|
||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
 |
© 1995- The E.W.
Scripps Co. and the Abilene Reporter-News. All Rights Reserved. Site users are subject to our User Agreement. We also have a Privacy Policy. |
PRINT
THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE Friday, September 25, 1998 Rangers on a roll as they try to wrap up title By KEN PETERS Associated Press ANAHEIM, Calif. - Hold up on the celebration, Texas manager
Johnny Oates cautioned. There's still work to be done. The Rangers had reason to be jubilant after dominating their
series against the Anaheim Angels, but the Texas players had little
time to enjoy their lopsided sweep. There's a very important detail left hanging, the AL West title. "I don't want us to get too giddy about what happened
here," Oates said as the Rangers headed for Seattle and four
games against the Mariners to close the regular season. "We still need to keep our focus and go out and win a
game. I don't think any of our players will have any trouble understanding
that." Third baseman Todd Zeile said the Rangers are on target. "We started the week thinking that we had to get seven
one-game winning streaks. So far, we've done exactly what we've
set out to do and we're going to Seattle feeling great,"
Zeile said. "But we're not ready yet to pop open champagne
and celebrate." By beating Anaheim 7-1 Wednesday night, Texas opened a three-game
lead over the Angels with four games remaining. Any combination
of Texas wins or Angels losses that add up to two will clinch
the Rangers' second division crown in three years. Texas is 5-3 against Seattle this season. The Angels, 3-5 against
the Athletics, are at Oakland for four games. The Rangers, who have had an up-and-down season mostly because
of inconsistent pitching, seem to have hit high gear as they near
the finish line. They couldn't have asked for a much better performance in Anaheim,
getting outstanding pitching and outscoring Anaheim 25-3, including
9-1 routs in the first two games. John Burkett held the Angels to one run and two hits through
eight innings in the final game, following strong starts by Todd
Stottlemyre and Rick Helling. "It's been a while since we've had a series like this,"
Oates said. "We had fine pitching, good defense and some
timely hits. And it couldn't have come at a better time. "I expected us to win, but I was surprised at the difference
in the number of runs." While the Rangers rose to the top of their game, the Angels
sank to the depths of futility. Their seven errors led to six
unearned runs, three more than their offense scored. "An avalanche," Angels shortstop Gary DiSarcina said.
"The final scores just blew my mind away." Manager Terry Collins also was stunned. "We never did anything right," he said. "Nobody
stepped up for us and we just couldn't get it going. We looked
forward to playing these three head-to-head, but they just beat
us up." Part of the Rangers' edge came with some late-season acquisitions.
They picked up Stottlemyre, Zeile and Royce Clayton while the
Angels essentially stood pat. Stottlemyre pitched seven strong innings in the series opener.
Zeile helped break open the third game with a two-run homer and
an RBI single. "The moves they made made the guys confident that the
organization was behind them," Zeile said. "At a time
like that, a little bit of extra confidence can push you over
the top. "Little things like that, they can give you a mental edge,
and sometimes that's all it takes."
HomeNewsObituariesSportsDallas
CowboysFeaturesEntertainmentOpinionClassifieds
SPORTS
Local
Baseball
Basketball
Dallas
Cowboys
Football
Golf
Motor Sports
Outdoors
Recreation
Soccer
Tennis
Tiger
Woods
Track and Field
Other Sports
© 1995- The E.W.
Scripps Co. and the Abilene Reporter-News.
All Rights Reserved.
Site users are subject to our User Agreement. We also have a Privacy Policy.