American League Roundup : Indians and Tabler Load Up on Yankees, 3-2

For the Cleveland Indians, the right man for the right situation means having Pat Tabler come to bat with the bases loaded.

When it happened in the first inning Saturday at New York, Tabler responded with a two-run double, and the Indians went on to beat the New York Yankees, 3-2, and end their six-game winning streak.

As a hitter with the bases loaded, Tabler has no peer. With all bases occupied, Tabler is 23 for 37, for a .622 average, and has driven in 56 runs. He is just starting his third season.

The ideal situation developed after Bob Shirley became the Yankees’ emergency starter when Ed Whitson came down with an upset stomach.

Shirley did not retire a batter. He got an out when Julio Franco, who singled home Brett Butler with the first run of the game, was out stealing. After Joe Carter singled, Andre Thornton was hit by a pitch and Brook Jacoby walked to fill them up for Tabler. Tabler hit the wall in right field for the double.

If nothing else, his absence may have ended the Yankee Stadium crowd’s animosity toward Whitson. Almost from the time he joined the Yankees at the start of last season, the fans have been on Whitson. It reached such a point at the start of the season that Manager Lou Piniella announced Whitson would not start at home for a while. However, after Whitson pitched well at Kansas City Monday it was decided he would pitch at home.

Apparently, the fans prefer Whitson to Shirley. When Shirley was being cuffed around, the fans chanted: “Eddie, Eddie, Eddie!”

“I felt pretty good this morning,” Whitson said. “Then, all of a sudden I broke out in a cold sweat and had diarrhea.”

Although the Yankees got only six hits, the game consumed 3 hours 24 minutes. The Indians had 11 hits and loaded the bases in both the eighth and ninth. They didn’t score either time, though, perhaps because Tabler didn’t get up.

Oakland 5, Seattle 3--When Joaquin Andujar has his fastball working, he doesn’t care who he is facing. In this game at Oakland, Andujar was clocked at 96 m.p.h., and the Mariners were no match.

In six innings, the Mariners managed only one hit off the A’s new ace, who improved his record to 2-1. He left after six because his shoulder stiffened.

“If I have my fastball,” Andujar said, “I don’t care if I know anything about the hitters. The shoulder isn’t a problem. It happens early. It’ll be OK when I get more work.”

Chicago 5, Detroit 4--Despite rumors that Manager Tony LaRussa is about to be sacked, the White Sox are starting to play well. In this game at Detroit, Jerry Hairston hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning to give the White Sox their fourth victory in a row.

Harold Baines and Ron Kittle hit home runs on consecutive pitches in the White Sox sixth. Kittle hit another in the eighth with a man on to give the Sox a 4-3 lead. The Tigers tied the game with two out in the ninth when Chet Lemon, on a 1-and-2 pitch, singled up the middle to score Darnell Coles from second.

Boston 6, Kansas City 1--Al Nipper pitched a four-hitter at Kansas City, and his teammates bombed Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen.

Saberhagen gave up a single to Dwight Evans and a double to Wade Boggs to yield a quick run and didn’t make it through the fifth inning. He gave up eight hits in 4 innings. One of them was Billy Buckner’s first home run of the season.

Baltimore 11, Toronto 5--John Stefero didn’t enter the game at Baltimore until the seventh inning, but the rookie catcher wound up hitting his first major league home run and driving in four runs.

Stefero sparked a three-run seventh with a run-scoring single. In the eighth, after Fred Lynn singled in a run to break a 5-5 tie, Stefero hit his first home run.

Milwaukee 10, Texas 2--Hot-hitting Robin Yount had three hits and drove in two runs, and rookie Billy Joe Robidoux hit a three-run home run for the Brewers.