And somehow, he still got run over by Frank Thomas.

Heckuva pitching staff on today's Birthday Team. Center fielder can play a bit too.

C: Rick Dempsey
1B: John Kelleher
2B: Rickie Weeks
3B: Russ Davis
SS: Rabbit Warstler
LF: Brent Brede
CF: Bernie Williams
RF: Armando Rios

SP: Rick Wise
SP: Denny Neagle
SP: Thornton Lee
SP: Dutch Ruether
SP: Greg Hibbard
RP: Eddie Rommel

Owner: John Henry
A+ For Effort: Rodney McCray
$100 Million Lemon: Daisuke Matsuzaka
Fun Names: Otho Nitcholas, Dink O'Brien

Last night's 5-2 Ranger win over Cleveland was about as uneventful as a game can get. Early lead on the usual Beltre and Hamilton home runs, Ryan Dempster pitching out of trouble, bullpen competent enough. Most heads-up play, from where I was sitting: a drag-bunt single by Elvis Andrus, who noticed out that Indian reliever David Huff wasn't exactly springing off the mound like Bobby Shantz after his pitches. Beltre and Hamilton left the game with hopefully minor injuries, giving Craig Gentry a rare inning in center field – for a guy still hitting over .300, he's as buried as they get. Seven innings were played in extremely plodding fashion, and then the last inning-and-a-half very snappily. Announced attendance was 36,000, though I bet there weren't 25,000 actually in the park. Rangers' true turnstile attendance is way down over the course of the season; I can't figure out why, except that maybe winning is getting boring or something. Not to me!

Eddie Collins has a variation of the “I’ve got it” and “I have it” when running for a fly ball. It’s “I’ll try it” with him, which bespeaks modesty rather than a lack of confidence.

######' college boy.

Most heads-up play, from where I was sitting: a drag-bunt single by Elvis Andrus, who noticed out that Indian reliever David Huff wasn't exactly springing off the mound like Bobby Shantz after his pitches.

Bobby Shantz? When did you turn into Harveys Wallbangers? Although I do see a bit of Swish Nicholson in Nelson Cruz.

Announced attendance was 36,000, though I bet there weren't 25,000 actually in the park. Rangers' true turnstile attendance is way down over the course of the season; I can't figure out why, except that maybe winning is getting boring or something.

I thought I heard on the radio that the Rangers set their all-time attendance record yesterday. Is that true?

Player movement graph from Flip Flop Fly Ball: How many ex-players of each team are on each team?

I cannot believe 7 ex-Pirates have played for the Nationals this year. Adam LaRoche ... Tom Gorzelanny ... that's all I've got.

I cannot believe 7 ex-Pirates have played for the Nationals this year. Adam LaRoche ... Tom Gorzelanny ... that's all I've got.

Hmm. Sean Burnett is one. Zach Duke has pitched in a game. I know Carlos Maldonado was in the Pirates system, though not if he ever made the club.

I thought I heard on the radio that the Rangers set their all-time attendance record yesterday. Is that true?

Yes. They passed last year's total last night. They've sold enough tickets to go over 3M tonight, and everyone who goes tonight gets a free T-shirt commemorating the event.

That's tickets sold, of course, which is a perfectly consistent and legitimate way of counting. I'm just struck by how many tickets have gone unused after the All-Star Break this year in Arlington. In May and June of this year, you couldn't swing a cat in the Ballpark. You can swing one now. Though I advise against it, because PETA would make trouble.

Eddie Collins has a variation of the “I’ve got it” and “I have it” when running for a fly ball. It’s “I’ll try it” with him, which bespeaks modesty rather than a lack of confidence.

Wasn't his nickname Cocky?

Wasn't his nickname Cocky?

Yup.

Thus the origin of "giving it the old college try."

Actually, according to some other sites, that phrase does come from baseball. Christy Mathewson wrote a New York Times article about Frankie Frisch that used the term. That was in October 1919, just after Collins's White Sox teammates gave their version of the old college try in the World Series.

Game of the day (yesterday): Orioles 3, Rays 2.

The thing I've really enjoyed about writing this every day this year is the discovery of games I wasn't aware of that were really good. For that reason, it's a bit awkward when I run across one that not only I had already noticed, but that was a huge headline in sports yesterday. This game, of course, fits that description.

BJ Upton led off the first inning with a home run against Miguel Gonzalez, who was making his 12th career start at age 28 in the middle of a pennant race. Gonzalez would then issue a pair of one-out walks before Ben Francisco, who is now playing for his third team of the year and batting fifth in the middle of a pennant race, lined into a double play.

Baltimore rallied against Alex Cobb (29th career start, career ERA+ of 94) in the bottom of the first. Cobb allowed four singles, one each to Nate McLouth, JJ Hardy, Matt Wieters, and Wilson Betemit, producing a pair of runs. A walk to Chris Davis loaded the bases with two away, but Manny Machado hit into a force to end the inning. Ryan Roberts and Matt Joyce reached on a single and a walk in the second before Jose Molina hit into a double play; Robert Andino singled and took second on an errant pickoff attempt in the bottom of the inning, but the top of the order then failed to advance him.

In the top of the third, Jeff Keppinger singled with one out, and Evan Longoria matched him with two away. Francisco then doubled, scoring Keppinger and tying the game; Carlos Pena flied out with runners on second and third to end the inning. Cobb and Gonzalez settled down from there, with the two of them allowing only an infield single (by Davis, with Machado lining into a double play afterward) through the top of the fifth. In the bottom of that inning, Cobb allowed a single and steal to Adam Jones, then intentionally walked Wieters before being pulled for Jake McGee, who whiffed Betemit to end it. In the sixth, Francisco singled with one out, Pena walked, and the runners moved to second and third on a balk. Roberts struck out, Joyce was intentionally walked, and Molina grounded out to leave the bases loaded.

McGee worked a perfect sixth; Darren O'Day replaced Gonzalez on the mound in the seventh and walked both Upton and Longoria (the second walk was intentional after Upton stole second) but didn't allow either of them to score. Wade Davis was spotless in the bottom of the seventh. Pedro Strop allowed a two-out single to Joyce before retiring the Rays in the eighth, while Joel Peralta gave up a double to Wieters and a walk to Mark Reynolds before stranding them.

That brings us to the ninth; we all know what happened in the ninth. Keppinger singled with one out and was pulled for pinch runner Rich Thompson. With two away, Thompson stole second. Longoria then hit a slow grounder to Machado at third. Machado fielded the ball, faked a throw to first that would have had no chance, and when Thompson rounded third, tossed to Hardy who was covering the base to catch Thompson in an inning-ending rundown.

Naturally, Machado also led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, took second on a sac bunt, and scored on a single by McLouth to end the game.

Machado had a game earlier this year in which he hit two homers, both of which were caught by the same fan. In this game, he went 1/4 and lined into a double play, scoring one run and driving in none. And yet, this is the game that'll probably be thought of as the Manny Machado game... at least until he has a better one, of course.

Game of the day (yesterday): Orioles 3, Rays 2.

Save yourself a few keystrokes and cut and paste into tomorrow's dugout.

Game of the day (last year): Marlins 5, Braves 4 (12). Florida scored the game's first run against Brandon Beachy in the opening inning, as Omar Infante tripled and Greg Dobbs singled him home. Despite allowing singles to Michael Bourn and Freddie Freeman, Chris Volstad managed a scoreless first; both starters allowed one baserunner in the second but kept them from scoring. The Marlins picked up another run in the second when Emilio Bonifacio tripled and Infante brought him home with a sac fly. After Volstad and Beachy traded 1-2-3 innings, Atlanta scored its first of the day in the fourth as Dan Uggla and Brian McCann both singled, and Alex Gonzalez doubled the lead runner home two outs later.

Beachy worked around a hit by Infante in the fifth, and Bourn and Chipper Jones opened the bottom of the inning with consecutive singles, the second of which moved Bourn to third. He scored from there on Freeman's sac fly, tying the game temporarily. The Marlins promptly untied it in the sixth. Bryan Petersen walked, Donnie Murphy singled him to second, and Matt Dominguez followed with another single to drive him in and send Murphy to third. Arodys Vizcaino replaced Beachy on the mound, and his second pitch went wild, allowing Murphy to score.

Burke Badenhop entered for the bottom of the sixth, and quickly allowed the third triple of the game, this one by Martin Prado. It was cashed in just as quickly as the other two had been when Jason Heyward's sac fly brought Atlanta back within a run. Eric O'Flaherty came on for the seventh, trying to keep his team close; he quickly allowed hits to Infante and Dobbs, the second one on a bunt. Gaby Sanchez bunted as well, moving the runners into scoring position, and John Buck was intentionally passed to load the bases. O'Flaherty then fanned Petersen and coaxed a groundout from Murphy to extinguish the rally.

In the bottom of the seventh, Chipper hit a one-out ground-rule double, but Mike Dunn and Ryan Webb conspired to keep him at second. Florida put two runners on against Jonny Venters in the eighth on a Bonifacio single and an Infante ROE before Dobbs struck out to abandon them on the bases. Facing Edward Mujica in the bottom of the inning, Heyward reached on a two-out infield hit and took an extra base on Murphy's throwing error. This allowed him to score on Gonzalez's single and tie the game.

Craig Kimbrel worked the top of the ninth, allowing a walk and steal to Petersen with two outs but nothing else. Steve Cishek labored through the bottom of the inning; the first batter he faced was the fastest player on either team, and Bourn started the inning with a double that put the winning run within reach. Chipper was intentionally walked, Freeman struck out, and Uggla reached on an infield hit to load the bases with one away. McCann then whiffed as well, and Prado hit into a forceout to end the rally.

Peter Moylan worked a spotless tenth for Atlanta, and Clay Hensley allowed only a leadoff walk to Heyward in the second half of the inning. Anthony Varvaro replaced Moylan in the eleventh, with identical results; Hensley's eleventh differed only from his tenth in that it featured both a walk and an ROE. John Buck opened the twelfth with a walk against Varvaro, and was replaced by pinch runner Brett Hayes (also known as the other catcher). Hayes took second on a sac bunt, then watched as Murphy was intentionally walked behind him. After Dominguez flied out, Varvaro was pulled for Cristhian Martinez, and the Marlins sent a pinch hitter to the plate. Now, you figure it's the twelfth inning of a September baseball game, so the pinch hitting options aren't likely to be all that impressive. As it happens, the man of the hour was...

Giancarlo (nee Mike... well, technically, nee Giancarlo, but referred to as Mike at the time) Stanton. Stanton singled, Hayes scored, Stanton was pulled for pinch runner Javier Vazquez (so I assume he was hurt, which would explain his presence on the bench). And "Leo Nunez," the other erstwhilely-named Marlin came on to close out the game in the bottom of the twelfth, walking Heyward to start the inning but not allowing him past second.

Twelve innings, two comebacks in regulation, lots of runners left on (29 between the two teams) and even more at bats with runners in scoring position (32). That's a good game even outside of its notable context (it was Atlanta's fourth consecutive loss, dropping them to only 4.5 games ahead of the Cardinals).

Game of the day (yesterday): Orioles 3, Rays 2.

Save yourself a few keystrokes and cut and paste into tomorrow's dugout.

I would, except for two things - first, today's score needs a (14) next to it, and second, I'll be going out of town for the weekend (and attending Saturday's Cubs-Pirates game in the bargain!) and thus may or may not be around to post the games for the next few days.