The game just ended, and there’s no box score available yet, but this looked ugly. 36 hits, 24 runs. Yeah, yeah – I know. Spring Training. Players we won’t see anymore. Still. Bleargh! :)
I’ll have more on this one once a box score shows up and I get some time this evening to sit down and write. :) Although I will say this. D’Angelo Jimenez got the save? He’s not a pitcher – I can’t wait to see the box score on this one!
Later Update: When I saw D’Angelo Jimenez got the save, I immediately IM’ed Jamey Newberg who called that “bs”. :) He was right, it was the wrong name in there. But given as many hits and runs we had, the thought of having a position player isn’t that unrealistic. :) Anyway…
As I’ve said already, this was an offensively dominated game. There was no coverage at all, so it was a “refresh the box score” game. After I saw us go up 7-2 after the top of the second inning, I was feeling pretty good. Then we went up 12-3 after 5, I was really feeling good. Then the old Peckaway theory came into play. The Dbacks started coming back. It was 12-8 after 6, 12-11 after 8, and then we got one in the top of the ninth, which we needed, as they also scored in the bottom of the ninth. As I said, no good pitching around, really. Of the 13 pitchers used total by both sides, only 3 of them didn’t give up any runs at all (Fabio Castro for us, and M Chico & F Heredia for Arizona). The worst offender was Russ Ortiz, the starter for Arizona. He gave up 7 earned runs on seven hits and two walks in his two innings of work.
That was capped off by a Kevin Mench grand slam. Mench added another RBI later on to lead all players with 5RBI in the game. Joaquin Arias & Adrian Brown both went 3-4 for us, and both scored. There’s just too many players with hits, runs, RBI to detail here, just look at the box score below. :)
13-11 – seems like a mid season game to me. :)
ST5: Mar 6, 2006 vs. Diamondbacks (W: 13-11)
2-2-1 (.500) – 6th – 1.5 Dn – Streak W1
[ Previous Game | Next Game ]
[ Schedule Menu | Main Page ]
[ Comment on this game ]
News Coverage
Dallas Morning News Coverage: #1 | #2 | #3
Ft. Worth Star Telegram News Coverage: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4
Texas Rangers/MLB.Com News Coverage: #1 | #2
Photos
Click here to view the photo gallery from this game
Game Recap
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Kevin Mench hit a grand slam off Russ Ortiz in Texas’ seven-run second inning, and the Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-11 Monday.
“I just ran into one,” Mench said of his grand slam. “I hooked it, like my 3-iron.”
Ortiz, trying to bounce back after going 5-11 with a 6.89 ERA last season, allowed the seven runs in two innings, walking two with one strikeout.
Arizona, which lost for the first time this spring after opening with four wins — all against the World Series champion Chicago White Sox — scored twice in the first off Juan Dominguez, capped by an RBI double from Tony Clark
However, in the Rangers’ second, Joaquin Arias tripled home two runs, and scored on Adrian Brown’s single. Ortiz then loaded the bases with consecutive walks to set up Mench’s homer.
Mench doubled home another run in the fourth, and Ian Kinsler had a two-run single off Diamondbacks closer Jose Valverde in the fifth to make it 11-3.
Arizona minor league first baseman Chris Carter hit a grand slam in the sixth to cut the lead to 12-8. Brian Barden hit a solo home run and Scott Hairston added a sacrifice fly for the Diamondbacks.
Arizona third base coach Carlos Tosca was hit in the right foot on a foul line drive off the bat of Eric Byrnes, the Diamondbacks’ first hitter of the game, and left the field.
“It looks like he broke a toe, foot, whatever in there,” Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s probably gonna be a little while for him.”
Box Score
CAC FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - TEXAS 0 7 0 2 3 0 0 0 1 13 17 0 ARIZONA 2 0 1 0 0 5 0 3 0 11 19 1 FINAL
WP - JUAN DOMINGUEZ (1-0) LP - RUSS ORTIZ (0-1) SAVE - KELVIN JIMENEZ (1)
HOME RUNS: TEX - KEVIN MENCH (1) OFF RUSS ORTIZ IN THE 2ND TIM OLSON (1) OFF GREG AQUINO IN THE 8TH ARI - CHRIS CARTER (2) OFF THOMAS DIAMOND IN THE 6TH BRIAN BARDEN (1) OFF JESSE CARLSON IN THE 8TH
TIME: 3:20 ATT: 3,187
TEXAS (13) AT ARIZONA (11)
TEXAS AB R H BI ARIZONA AB R H BI A Brown cf 4 2 3 1 E Byrnes cf 3 0 1 0 A Hyzdu rf 2 0 0 0 C Quentin rf 2 1 1 0 I Kinsler 2b 2 3 1 2 J DaVanon lf 4 2 2 0 A Baldiris 2b 1 0 0 0 A Callaspo 2b 2 0 0 0 E Durazo 1b 3 1 0 1 C Tracy 3b 3 2 2 1 I Gac 1b 1 0 0 0 B Barden 3b 1 2 1 1 K Mench rf 4 2 2 5 T Clark 1b 2 0 2 1 M Nickeas c 1 0 0 0 C Carter 1b 3 2 2 4 J Botts lf 4 0 2 0 S Green rf 3 0 0 0 T Metcalf 3b 1 0 0 0 K Hill c 2 1 2 0 D Jimenez 3b 4 1 2 1 J Estrada c 2 0 1 1 T Webster lf 1 0 1 0 J Upton ss 1 0 1 1 J Burke c 4 1 1 0 A Green 2b 3 1 2 0 N Trzesniak ph 1 0 0 0 S Hairston lf 1 0 1 1 J Arias ss 4 1 3 2 J Gil ss 4 0 1 0 T Olson ss 1 1 1 1 J Ball cf 1 0 0 0 B Boggs ph 1 0 0 0 D Easley ph 1 0 0 0 R Yan cf 3 1 1 0 L Terrero cf 3 0 0 1 J Dominguez p 1 0 0 0 M Koplove p 1 0 0 0 TOTALS 43 13 17 13 TOTALS 42 11 19 11
TEXAS 070 230 001 -- 13 ARIZONA 201 005 030 -- 11
E--A Green. DP--TEXAS 1, ARIZONA 1. LOB--TEXAS 7, ARIZONA 11. 2B--J DaVanon, T Clark, A Green, C Tracy, S Hairston, J Upton, A Brown, D Jimenez, J Arias, K Mench. 3B--J DaVanon, J Arias. HR--B Barden 1 (1) (off J Carlson), C Carter 1 (2) (off T Diamond), K Mench 1 (1) (off R Ortiz), T Olson 1 (1) (off G Aquino). SB--A Brown 1 (2), J Botts 1 (1), I Kinsler 1 (1). SF--L Terrero, S Hairston.
IP H R ER BB SO HR TEXAS J Dominguez (W,1-0) 2 4 2 2 1 1 0 J Silva 2 4 1 1 1 2 0 T Diamond 1 2-3 5 5 5 1 1 1 F Castro 1 1-3 2 0 0 1 1 0 J Carlson 1 4 3 3 0 0 1 K Jimenez (S,1) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 ARIZONA R Ortiz (L,0-1) 2 7 7 7 2 1 1 M Chico 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 J Grimsley 1 2 2 2 1 1 0 J Valverde 1 3 3 2 0 1 0 M Koplove 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 F Heredia 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 G Aquino 1 1 1 1 0 1 1
HBP--I Kinsler by M Koplove. SO--TEX: A Hyzdu, E Durazo, K Mench, N Trzesniak, J Dominguez, D Jimenez, B Boggs. ARI: S Green 2, E Byrnes, L Terrero, A Callaspo. BB--TEX: I Kinsler 2, E Durazo. ARI: B Barden 2, T Clark, J Estrada, C Quentin. T--3:20. A--3,187.
Kelvin Jimenez.