American League Roundup : Hough Repays Orioles for Opening Day With a Two-Hit Victory, 6-1

Charlie Hough owed one to the Baltimore Orioles.

Hough, yanked after six hitless innings against the Orioles on opening day in Baltimore, pitched a two-hitter Monday night to beat the Orioles, 6-1, at Arlington, Tex.

“I have had a pretty tough time in the past with this ballclub,” said Hough, who struck out eight and retired the last 19 Orioles. “I had pretty good control and the six runs didn’t hurt.

“I felt good. I overthrew a little in the first inning but I felt if we got a couple of runs, we could win. I was happy with the way I pitched.”

In the opener, Hough (1-0) had a no-hitter for six innings but was taken out trailing, 2-1, because of control problems.

Hough has only allowed five hits and run in the last 17 innings. He said he is pitching better in the first month of the season then he had in the previous year.

“I am a kind of steady pitcher,” he said, “and I feel I’m pitching better in the early part of the season then I ever have.”

Texas third baseman Toby Harrah went 3 for 3 and is hitting .421.

Baltimore’s Scott McGregor (1-1) lasted only 32 pitches in 1 innings, taking his first career loss against Texas.

The Rangers, winning their fourth straight game, jumped on McGregor for three runs in the first inning.

Harrah opened with a single and Gary Ward tripled him home. Buddy Bell’s sacrifice fly drove in Ward and Larry Parrish made it 3-0 with a home run.

The Rangers chased McGregor in the second when Harrah hit a run-scoring double and Ward singled him home.

Cleveland 6, Detroit 4--Tony Bernazard capped a three-run fourth with a run-scoring single, and doubled to start a three-run seventh as the Indians turned back the Tigers at Cleveland.

Don Schulze (1-0) allowed seven hits in seven innings for the Indians, striking out four.

Cleveland, which won for the fifth time in seven games after starting the year with five straight losses, fell behind, 1-0, when John Grubb doubled and scored on rookie Chris Pittaro’s single in the fourth.

Pittaro mishandled Julio Franco’s grounder opening the bottom of the inning as the Indians took a 3-1 lead against Jack Morris (2-2).

Bernazard doubled with one out in the seventh on a blooper that Trammell, the Detroit shortstop, had in his glove before tripping over center fielder Chet Lemon. Brett Butler and Mel Hall hit run-scoring doubles as the Indians built a 6-2 lead.

Kansas City 2, Toronto 0--Steve Balboni and Darryl Motley hit home runs to back the five-hit pitching of Charlie Leibrandt as the Royals turned back the Blue Jays at Toronto.

Balboni slugged his fourth homer into the left-field bleachers with one out in the fourth inning. He has driven in seven runs during his last five games and extended his hitting streak to seven games.

Motley’s second homer of the year was in the eighth. Both home runs came against Toronto starter Dave Stieb (1-2). Stieb went the distance, allowing eight hits.

Leibrandt improved his record to 2-0 with his second complete game in three starts this season. He didn’t have a complete game last season. Leibrandt struck out three and walked one.

Minnesota 9, Seattle 5--Kirby Puckett hit his first major league homer and singled twice, and Greg Gagne and Roy Smalley also had three hits as the Twins outslugged the Mariners at Minneapolis.

Gary Gaetti added a two-run homer to the Twins’ 16-hit attack, while Gorman Thomas hit his sixth home run for Seattle.

Minnesota starter Ken Schrom (1-2) retired the first 12 Seattle batters and had an 8-1 lead when Gaetti hit his homer in the sixth.

Thomas hit a two-run homer in the eighth and the Mariners made it interesting with two more in the ninth. But Rick Lysander got Phil Bradley to hit into a bases-loaded double play to end the game for his first save. Earlier this season, Bradley beat the Twins with a grand-slam homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Milwaukee 4, Chicago 2--Bill Schroeder hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift the Brewers past the White Sox at Chicago.

Rich Dotson, taken off the disabled list Monday after an elbow injury, and Milwaukee’s Danny Darwin dueled on even terms for six innings.

Dotson was yanked in the seventh for Juan Agosto (0-1), who gave up Schroeder’s second homer of the year. Darwin (2-0) was lifted after seven innings in favor of Rollie Fingers.