ZITO FLOWIN'!

OAKLAND -- Barry Zito shut down the Texas Rangers this afternoon, scattering just 3 hits over 8 innings in a 3-1 Oakland win.  After allowing a double and a walk in the 1st inning, Zito set down 17 of the next 18 batters he faced.  The only batter that did reach was erased on a double play. 

The A's pieced together 3 runs on 8 hits.  Eric Chavez had a big game.  In the 4th inning he hit an RBI double that broke the tie, and in the 6th he hit a towering bomb off Kenny Rogers.  "I don't usually hit lefties well," Chavez said after the game, "but I was seeing the ball exceptionally well.  Kenny left one up in the zone and my eyes lit up."

The A's lineup featured two other multi-hit performers.  Olmedo Saenz was 2-for-4 and Eric Byrnes was 2-for-4 with a run scored. 

Billy Koch picked up his 1st save of the season but it didn't come easily.  Herbert Perry and Alex Rodriguez hit back-to-back singles to start the inning.  After a strikeout, Raffy Palmeiro plated a run.  Pudge Rodriguez and Carl Everett were unable to come through with the tying runs on base. 

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BOXSCORE: 2002 Texas Rangers At 2002 Oakland Athletics               4/2/2002

  Rangers            AB  R  H RBI AVG     Athletics          AB  R  H RBI AVG
  M.Young 2B          4  0  2  0 .333     O.Saenz DH          4  0  2  1 .500 
  H.Perry 3B          3  1  1  0 .500     R.Velarde 2B        4  0  0  0 .000 
  A.Rodriguez SS      4  0  1  0 .250     M.Tejada SS         4  1  1  0 .250 
  J.Gonzalez RF       3  0  0  0 .000     D.Justice RF        3  0  0  0 .000 
  R.Palmeiro 1B       3  0  1  1 .286     C.Pena 1B           4  0  0  0 .000 
  I.Rodriguez C       4  0  1  0 .125     E.Chavez 3B         3  1  2  2 .667 
  C.Everett DH        4  0  0  0 .250     R.Hernandez C       3  0  1  0 .333 
  F.Catalanotto LF    3  0  0  0 .286     E.Byrnes LF         3  1  2  0 .667 
  G.Kapler CF         3  0  0  0 .000     T.Long CF           2  0  0  0 .000 
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---     
         Totals      31  1  6  1                 Totals      30  3  8  3


Rangers......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 1  -  1  6  0
Athletics....... 0 0 0  1 1 1  0 0    -  3  8  0

Rangers (0-2)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA  SCORESHEET
K.Rogers LOSS(0-1)        8       8   3   3   2   4   1 117   3.38  A1
Totals                    8       8   3   3   2   4   1

Athletics (1-1)          IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA  SCORESHEET
B.Zito WIN(1-0)           8       3   0   0   3   6   0 104   0.00  A1 D1
B.Koch SAVE(1st)          1       3   1   1   0   2   0  22   9.00  D2
Totals                    9       6   1   1   3   8   0

ATTENDANCE- 38,871 DATE- Tuesday, April 2nd 2002 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Tim McClelland, Terry Craft, Phil Cuzzi, Paul Schrieber
T- 2:32
LEFT ON BASE- Rangers: 6  Athletics: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Rangers: 2  Athletics: 2
DOUBLES- M.Young(1st), M.Tejada(1st), E.Chavez(1st), R.Hernandez(1st),
         E.Byrnes(1st)
HOME RUNS- E.Chavez(1st)
WALKS- H.Perry, J.Gonzalez, R.Palmeiro, D.Justice, T.Long
STRIKE OUTS- M.Young, J.Gonzalez, R.Palmeiro, I.Rodriguez-2, F.Catalanotto-2,
             G.Kapler, D.Justice-2, C.Pena, E.Chavez
GIDP- H.Perry, A.Rodriguez, C.Pena

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Around the League: • A.J. Burnett pitched a 2-hit shutout against the Montreal Expos in a 5-0 Florida win. He did, however, allow 4 walks. • Barry Bonds slugged his 2nd and 3rd home runs of the season in a 12-9 win vs. Los Angeles.  He is tied with Cliff Floyd for the league lead in home runs.