Game 154: Sep 25, 1999 (W: 10-4)
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My Commentary

The power stroke got going in a big hurry today.   We went down 3-0 early, after a Ben Grieve single to right got by Juan Gonzalez.  Mark McLemore started off the bottom of the 1st with a solo home run into the Ranger bullpen.   That's all we got in the first, but in the second....

We put up a huge 8 spot which crushed the A's from that point on (although they did get a solo home run in the 8th).   Tom Goodwin came through in the bottom of the second with a two run single to right to tie up the game again.  We took the lead when Appier delivered a wild pitch.  After another single a and a wild pitch (and another run), Rafael Palmeiro was walked intentionally to load the bases, but Todd Zeile made 'em pay for it with a Grand Slam over the left field scoreboard to cap off the 8 spot.  Oakland pitcher Ron Mahay came on, and shut down the Rangers after this.   Our 8 spot was it for us, except for a Rusty Greer home run (his 20th) in the seventh inning.   Mahay probably should have started.  :)

John Burkett went 7 innings, allowing 3 runs (two earned) on five hits.  Pretty good pitching, actually.   This second game drove our magic number down to one, and the excitement level at my house through the roof, as my wife and I had tickets to the Sunday game, which meant they could have clinched while we were there.

-- Joe Siegler

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- Todd Zeile smacked his seventh career grand slam and Mark McLemore and Rusty Greer also homered as the Texas Rangers clinched at least a tie for the American League West title with a 10-4 rout of the Oakland Athletics.

Zeile's 23th homer capped an eight-run second inning against starter Kevin Appier (15-14) and gave the Rangers a 9-3 lead. Greer and Tom Goodwin had RBI singles during the outburst and Royce Clayton scored on a wild pitch.

It was Zeile's second grand slam this season and the seventh for Texas, breaking the team record set in 1996. The Rangers scored eight times in an inning for the fourth time this season and have a chance to clinch the division title Sunday afternoon.

"He hung a slider, he put it where he didn't want it and I was able to get all of it," Zeile said. "I think most of the guys are anxious to get on the field (Sunday) and finish what we started."

Texas won for only the second time in five games but can clinch its second straight division crown and third in four years by beating Oakland again on Sunday.

"The most exciting thing is the way we played the last two nights," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. "When this lineup is out there, you never know where the hits are going to come from. Last night is was Gonzalez, tonight Zeile had the big hit."

The Athletics fell 5 1/2 games behind Boston for the wild card berth with seven to play.

"The second inning was the ball game," Oakland manager Art Howe said. "We were close to getting out of it at 5-3, but the slam certainly hurt us. The odds are against us. In a 162-game schedule, you keep playing until its over."

Oakland opened the scoring in the top of the first when Ben Grieve laced a two-run single and Matt Stairs came around on right fielder Juan Gonzalez's error.

Texas quickly got back a run as McLemore led off the bottom of the first with his sixth homer.

Appier surrendered nine runs and seven hits over 1 2/3 innings in his shortest outing of the season. Reliever Ron Mahay could not stop the bleeding as Greer smacked his 20th homer in the seventh. Greer, who was hitless in his last 28 at-bats against the A's, reached the 20-homer mark for the second time.

"I was just real bad and they took advantage," Appier said. "I couldn't hit any of my spots. I knew we were still in it when Zeile came up. The pitch was a slider that should have been away."

John Burkett (8-8) picked up his fourth win in five decisions, allowing three runs -- two earned -- and five hits over seven innings.

John Jaha closed the scoring in the top of the eighth with his team-leading 35th homer off Tim Crabtree.

Recap #2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- The Texas Rangers can start setting their playoff rotation. 

Led by Todd Zeile's grand slam and seven strong innings from John Burkett, the Rangers guaranteed themselves at least a share of the AL West title Saturday night with a 10-4 victory over second-place Oakland.

Texas, which had lost four straight before beating the Athletics 12-4 Friday night, needs only one win or an Oakland loss in the last week to seal its third division title in four years. 

Both could come Sunday, when the teams meet for the series finale. If the Rangers lose, they could still clinch with a win Monday night at home against Seattle. Oakland is off Monday. 

"I don't think there's any special feeling right now," said Zeile, whose second slam this month capped an eight-run second inning. "We want to wrap things up this weekend because it would be a nice statement to do it against this team and at home. But we're only two-thirds of the way done." 

While the Rangers celebrated this victory little differently than any others, the A's couldn't help but mourn their third straight loss. 

Oakland is virtually out of the division race and is close to being eliminated from the wild-card race. Boston, which beat Baltimore 4-1 Saturday, has a magic number of three for sealing the fourth playoff spot. 

"The odds are against us," A's manager Art Howe said. 

Oakland catcher Mike Macfarlane gave what sounded like a concession speech. 

"We've had a pretty good year," he said. "Do I feel a lack of intensity? No. But do I feel the wind is out of the sail? Yeah." 

The A's knew the importance of the game mentally as well as for the standings. And they got off to a good start by building a 3-0 first-inning lead for Kevin Appier, whom they acquired at the trading deadline to pitch crucial games like these. 

Instead, Appier (15-14) lived down to the expectations of Texas scouts who told their bosses not to trade for him as he allowed nine runs in 1 2/3 innings. 

"I couldn't hit any of my spots," said Appier, who blew the lead before getting the first out of the second inning and was pulled after 10 of the 15 batters he faced reached. 

He gave up seven hits -- four with two strikes -- and walked three, one of them intentionally. He also had two wild pitches in what was easily his worst start of the year. 

Texas scored one in the first on a Mark McLemore leadoff homer, then had the big second inning behind a two-run single by Tom Goodwin, a wild pitch, an RBI single by Rusty Greer and Zeile's slam. 

With nine runs in the first two innings, the Rangers picked up where they left off Friday night when they scored 12 runs over the last four innings. 

"The most interesting and exciting thing is the way we've played the last two nights," Texas manager Johnny Oates said. "Our guys have responded. That's the way it's supposed to be in late September and October." 

Greer's single was notable because it was his first in eight at-bats since being drilled in the eye by a thrown ball in batting practice Sept. 13. It also ended an 0-for-28 skid against Oakland this year. 

Greer added a solo homer in the seventh, his 20th, which gave the Rangers six players with at least that many. This is only the seventh time in major league history that has happened. 

Burkett (8-8) rebounded from an outing in which he lasted just 2 1/3 innings and allowed five runs against Tampa Bay on Sunday to give up five hits and three runs, only two earned. He walked four and struck out four. 

He gave up three hits in the first, the last a two-run single to right by Ben Grieve with the bases loaded. A third run scored on the play when the ball rolled under Juan Gonzalez's glove for an error. 

Burkett allowed just two hits after that. Oakland never had another runner get past second against him. 

The A's scored their final run against Tim Crabtree when John Jaha hit his career-best 35th homer. 

Gonzalez, who hit three homers Friday night, went 0-for-4 with swinging strikeouts in his first three at-bats.

GAME NOTES: This was Texas' 91st win, second-most in team history. The Rangers have eight games left to try reaching the 94 wins of the 1977 club. ... The four runs gave Oakland 863 this season, breaking the club record of 861 set in 1996. ... Kevin Jarvis will start Sunday for Oakland. The A's will have to make a move to get him on their 40-man roster. ... The Rangers turned two double plays after having none in their previous four games. ... McLemore's homer was his sixth of the year, a career high. It was his first leadoff homer this year. ... Oakland reliever Chad Harville is likely out for the year after straining his right hamstring Friday night. 

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

Todd Zeile gets congrats for his grand slam...	...which sent Kevin Appier to the showers	John Wetteland gestures to the crowd after the win

Box Score

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

BATTERIES:  OAK - KEVIN APPIER, RON MAHAY (2ND), DOUG JONES
                  (8TH) AND MIKE MACFARLANE
            TEX - JOHN BURKETT, TIM CRABTREE (8TH), MIKE MUNOZ
                  (8TH), JOHN WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

             WP - JOHN BURKETT (8-8)
             LP - KEVIN APPIER (15-14)
           SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS:  OAK - JOHN JAHA (35) OFF CRABTREE IN THE 8TH, 0 ON
            TEX - MARK MCLEMORE (6) OFF APPIER IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
                  TODD ZEILE (23) OFF APPIER IN THE 2ND, 3 ON
                  RUSTY GREER (20) OFF MAHAY IN THE 7TH, 0 ON

     TIME:  2:40     ATT:  46,178

PROBABLES:  OAK - KEVIN JARVIS (0-0, 13.50)
            TEX - ESTEBAN LOAIZA (8-5, 4.82)

Box Score
OAKLAND (4) AT TEXAS (10) - FINAL

OAKLAND                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Becker cf               4  1  1  0   0  1   3  .271
R Velarde 2b            4  1  1  0   0  0   1  .314
Ja Giambi 1b            3  0  0  0   1  2   2  .315
Jaha dh                 4  1  2  1   0  1   2  .272
Stairs rf               3  1  0  0   1  0   2  .259
Grieve lf               4  0  1  2   0  0   2  .266
Tejada ss               4  0  0  0   0  0   1  .246
Chavez 3b               4  0  0  0   0  1   0  .253
Macfarlane c            1  0  1  0   2  0   0  .244

Totals                 31  4  6  3   4  5  13

BATTING: HR - Jaha (35, 8th inning off Crabtree 0 on, 2 out).
RBI - Grieve 2 (81), Jaha (108). 2-out RBI - Grieve 2, Jaha.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Tejada 1. GIDP - Becker,
Grieve. Team LOB - 4.

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore 2b             3  2  1  1   1  0   0  .274
I Rodriguez c           4  0  1  0   0  0   1  .333
Greer lf                4  2  2  2   0  0   0  .301
J Gonzalez rf           4  0  0  0   0  3   3  .318
R Palmeiro 1b           3  1  0  0   1  0   1  .332
Zeile 3b                4  2  2  4   0  0   0  .294
L Stevens dh            4  1  1  0   0  2   0  .287
Clayton ss              3  1  1  0   1  0   0  .281
T Goodwin cf            4  1  1  2   0  2   1  .247

Totals                 33 10  9  9   3  7   6

BATTING: 2B - I Rodriguez (27, Appier). 3B - Clayton (5, D Jones).
HR - Mclemore (6, 1st inning off Appier 0 on, 0 out); Zeile
(23, 2nd inning off Appier 3 on, 2 out); Greer (20, 7th inning
off Mahay 0 on, 1 out). RBI - Mclemore (45), T Goodwin 2 (27),
Greer 2 (97), Zeile 4 (95). 2-out RBI - Zeile 4. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - R Palmeiro 1, T Goodwin 1.
Team LOB - 2.

FIELDING: E - J Gonzalez (4, ground ball).
DP: 2 (Mclemore-Clayton-R Palmeiro, Clayton-R Palmeiro).

OAKLAND                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Appier (L, 15-14)             1 2/3   7   9   9   3   2   2   5.32
Mahay                         5 1/3   1   1   1   0   4   1   2.61
D Jones                       1       1   0   0   0   1   0   3.62

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Burkett (W, 8-8)              7       5   3   2   4   4   0   5.86
Crabtree                        2/3   1   1   1   0   1   1   3.50
M Munoz                         1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   3.66
Wetteland                     1       0   0   0   0   0   0   3.52

WP - Appier 2. IBB - R Palmeiro (by Appier).  Pitches-strikes:
Burkett 119-67; Crabtree 13-9; M Munoz 4-3; Wetteland 14-8;
Appier 58-31; Mahay 60-44; D Jones 13-10.  Ground balls-fly balls:
Burkett 8-9; Crabtree 1-0; M Munoz 1-0; Wetteland 0-3; Appier 1-2;
Mahay 5-7; D Jones 1-1.  Batters faced: Burkett 28; Crabtree 3;
M Munoz 1; Wetteland 3; Appier 15; Mahay 17; D Jones 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Fieldin Culbreth. 1B--Larry Young. 2B--Marty Foster.
3B--Dan Morrison.
T--2:40.  Att--46,178.   Weather: 77 degrees, cloudy.   Wind: 17 mph,
left to right.

AL       OAKLAND AT TEXAS
         NOTE:  THE HOME RUN BY TEXAS' MARK MCLEMORE LED OFF THE BOTTOM
                OF THE FIRST INNING.

Game Log

Oakland Starting Lineups -- Rich Becker CF, Randy Velarde 2B, Jason Giambi 1B, John Jaha DH, Matt Stairs RF, Ben Grieve LF, Miguel Tejada SS, Eric Chavez 3B, Mike Macfarlane C, Kevin Appier RHP.

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

Umpires -- Culbreth (HP), Young (1B), Foster (2B), Morrison (3B).

Gametime Weather: 77 degrees, Cloudy, wind left to right at 17 mph.

OAKLAND 1ST: Becker singled to left. R Velarde singled to left center, Becker to second. Ja Giambi struck out swinging. Jaha struck out swinging. Stairs walked, Becker to third, R Velarde to second. Grieve singled to right, Becker and R Velarde scored, Stairs to second. Stairs scored, Grieve to third on right fielder J Gonzalez's fielding error. Tejada grounded out to first. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore homered to right center. I Rodriguez doubled to deep right. Greer grounded out to first, I Rodriguez to third. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro flied out to right center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 1.

OAKLAND 2ND: Chavez struck out looking. Macfarlane singled to center. Becker grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Macfarlane out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 2ND: Zeile singled to left. L Stevens singled to right, Zeile to third. Clayton walked, L Stevens to second. T Goodwin singled to right, Zeile and L Stevens scored, Clayton to third. Clayton scored, T Goodwin to second on Appier wild pitch. Mclemore walked. I Rodriguez flied out to right center, T Goodwin to third. Greer singled to center, T Goodwin scored, Mclemore to third. Greer to second on Appier wild pitch. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro intentionally walked. Zeile homered to left, Mclemore, Greer and R Palmeiro scored. Ron Mahay relieved Kevin Appier. L Stevens struck out looking. (8 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 9.

OAKLAND 3RD: R Velarde popped out to second. Ja Giambi flied out to right. Jaha grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 9.

TEXAS 3RD: Clayton grounded out to third. T Goodwin grounded out to second. Mclemore popped out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 9.

OAKLAND 4TH: Stairs fouled out to third. Grieve popped out to third. Tejada flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 9.

TEXAS 4TH: I Rodriguez lined out to right. Greer popped out to shallow center. J Gonzalez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 9.

OAKLAND 5TH: Chavez grounded out to second. Macfarlane walked. Becker struck out swinging. R Velarde lined out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 9.

TEXAS 5TH: R Palmeiro flied out to right. Zeile grounded out to shortstop. L Stevens struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 9.

OAKLAND 6TH: Ja Giambi walked. Jaha singled to left, Ja Giambi to second. Stairs flied out to shallow center. Grieve grounded into double play, shortstop to first, Jaha out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 9.

TEXAS 6TH: Clayton flied out to center. T Goodwin struck out swinging. Mclemore flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 9.

OAKLAND 7TH: Tejada grounded out to catcher. Chavez popped out to third. Macfarlane walked. Becker flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 9.

TEXAS 7TH: I Rodriguez grounded out to third. Greer homered to left. J Gonzalez flied out to shallow right. R Palmeiro grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 10.

OAKLAND 8TH: Tim Crabtree relieved John Burkett. R Velarde grounded out to second. Ja Giambi struck out looking. Jaha homered to right. Mike Munoz relieved Tim Crabtree. Stairs grounded out to third. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 4, TEXAS 10.

TEXAS 8TH: Doug Jones relieved Ron Mahay. Zeile grounded out to second. L Stevens popped out to shallow left. Clayton tripled to left center. T Goodwin struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 4, TEXAS 10.

OAKLAND 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Mike Munoz. Grieve flied out to left. Tejada flied out to shallow left. Chavez flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 4, TEXAS 10.