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Sweet relief After losing no-hitter, Benoit gets bizarre savePosted: Tuesday September 03, 2002 9:27 PMUpdated: Wednesday September 04, 2002 3:38 AM
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Joaquin Benoit earned a piece of baseball history, though not the way he preferred. Jerry Hairston hit a leadoff triple in the ninth inning, ruining Benoit's bid to complete a combined no-hitter, but the Texas Rangers handed the Baltimore Orioles their 10th straight loss, 7-1 Tuesday night. Rangers starter Aaron Myette was ejected after throwing two pitches, and Todd Van Poppel followed with two sharp innings. Benoit then extended the no-hitter through the eighth before allowing the Orioles' lone hit. "I really didn't think about it. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen, whatever," the rookie said. Benoit had to be content with setting a major league record for the longest outing resulting in a save -- seven innings. The previous record was six, by Horatio Pina of the Rangers in 1972. Saves were first kept as a stat in 1969. Benoit struck out four, walked none and hit two batters to earn his first big league save. But it's Hairston's hit that he will remember the most. On a 1-2 count, Hairston hit a sinking liner that dropped in front of sliding right fielder Carl Everett and rolled to the wall. "I just wanted to have a good at-bat -- put the ball in play, and hopefully it finds land," Hairston said. Chris Richard followed with an RBI groundout. The Rangers came in with a 5.22 ERA, worst in the majors, but the Orioles had no success until the ninth. The only close call came in the sixth, when Melvin Mora was thrown out by third baseman Herbert Perry on a grounder deep behind the bag. Myette was ejected by plate umpire Mark Hirschbeck after his first two pitches went behind Mora, an apparent retaliation for Alex Rodriguez being hit by a pitch in the top of the first. "There's not much to talk about. I threw two pitches, and that was it for my outing," Myette said. "I pitch inside a lot, balls get away. I've never had perfect control." Van Poppel (3-1) finished the walk, then walked Hairston before striking out the side. He worked a perfect second inning, striking out two batters. Perry homered in the sixth, extending the Rangers' streak of games with a home run to 21 -- matching a club record set earlier this season. Michael Young hit two triples, tying a team mark, and scored twice. But the story was the Rangers' pitching. Myette was ejected in the bottom of the first after Rodriguez was hit by an 84 mph fastball thrown by rookie John Stephens (1-4). "I was just trying to come in. I thought he'd be looking for a curveball," Stephens said. Said Hairston: "This is the first of three games for us against A-Rod. The last thing we want to do is get him mad." After his ejection, Myette looked at the umpire in disbelief. Texas manager Jerry Narron argued with Hirschbeck, to no avail. "I don't know exactly what came down from the league office, but there was supposedly a heads-up, supposedly there was bad blood over our last series with these guys," Narron said. "I don't remember any." It worked out fine for the Rangers, who have won 12 of 14 against Baltimore. Texas went up 3-0 in the second when Mike Lamb hit a two-run double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Todd Hollandsworth. The Rangers added a run in the third on a triple by Young and a sacrifice fly by Rodriguez. Perry homered on the first pitch from Travis Driskill in the sixth, and the Rangers added two runs on an RBI triple by Young and a wild pitch.
Notes: Baltimore has been outscored 71-25 during its skid. ... The Rangers are 22-14 against the AL East, including 5-2 against Baltimore. ... Texas' Ivan Rodriguez, who went 1-for-4, has hit safely in 17 of his last 18 games. ... RHP Sidney Ponson, activated from the 15-day DL over the weekend (partially torn labrum), will start Wednesday against Texas.
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