American League Roundup : Kison Holds Himself Together, Beats Texas, 6-0

Bruce Kison probably wouldn’t know how to pitch without some kind of injury. In a career that began in Pittsburgh in 1971, Kison has spent almost as much time on the disabled list as he has pitching.

So, when the slender right-hander felt a knot in his back in the third inning Saturday at Boston, he shrugged it off and pitched the Red Sox to a 6-0 victory, their first win in six tries this season against the Texas Rangers.

Kison (2-1), who has already spent more than a month on the injured list this season, gave up seven hits in seven innings. Rich Gedman, expecting to get the day off, hit the first grand slam of his career to provide Kison with all the runs he needed.

Marc Sullivan was scheduled to catch for the Red Sox and face left-hander Frank Tanana, but Sullivan pulled a rib-cage muscle in batting practice. The left-handed swinging Gedman was a last-minute replacement.

In the sixth, Marty Barrett was given an intentional walk to fill the bases with one out. On a 1-and-2 pitch, Gedman pulled a Tanana pitch into the Texas bullpen for his fifth home run.

When Kison pulled a hamstring muscle on April 14 in his first start for the Red Sox, it marked the ninth time in his career that he went on the disabled list. Last season, his fifth with the Angels, Kison opened the season on the disabled list because of back surgery.

“I felt a knot in my back after the third inning,” Kison said, “but it didn’t stop me from doing the things I had to do.”

Tony Armas hit his 14th homer of the season in the second inning for the only run Kison needed. Armas had to leave the game after pulling a muscle running out a double in the sixth.

Jim Rice hit into a double play in the first inning, the 17th time this season that the Red Sox slugger has grounded into a double play.

Milwaukee 7, Minnesota 2--The Twins have a 10-game losing streak to go with their early season skid of nine in a row. In this game at Minneapolis, Charlie Moore and Cecil Cooper each drove in two runs in a seven-run second inning that made it easy for Danny Darwin.

Darwin gave up second-inning home runs to Kent Hrbek and Roy Smalley but retired 17 of the last 18 batters he faced.

Hot-hitting Jim Gantner singled in the first run of the seven-run second. Gantner was 3 for 4 and is 7 for 15 in the Brewers’ four-game winning streak.

Toronto 8, Cleveland 3--Damaso Garcia had, by a considerable margin, the best May of any Blue Jay, batting .349 and driving in 19 runs.

He’s off to an even better start in June and playing a prominent part in the Blue Jays’ hot pace in the East. In this game at Toronto, Garcia led the Blue Jays to their 10th win in the last 11 games. Garcia was 4 for 5, scored a run and drove in two.

Garcia accounted for Toronto’s first three runs as the Blue Jays hammered Bert Blyleven for 11 hits in 7 innings and beat the Indians for the seventh time in a row. The crowning blow against Blyleven (3-6) was a three-run home run in the eighth by Lloyd Moseby, who hit only one homer in May and drove in only nine runs.

Jimmy Key survived Benny Ayala’s two-run home run in the first to win his fourth in a row. He gave up six hits in eight innings.

Chicago 8, Kansas City 7--Dan Quisenberry, one of the most reliable relief pitchers, failed to protect a 7-4 lead at Chicago. In fact, Quisenberry, who had pitched 11 consecutive scoreless innings, faced six batters in the seventh inning and did not get one of them out. He walked a batter and gave up five hits as the White Sox tied the game.

Mike Jones, who worked out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the seventh, was the loser when Greg Walker singled with two out in the eighth to score Bryan Little from second.

It was the fourth win in a row for the White Sox and the fourth game in a row in which Carlton Fisk homered. Fisk has 13 home runs, five in the last four games.

Oakland 3, Baltimore 1--Don Sutton held the Orioles to four hits in seven innings at Baltimore and, with the help of Jay Howell, won his 284th game. Howell pitched two scoreless innings for his 11th save.

The A’s had only three singles off Mike Boddicker until Mike Davis homered in the seventh. Dave Kingman drove in the tiebreaking run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Eddie Murray’s seventh home run gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the fourth.

New York 8, Seattle 2--Ron Guidry pitched a six-hitter for his sixth victory, and Rickey Henderson hit a two-run home run to help the Yankees extend their winning streak at home to 12.

Don Mattingly drove in three runs. Dave Winfield singled in the Yankees’ first run in the first inning, extending his hitting string to 13 games.

Guidry lost his shutout in the sixth when Phil Bradley hit a two-run home run.