we had a great approach to Loaiza," Royals manager Tony Muser said. "When we talked in our meeting, we told them not to try to pull him, to try to go the opposite way. We had some good at-bats and some good swings, and that's what it takes."

McLemore had an RBI single for the Rangers' first run in the fifth. The run was unearned because it came after Jermaine Dye misplayed Royce Clayton's single to right, allowing Clayton to reach second. Clayton went 3-for-3.

Todd Zeile's two-run double in the eighth off Tim Byrdak cut Kansas City's lead to 5-3. The runs were charged to Scott Service, who started the eighth inning but left after giving up a pair of one-out singles.

Lopez made it 7-3 with a two-out, two-run single in the eighth.

GAME NOTES: Kansas City's Johnny Damon stole his 35th base in the fourth inning, his 23rd consecutive successful attempt. ... Loaiza's outing was his shortest this season as a starter. ... The Rangers' Rafael Palmeiro, who missed the two previous games with a bruised wrist, went 1-for-4 with a double Friday. ... Every player in Kansas City's starting lineup had a hit or an RBI. ... The Rangers went homerless for just the third time in their last 20 games. 

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

Ranger starter Esteban Loaiza	Mendy Lopez is back into first	Jeff Montgomery & Joe Randa celebrate the win

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
TEXAS               0  0  0   0  1  0   0  2  0     3 11  0
KANSAS CITY         0  5  0   0  0  0   0  2  x     7 12  1   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  TEX - ESTEBAN LOAIZA, MIKE MORGAN (2ND), MIKE MUNOZ (6TH),
                  DANNY PATTERSON (7TH), MIKE VENAFRO (8TH)
                  AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ
            KAN - BLAKE STEIN, SCOTT SERVICE (8TH), TIM BYRDAK (8TH),
                  JEFF MONTGOMERY (9TH) AND SAL FASANO, TIM SPEHR (9TH)

             WP - BLAKE STEIN (1-1)
             LP - ESTEBAN LOAIZA (7-4)
           SAVE - JEFF MONTGOMERY (10)

HOME RUNS:  TEX - NONE
            KAN - NONE

     TIME:  2:58     ATT:  14,234

PROBABLES:  TEX - RICK HELLING (13-7, 4.36)
            KAN - JEFF SUPPAN (8-9, 4.26)

Box Score
TEXAS (3) AT KANSAS CITY (7) - FINAL

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore 2b             4  0  1  1   0  0   3  .279
 b-R Kelly ph           1  0  0  0   0  0   2  .316
I Rodriguez c           5  0  1  0   0  0   4  .327
Greer lf                4  1  1  0   0  1   1  .300
J Gonzalez rf           4  1  2  0   0  1   1  .312
R Palmeiro dh           4  0  1  0   0  1   3  .337
Zeile 3b                4  0  1  2   0  0   2  .298
L Stevens 1b            4  0  0  0   0  1   1  .287
Clayton ss              3  1  3  0   1  0   0  .276
T Goodwin cf            3  0  1  0   0  0   2  .241
 a-Alicea ph            0  0  0  0   1  0   0  .206

Totals                 36  3 11  3   2  4  19

a-walked for T Goodwin in the 9th; b-flied to right for Mclemore
in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - R Palmeiro (27, B Stein); Zeile (39, Byrdak).
RBI- Mclemore (41), Zeile 2 (88). 2-out RBI - Mclemore, Zeile 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Gonzalez 1, Zeile 1,
L Stevens 1. GIDP - Mclemore, I Rodriguez.  Team LOB - 8.

FIELDING: DP: 2 (Clayton-Mclemore-L Stevens, M Munoz-Clayton-L Stevens).

KANSAS CITY            ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Damon lf                5  0  1  0   0  1   4  .304
Holbert ss              4  0  1  0   0  1   1  .282
Beltran cf              4  0  0  1   0  0   4  .288
Dye rf                  4  1  2  0   0  1   2  .295
Sweeney dh              3  1  1  0   1  0   1  .313
Randa 3b                3  2  2  1   1  0   0  .320
Je Giambi 1b            3  2  1  0   1  0   3  .287
Fasano c                3  1  1  2   0  0   1  .222
 a-D Brown ph           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .077
 b-Vitiello ph          1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .158
 Spehr c                0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .205
M Lopez 2b              4  0  3  3   0  1   0  .400

Totals                 34  7 12  7   3  4  16

a-pinch-hit for Fasano in the 8th; b-grounded to shortstop for
D Brown in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - Sweeney (37, Morgan); Randa (31, D Patterson).
RBI - Randa (74), Fasano 2 (5), M Lopez 3 (3), Beltran (94).
2-out RBI - M Lopez 2. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Dye 1, Fasano 1, Beltran 1. GIDP - Je Giambi, Damon.
Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: SB - Damon (35, 2nd base off Morgan/I Rodriguez).

FIELDING: E - Dye (4, bobble). DP: 2 (M Lopez-Holbert-Je Giambi,
Randa-Je Giambi).

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Loaiza (L, 7-4)               1       5   5   5   1   0   0   4.99
Morgan                        4 1/3   5   0   0   1   2   0   6.03
M Munoz                         2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   3.65
D Patterson                   1 1/3   1   2   2   1   1   0   5.54
Venafro                         2/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   3.38

KANSAS CITY                  ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
B Stein (W, 1-1)              7       7   1   0   1   3   0   3.44
Service                         1/3   2   2   2   0   0   0   5.70
Byrdak (H, 9)                   2/3   2   0   0   1   1   0   9.00
J Montgomery (S, 10)          1       0   0   0   0   0   0   6.60

Loaiza pitched to 6 batters in the 2nd.
Byrdak pitched to 2 batters in the 9th.

WP - B Stein. IBB - Je Giambi (by D Patterson).
Pitches-strikes: B Stein 134-88; Service 9-6; Byrdak 27-18;
J Montgomery 3-3; Loaiza 33-21; Morgan 59-39; M Munoz 2-2;
D Patterson 21-13; Venafro 10-7.  Ground balls-fly balls: B Stein 2-16;
Service 0-1; Byrdak 1-0; J Montgomery 2-1; Loaiza 1-2; Morgan 8-3;
M Munoz 2-0; D Patterson 1-2; Venafro 1-0.  Batters faced: B Stein 28;
Service 3; Byrdak 5; J Montgomery 2; Loaiza 9; Morgan 18; M Munoz 1;
D Patterson 6; Venafro 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Rick Reed. 1B--Mike Everitt. 2B--Mike Dimuro. 3B--Bill Welke.
T--2:58.  Att--14,234.   Weather: 70 degrees, cloudy.   Wind: 3 mph,
out to left.

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, Esteban Loaiza RHP.

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- Johnny Damon LF, Ray Holbert SS, Carlos Beltran CF, Jermaine Dye RF, Mike Sweeney DH, Joe Randa 3B, Jeremy Giambi 1B, Sal Fasano C, Mendy Lopez 2B, Blake Stein RHP.

Umpires -- Reed (HP), Everitt (1B), M Dimuro (2B), B Welke (3B).

Gametime Weather: 70 degrees, Cloudy, wind out to left at 3 mph.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore fouled out to third. I Rodriguez singled to right. Greer flied out to shallow center. I Rodriguez to second on B Stein wild pitch. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 1ST: Damon grounded out to first. Holbert fouled out to first. Beltran flied out to deep right center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, KANSAS CITY 0.

TEXAS 2ND: R Palmeiro fouled out to left. Zeile flied out to right. L Stevens struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: Dye singled to center. Sweeney walked, Dye to second. Randa singled to shallow center, Dye scored, Sweeney to second. Je Giambi singled to right, Sweeney to third, Randa to second. Fasano singled to center, Sweeney and Randa scored, Je Giambi to third. M Lopez singled to right, Je Giambi scored, Fasano to second. Mike Morgan relieved Esteban Loaiza. Damon flied out to left. Holbert singled to left, Fasano to third, M Lopez to second. Beltran grounded into fielder's choice to second, Fasano scored, M Lopez to third, Holbert out at second. Dye grounded out to shortstop. (5 Runs, 6 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, KANSAS CITY 5.

TEXAS 3RD: Clayton walked. T Goodwin popped out to second. Mclemore flied out to shallow right. I Rodriguez flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, KANSAS CITY 5.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: Sweeney doubled to right center. Randa grounded out to second, Sweeney to third. Je Giambi popped out to shortstop. Fasano flied out to left center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, KANSAS CITY 5.

TEXAS 4TH: Greer struck out swinging. J Gonzalez flied out to left. R Palmeiro doubled to right. Zeile flied out to deep center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, KANSAS CITY 5.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: M Lopez struck out looking. Damon singled to center. Damon stole second. Holbert struck out swinging. Beltran grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0, KANSAS CITY 5.

TEXAS 5TH: L Stevens lined out to shortstop. Clayton singled to right. Clayton to second on right fielder Dye's fielding error. T Goodwin popped out to shallow left. Mclemore singled to left, Clayton scored. I Rodriguez flied out to deep right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 1, KANSAS CITY 5.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: Dye singled to left. Sweeney grounded out to shortstop. Randa walked, Dye to second. Je Giambi grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Randa out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, KANSAS CITY 5.

TEXAS 6TH: Greer flied out to right. J Gonzalez singled to left center. R Palmeiro popped out to shallow left. Zeile flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, KANSAS CITY 5.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: Fasano grounded out to shortstop. M Lopez singled to right. Mike Munoz relieved Mike Morgan. Damon grounded into double play, pitcher to shortstop to first, M Lopez out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, KANSAS CITY 5.

TEXAS 7TH: L Stevens flied out to shallow right. Clayton singled to center. T Goodwin singled to right, Clayton to third. Mclemore grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, T Goodwin out at second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, KANSAS CITY 5.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: Danny Patterson relieved Mike Munoz. Holbert grounded out to pitcher. Beltran flied out to right center. Dye struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, KANSAS CITY 5.

TEXAS 8TH: Scott Service relieved Blake Stein. I Rodriguez flied out to center. Greer singled to right. J Gonzalez singled to right, Greer to second. Tim Byrdak relieved Scott Service. R Palmeiro struck out swinging. Zeile doubled to deep right center, Greer and J Gonzalez scored. L Stevens grounded out to pitcher. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, KANSAS CITY 5.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: Sweeney flied out to shallow left center. Randa doubled to deep right. Je Giambi intentionally walked. D Brown hit for Fasano. Mike Venafro relieved Danny Patterson. Vitiello hit for D Brown. Vitiello grounded out to shortstop, Randa to third, Je Giambi to second. M Lopez singled to left, Randa and Je Giambi scored. Damon struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, KANSAS CITY 7.

TEXAS 9TH: Spehr catching. Clayton singled to center. Alicea hit for T Goodwin. Alicea walked, Clayton to second. R Kelly hit for Mclemore. Jeff Montgomery relieved Tim Byrdak. R Kelly flied out to shallow right center. I Rodriguez grounded into double play, third to first, Clayton out at third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 3, KANSAS CITY 7.