As I put this page together, it’s 1AM, and I’m kinda tired. I’ll write my commentary tomorrow when I get into work.
Still.. No errors – nice. Roberto Kelly came within two feet of two home runs for the night – nice. Aaron Sele – awesome!
Commentary by Jim Meeks:
What a terrific rebound for the Rangers. The Rangers really were horrible on Monday but Tuesday’s vengeful affair was sweet. Aaron Sele, who has been projected as a pitcher who won’t be nearly as effective this year as last, was dominating Tuesday as the Rangers shut out the bewildered Detroit Tigers, 6-0.
Sele was stingy, allowing only 7 baserunners in his 7 shutout innings, with 6 strikeouts. 70 of his 111 pitches were for strikes.
Setup men Tim Crabtree and Danny Patterson pitched the final two innings as the Tigers managed only 8 total baserunners and one extra base hit, a Tony Clark double that lead off the 9th.
The Rangers offense got it going early. Johnny Oates’ special lineup against lefties, which has Royce Clayton leading off, saw the first 2 hitters reach. Rusty Greer drove Clayton and catcher Pudge Rodriguez both in with a stinging double to the left-center alley.
Oates’ tough decision-making came into play again the 7th. After two quick outs, Juan Gonzalez smoked a single through the left side of the infield. Surprisingly, he stole second. A passed balled later, he was on third. Then a wild pitch scored him. Later in the inning, Oates’ stuck with Roberto Kelly even though a right-hander was in the game and Tom Goodwin available to hit. Kelly promptly delievered a towering 2-run homer. Four batters later, Luis Alicea drove in the final run of the ball game with a bloop single that scored Todd Zeile, who had barely missed a home run earlier.
The defense played well, with Clayton and Zeile both making tough plays to throw out runners.
As stinky as the Rangers were yesterday, Tuesday had them smelling like a rose.
I was at this game and i was 8 years old and was able to get a foul ball. still have it to this very day!