Zeile Discovers a Zest for Orioles in Victory

Todd Zeile can’t believe his luck.

Two weeks ago, he was playing with the cellar-dwelling Philadelphia Phillies. Now he’s in the middle of a pennant race, and the veteran third baseman is doing more than kicking back and enjoying the experience.

Zeile marked his 31st birthday with a three-run homer at Baltimore as the Orioles rallied to defeat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4, Monday and gain ground in both the East and the wild-card race.

Zeile and Pete Incaviglia joined the Orioles on Aug. 30 in a trade with the Phillies. Instead of playing out the string with Philadelphia, Zeile is playing in one pressure-packed game after another as an Oriole.

He couldn’t be happier.

“It’s hard to describe how much different it is here,” he said. “It’s great to come out and play every day with these fans cheering for you instead of jeering you.”

The Orioles trailed, 4-0, after two innings, but Zeile’s third-inning homer made it close before Baltimore took the lead with two in the sixth. After Cal Ripken hit a run-scoring double off Omar Olivares, Richie Lewis issued an intentional walk to Eddie Murray to load the bases.

After Lewis struck out Pete Incaviglia, pinch-hitter Chris Hoiles followed by hitting a short fly to left fielder Curtis Pride. Bobby Bonilla tagged up and scored as Pride’s throw went well up the first-base line.

Texas 4, Toronto 3--The Rangers matched their biggest lead in team history, extending their edge in the West to eight games with the victory at Toronto.

Mickey Tettleton’s go-ahead double in the sixth inning sent the Rangers to their fifth consecutive victory. Texas, the only team in the league that has never made the playoffs, also led by eight games over Seattle on Aug. 25.

Texas overcame a 3-0 deficit against Pat Hentgen (17-9), who pitched his major league-leading 10th complete game. Hentgen struck out 10, but the Rangers still beat Toronto for the seventh straight time this season.

Kevin Gross (11-8) relieved Texas starter Roger Pavlik with two outs and the bases loaded in the fifth. Gross struck out Alex Gonzalez, who earlier ended his 0-for-33 slump with a home run.

Milwaukee 6, Boston 0--Scott Karl pitched a six-hitter at Boston for his first major league shutout.

The Red Sox won 26 of 35 games before two weekend losses at Chicago. Their third straight loss dropped them five games behind the White Sox, who lead the wild-card race. Boston has only 18 games left.

Milwaukee led, 2-0, against Tom Gordon (10-8) before scoring four runs in the eighth on Matt Mieske’s 14th homer of the season and John Jaha’s 29th, a three-run shot.