| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- The Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians
played in record heat and almost played to record time Thursday night.
In a game that took four hours, 21 minutes, one minute short of
the major league mark for a nine-inning game, the Rangers stopped a
five-game losing streak with a 14-7 victory.
|  | | Chad Curtis watches his tiebreaking, seventh-inning double
against the Indians on Thursday. |
Chad Curtis hit a tiebreaking seventh-inning double and Rusty
Greer followed with a two-run single.
"I knew it was a long game. That's a record I'm glad we didn't
get," Indians manager Charlie Manuel said.
The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers played a regulation game
in 4 hours, 22 minutes on May 11 this season, matching a
nine-inning game between the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees
on Sept. 5, 1997.
Rangers manager Johnny Oates would have played all night if it
meant ending the losing streak that buried his team further in the
AL West cellar. Texas finished the month with a 9-21 record, the
second-worst August in club history behind the 9-22 of 1979.
"I don't sit there and watch the clock," Oates said. "If
you'll notice, I never wear a watch on the field. That's what's
great about baseball, there's no time limit. You can be 25,000 runs
behind, but you can keep hitting.
"When you're struggling to win games like we have, you'll take
it no matter how long it takes."
B.J. Waszgis got the go-ahead rally started in the seventh
inning of a 6-6 game with a one-out single off Steve Karsay (4-6).
Waszgis went to second on Luis Alicea's single and scored on
Curtis' double to right.
Greer, who went 5-for-6 with four RBIs, drove in Alicea and
Curtis, who went 4-for-5, with a single through the middle of a
drawn-in infield against Paul Shuey to make it 9-6.
Alicea, who was also 4-for-5 with a club record-tying five runs
scored, added a two-run homer, Rafael Palmeiro an RBI single and
Ricky Ledee a two-run triple in a five-run eighth off Jamie
Brewington.
Palmeiro reached base in all six plate appearances, one short of
the major league record, with three singles and three walks. The
Rangers' 21 hits tied a season high.
Karsay, the fifth of seven Cleveland pitchers, gave up three
runs and four hits over two-thirds of an inning.
"We were trying to win the game but we couldn't hold them,"
Manuel said. "We got into matchups but they didn't work out too
good."
Mike Venafro (3-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings of two-hit relief for
the victory.
The loss ended Cleveland's three-game winning streak and trimmed
its AL wild-card race lead to one game over idle Boston.
"We've still got a chance," Manuel said. "We've got a big
homestand. We're battling for the wild card and it's better to be
ahead than behind."
Gabe Kapler's two-run single in the sixth gave the Rangers a 6-5
lead, but Kenny Lofton's RBI single in the seventh tied it. Travis Fryman had a two-run homer for the Indians, 18-9 since
Aug. 2.
The game started in 99 degree heat, the highest reading for a
night game at The Ballpark in Arlington this season. High
temperature in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Thursday was a record
108 degrees.
Texas made it 2-0 in the first inning against Jason Bere on
Greer's single and Ledee's RBI groundout.
The Indians came back with a four-run second, highlighted by
Fryman's two-run shot, his 20th, off rookie starter Brian Sikorski.
Omar Vizquel and Manny Ramirez had RBI singles to make it 4-2.
Texas tied it at 4 in the third on Greer's RBI single and Bere's
bases-loaded walk to Kapler, Bere's last batter.
Bere, 4-2 in his first six starts since he was acquired from
Milwaukee on July 28, lasted only 2 1/3 innings. He allowed four
runs and six hits, struck out one and walked three.
"It wasn't just a loss," Bere said. "We also had to use up a
lot of guys in the bullpen."
Sikorski gave up four runs and nine hits, struck out four and
walked three in five innings.
"When I left it was tied so I was able to keep us in the
game," Sikorski said. "How long the game took doesn't matter as
long as we won."
Lofton's baserunning gave the Indians a 5-4 lead in the sixth.
After drawing a leadoff walk and moving to second on Matt Perisho's
wild pickoff throw, Lofton took third on Roberto Alomar's flyout
and scored on Tim Crabtree's wild pitch.
Game notes
Fryman has seven career 20-homer seasons. ... Ramirez
stretched his hitting streak to 15 games. ... Bere had his shortest
outing for the Indians. ... Indians catcher Sandy Alomar missed his
second straight start with back spasms and is day-to-day.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Cleveland Clubhouse
Texas Clubhouse
RECAPS
Tampa Bay 2
Kansas City 1
Detroit 6
Baltimore 1
Texas 14
Cleveland 7
San Francisco 10
Pittsburgh 2
Milwaukee 8
Los Angeles 2
San Diego 11
Chicago Cubs 5
Cincinnati 4
Atlanta 3
|
