Game 151: Sep 21, 1999 (L: 4-2)
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My Commentary

Second straight game we only got two runs.  Not enough offense.  Would rather be on more of a roll heading into postseason.  Our only two runs came on solo home runs by Lee Stevens & Royce Clayton.  We had a few chances later in the game, where we left two men on base for two straight innings.  Not enough follow through.

Esteban Loaiza pitched really well, except for the fourth inning.  He gave up five singles, and extended his own misery by going after a ball that was heading foul, and making it fair by trying and missing it.  Other than this inning, the Orioles didn't get any runs (all four of theirs came in the fourth).   Overall on both sides it was an extremely well pitched game, but the Loaiza hiccup in the fourth cost us the game.

Cal Ripken got one hit, and now needs 9 to get to 3,000.  If he gets a couple tomorrow night, there's a decent chance he can get to 3,000 during the doubleheader they have to play against the A's on Thursday night in Baltimore.  Would be nice for him to get it at home.

Rusty was back in the lineup for the first time in awhile last night.  However, he had to leave after the fourth inning with "discomfort in his eye".  Tom Grieve said at the time it was announced as purely a "precautionary measure".  However, he's slated to see two eye specialists on Wednesday.  It's not a very good sign.  If this goes on into next week, I wonder if Roberto Kelly will end up being our starting left fielder for the playoffs.

-- Joe Siegler

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- The Baltimore Orioles reeled off their 12th straight win as Albert Belle's two-run single capped a four-run third inning that keyed a 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.

The winning streak is the third-longest in team history and marks the Orioles' hottest stretch since taking 13 in a row in 1978.

Jason Johnson (7-7) won his fourth consecutive decision, limiting the powerful Rangers to one run and four hits in six innings with four walks and two strikeouts.

"I want to know that I can pitch against the best as well as the worst teams," he said. "It makes you comfortable out here. It makes you know that you can afford to make a mistake."

Johnson left with a bad finger on his pitching hand.

"I wanted to stay in but I didn't want to cause any more damage," he said. "It's important for me to finish strong. I felt strong my last two starts. My finger was just acting up a bit."

Al Reyes gave up a run while retiring one batter in the seventh before Gabe Molina, Scott Kamieniecki and Mike Timlin combined on 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Timlin recorded his 25th save and 16th in 17 chances since the All-Star break.

"Timlin came in and did a great job," Orioles manager Ray Miller said. "He's throwing the ball as well as I've seen him throw all year."

Cal Ripken moved within nine hits of 3,000 with a second-inning double as the Orioles climbed within three games of .500 for the first time since they were 3-6 on April 15.

"I don't think about anything but the game. I just want to play and get hits," he said. "It would be a nice story if I got (3,000) this year, but I'm just taking it day to day."

Texas starter Esteban Loaiza (8-5) had only one bad inning, but it cost him his fourth loss in five starts after a seven-game winning streak.

He took a 1-0 lead into the third, when rookies Jerry Hairston and Mike Figga opened with singles. Brady Anderson tied it with a single and a bunt hit by Mike Bordick loaded the bases. Figga scored on B.J. Surhoff's groundout before Belle singled to give Baltimore a 4-1 cushion.

"I was trying to work him outside a little. I started outside and had to work a little more inside. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat," Loaiza said. "I was trying to get a ground ball, but he extended his bat and hit a slider that was up and over the corner of the plate."

"The one time we didn't get him out there were men in scoring position," lamented Rangers manager Johnny Oates.

Lee Stevens and Royce Clayton supplied the Rangers' offense with home runs, but Texas fell to 1-3 on a 12-game homestand.

"It's hard to play with the same intensity every night," Texas first baseman Rafael Palmeiro said. "If we're not focused or if we're lax, we need to get back to it."

The Rangers have a 5 1/2-game lead over second-place Oakland in the American League West with 11 to play. They also fell 2 1/2 behind the New York Yankees and two behind Cleveland for the AL's best record.

Recap #2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- If it wasn't for two stints on the disabled list, baseball's Iron Man would already have 3,000 hits.

Cal Ripken doubled to move within nine hits of the milestone and Jason Johnson pitched six strong innings as the Baltimore Orioles stretched their winning streak to 12 by beating the Texas Rangers 4-2. 

"It's been a different year from the standpoint that I was on the DL twice because of my back, which means I'll get only 350 at-bats instead of 650," said Ripken, who has 13 games left to reach the mark. "I've never had to deal with missing two months before. So it'll be nice if I get there (to 3,000 this season)."

Ripken, who had never been on the DL, was 1-for-4 with a second-inning hit and is hitting .340 on the season. He is trying to become the 24th player to reach 3,000, and the third this season behind Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs.

"I look at it as having a good, long career," Ripken said. "It would be a nice story if I got it this year. I just want to come to the ballpark every day and make myself available for the manager to put me in the lineup. I'm just trying to approach the game the same way I always have."

Since being activated from the DL on Sept. 1, Ripken has been swinging a hot bat. He's 18-for-38 over his last 10 games as he seeks to become the seventh player in major league history with 400 homers and 3,000 hits. Ripken hit his 400th homer on Sept. 2.

"He's been on a tear," Orioles manager Ray Miller said. "Individual pressure is some of the worst you can have. He's done some remarkable things. Cal's a great player."

The loss kept the magic number for the AL West-leading Rangers at seven. Second-place Oakland played Minnesota later Tuesday night.

Baltimore's winning streak is its longest since it won 13 from May 31-June 14, 1978, one short of the team record set from Aug. 12-27, 1973.

Johnson (7-7) was making his first appearance against Texas this season after going 1-1 with a 10.29 ERA in two starts against the Rangers last year. He allowed one run, four hits and four walks.

Johnson wanted to remain in the game, but a callous on his right hand began bothering him, prompting Miller to go to his bullpen.

"My finger cracked open in the sixth," Johnson said. "I've been trying to get it to heal, but I keep cracking it open when I pitch."

Mike Timlin pitched the ninth for his 25th save in 34 chances.

Esteban Loaiza (8-5) gave up four runs and seven hits in eight innings, dropping to 1-4 in his last five starts.

Lee Stevens' 23rd homer put Texas ahead in the second, but Baltimore went ahead with a four-run third on Brady Anderson's RBI single, B.J. Surhoff's run-scoring grounder and Albert Belle's two-run single.

Loaiza said Belle hit a hanging slider.

"I didn't want him to get it to the outfield, but he extended his bat and hit a slider that was hanging over the plate," Loaiza said. "Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the batter."

Royce Clayton led off the seventh with a homer off Al Reyes. 

GAME NOTES: Rangers LF Rusty Greer was back in the lineup after missing six games due to an eye injury. But Greer was replaced by Roberto Kelly after four innings as a precautionary measure when Greer complained of hazy vision in his left eye. Greer will visit two eye specialists on Wednesday. ... Johnson was making his first start since Sept. 8. His last turn in the rotation was skipped. Johnson has won his last four decisions. ... Loaiza matched his longest outing of the season. 

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

B.J. Surhoff breaks his bat in the first	Cal Ripken gets his 2,991st hit...	... with a double.	Cal also does it on defense, catching a ball two rows into the stands	The fateful dive by Loaiza.

Box Score

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

BATTERIES:  BAL - JASON JOHNSON, AL REYES (7TH), GABE MOLINA
                  (7TH), SCOTT KAMIENIECKI (8TH), MIKE TIMLIN
                  (9TH) AND MIKE FIGGA
            TEX - ESTEBAN LOAIZA, JOHN WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN
                  RODRIGUEZ

             WP - JASON JOHNSON (7-7)
             LP - ESTEBAN LOAIZA (8-5)
           SAVE - MIKE TIMLIN (25)

HOME RUNS:  BAL - NONE
            TEX - LEE STEVENS (23) OFF J JOHNSON IN THE 2ND, 0 ON
                  ROYCE CLAYTON (11) OFF REYES IN THE 7TH, 0 ON

     TIME:  2:44     ATT:  24,192

PROBABLES:  BAL - SCOTT ERICKSON (14-11, 4.76)
            TEX - RICK HELLING (13-9, 4.72)

Box Score
BALTIMORE (4) AT TEXAS (2) - FINAL

BALTIMORE              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
B Anderson lf           3  1  1  1   1  0   0  .289
Bordick ss              4  1  1  0   0  0   1  .275
Surhoff dh              4  0  1  1   0  0   0  .315
Belle rf                4  0  1  2   0  0   2  .297
C Ripken 3b             4  0  1  0   0  0   3  .340
 Reboulet 3b            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .170
Conine 1b               4  0  0  0   0  1   2  .297
Kingsale cf             4  0  0  0   0  1   1  .278
Hairston 2b             4  1  1  0   0  1   0  .268
Figga c                 3  1  1  0   0  0   0  .239

Totals                 34  4  7  4   1  3   9

BATTING: 2B - C Ripken (27, Loaiza). RBI - B Anderson (78),
Surhoff (106), Belle 2 (107). Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Kingsale 1, C Ripken 1.  Team LOB - 4.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Johnson-Conine).

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore 2b             4  0  0  0   1  0   2  .272
I Rodriguez c           4  0  0  0   0  0   4  .329
Greer lf                1  0  0  0   1  0   1  .302
 R Kelly lf             2  0  0  0   0  1   1  .307
J Gonzalez rf           4  0  1  0   0  1   1  .314
R Palmeiro dh           4  0  2  0   0  0   1  .336
Zeile 3b                3  0  0  0   1  1   1  .294
L Stevens 1b            4  1  1  1   0  0   3  .285
Clayton ss              4  1  2  1   0  1   0  .278
T Goodwin cf            2  0  0  0   2  0   0  .247

Totals                 32  2  6  2   5  4  14

BATTING: 2B - R Palmeiro (30, J Johnson). HR - L Stevens (23,
2nd inning off J Johnson 0 on, 2 out); Clayton (11, 7th inning
off Reyes 0 on, 0 out). RBI - L Stevens (78), Clayton (46).
2-out RBI - L Stevens. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
Greer 1, I Rodriguez 1, L Stevens 1.  Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - Mclemore (15, 2nd base off J Johnson/Figga).

BALTIMORE                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Johnson (W, 7-7)            6       4   1   1   4   2   1   5.65
Reyes (H, 5)                    1/3   1   1   1   1   0   1   4.44
G Molina (H, 2)               1       1   0   0   0   0   0   3.60
Kamieniecki (H, 10)             2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   5.40
Timlin (S, 25)                1       0   0   0   0   1   0   3.66

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Loaiza (L, 8-5)               8       7   4   4   1   3   0   4.82
Wetteland                     1       0   0   0   0   0   0   3.57

WP - J Johnson.  Pitches-strikes: Loaiza 105-72; Wetteland 15-10;
J Johnson 93-54; Reyes 14-7; G Molina 9-6; Kamieniecki 15-9;
Timlin 11-8.  Ground balls-fly balls: Loaiza 7-14; Wetteland 3-0;
J Johnson 3-12; Reyes 0-1; G Molina 1-2; Kamieniecki 0-1; Timlin 2-0.
Batters faced: Loaiza 32; Wetteland 3; J Johnson 25; Reyes 3; G Molina 4;
Kamieniecki 2; Timlin 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Tim Welke. 1B--Mike Dimuro. 2B--Terry Craft.
3B--Jim Joyce.
T--2:44.  Att--24,192.   Weather: 69 degrees, clear.   Wind: 18 mph,
out to right.

AL       BALTIMORE AT TEXAS
         NOTE:  TEXAS' RUSTY GREER LEFT THE GAME AFTER THE FOURTH INNING
                DUE TO DISCOMFORT IN HIS LEFT EYE.

Game Log

Baltimore Starting Lineups -- Brady Anderson LF, Mike Bordick SS, Bj Surhoff DH, Albert Belle RF, Cal Ripken Jr 3B, Jeff Conine 1B, Eugene Kingsale CF, Jerry Hairston 2B, Mike Figga C, Jason Johnson 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 -- T Welke (HP), M Dimuro (1B), T Craft (2B), Joyce (3B).

Gametime Weather: 69 degrees, Clear, wind out to right at 18 mph.

BALTIMORE 1ST: B Anderson flied out to left. Bordick grounded out to second. Surhoff grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore flied out to deep right. I Rodriguez grounded out to second. Greer walked. J Gonzalez grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 0, TEXAS 0.

BALTIMORE 2ND: Belle flied out to deep right. C Ripken doubled to shallow right. Conine struck out looking. Kingsale struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 2ND: R Palmeiro fouled out to third. Zeile grounded out to second. L Stevens homered to right. Clayton flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 0, TEXAS 1.

BALTIMORE 3RD: Hairston singled to right. Figga singled to left, Hairston to second. B Anderson singled to right, Hairston scored, Figga to second. Bordick reached on bunt single to pitcher, Figga to third, B Anderson to second. Surhoff grounded out to second, Figga scored, B Anderson to third, Bordick to second. Belle singled to right, B Anderson and Bordick scored. C Ripken popped out to third. Conine fouled out to first. (4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 3RD: T Goodwin flied out to shallow left. Mclemore walked. I Rodriguez flied out to left. Mclemore stole second. Greer lined out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 1.

BALTIMORE 4TH: Kingsale flied out to shallow right center. Hairston grounded out to second. Figga lined out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 4TH: J Gonzalez singled to left. R Palmeiro lined into double play, pitcher to first, J Gonzalez doubled off first. Zeile flied out to right center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 1.

BALTIMORE 5TH: R Kelly in left. B Anderson walked. Bordick flied out to shallow center. Surhoff singled to left, B Anderson to second. Belle flied out to shallow right. C Ripken popped out to shallow center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 5TH: L Stevens flied out to center. Clayton singled to center. Clayton to second on J Johnson wild pitch. T Goodwin walked. Mclemore flied out to right center, Clayton to third. I Rodriguez lined out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 1.

BALTIMORE 6TH: Conine popped out to shallow left. Kingsale popped out to shortstop. Hairston struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 6TH: R Kelly struck out looking. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro doubled to deep left center. Zeile walked. L Stevens fouled out to catcher. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 1.

BALTIMORE 7TH: Figga flied out to center. B Anderson grounded out to second. Bordick flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 7TH: Al Reyes relieved Jason Johnson. Clayton homered to left. T Goodwin walked. Mclemore flied out to left center. Gabe Molina relieved Al Reyes. I Rodriguez flied out to deep right center. R Kelly grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, T Goodwin out at second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 2.

BALTIMORE 8TH: Surhoff flied out to deep right. Belle grounded out to third. C Ripken grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 8TH: J Gonzalez flied out to center. R Palmeiro singled to right. Scott Kamieniecki relieved Gabe Molina. Zeile struck out swinging. L Stevens flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 2.

BALTIMORE 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Esteban Loaiza. Conine grounded out to second. Kingsale grounded out to second. Hairston grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 9TH: Mike Timlin relieved Scott Kamieniecki. Reboulet at third. Clayton struck out swinging. T Goodwin grounded out to shortstop. Mclemore grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BALTIMORE 4, TEXAS 2.