Greer’s Homers Help Rangers Beat Giants

ARLINGTON, Texas — Rusty Greer kept the Texas Rangers from becoming the first victim of an interleague sweep.

Greer hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning, then hit a game-winning homer in the ninth as the Texas Rangers rallied to defeat the San Francisco Giants, 6-5, on Friday night.

Bill Ripken brought Texas back from a 5-4 deficit in the eighth with a run-scoring double off Doug Henry, giving him six hits and a sacrifice fly in his last seven at-bats with runners in scoring position.

John Wetteland (4-0), who saved all of the New York Yankees’ victories against Atlanta in the World Series last October, pitched a scoreless ninth.

Greer then connected off Rich Rodriguez (2-3), the second time this season he hit a game-winning homer in the Rangers’ last at-bat.

Texas, which lost to the Giants, 4-3, on Thursday in baseball’s first interleague game, wasted a chance to go ahead in the eighth. After Ripken’s double, Damon Buford walked bit Ivan Rodriguez hit an inning-ending groundout.

Juan Gonzalez’s 13th homer put Texas ahead, 2-0, in the second, but San Francisco tied it on solo homers by J.T. Snow in the second and Barry Bonds in the fifth. Snow hit a run-scoring double later in the inning for a 3-2 lead.

Greer’s fifth homer put Texas ahead, 4-3, but the Giants tied it in the sixth when Ken Hill threw a wild pitch and Rodriguez made a throwing error from behind the plate that allowed the run to score.

Bonds led off the seventh with a double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on another Hill wild pitch, which bounced off Rodriguez’s leg and rolled to the backstop.

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