American League Roundup : Cowley Loses Despite Record Start

Shortly after setting a modern major league record by striking out the first seven Texas batters Wednesday night at Arlington, Tex., Joe Cowley was on his way to an early shower.

It had been more than 100 years since anyone had a better start in a major league game than the one by Cowley, who was making his second start for the Chicago White Sox after being recalled from the minors.

In 1884, while pitching for the New York Gothams of the National League, Mickey Welch struck out the first nine batters.

It isn’t known how Welch fared in his historic performance, but Cowley went downhill in a hurry. He gave up six runs in 4 innings and was the loser as the high-flying Rangers pounded out a 6-3 victory.

Cowley began his record string with Oddibe McDowell and ended it by getting Steve Buechele, the first batter in the third, on a 1-2 pitch. Orlando Mercado, the No. 8 hittter, ended the streak with a fly to left field. Curt Wilkerson followed with the first hit, but McDowell struck out again.

Cowley retired the first two batters in the fourth, but Pete Incaviglia doubled, and Gary Ward singled in a run. Cowley’s errant pickoff attempt and his wild pitch let in another run. In the fifth, Buechele got a measure of revenge when he hit a home run. Three more hits sent Cowley to the shower a loser.

“I didn’t know it was going on,” Cowley said. “I would rather give up the record for the win.”

Ed Correa (3-3) also was in a strikeout mood. He fanned eight in 6 innings before giving way to Mitch Williams, who earned his first save.

Baltimore 9, Oakland 5--This was the situation in the top of the eighth at Oakland: The score was tied, the bases were loaded, there was one out and Eddie Murray was the batter.

Murray hit a long fly to left field that curved foul. It was rookie Jose Canseco’s decision. Should he catch it even though the go-ahead run would score afterward, or should he let it drop and hope that Murray would hit into a double play? Almost nobody could find fault with Canseco’s decision to catch the ball.

The resulting sacrifice fly gave the Oriole slugger 12 runs batted in against the A’s this season in just four games.

It turned out to be a moot question, because in the ninth, Jim Dwyer hit a three-run home run to sew up the victory.

“You really can’t let Eddie have two chances in that situation,” Manager Earl Weaver of the Orioles said. “Canseco did the right thing, catching the ball.”

Jose Rijo struck out nine Orioles in 6 innings, but he also walked eight. The Orioles drew 13 walks. Two of them came in the eighth to set up the winning run.

Boston 13, Cleveland 7--With Don Baylor on a hitting spree, Jim Rice, who bats ahead of him in the powerful Red Sox lineup, knows he’s going to see some good pitches.

In this game at Cleveland, Rice had three hits and drove in five runs. Baylor hit a three-run home run and drove in four runs.

Fourteen games ago, Baylor was batting .193, but he has raised his average to .246 and has hit five home runs during his streak.

“We just need for him to be in the lineup every day,” Rice said. “We know what he can do.”

Rice and Baylor made it easy for Oil Can Boyd to improve his record to 6-3. He went seven innings to win his fourth in a row.

In the eighth inning, Baylor was hit by a pitch for the 200th time. The major league career record is 243 by Ron Hunt.

Toronto 14, Minnesota 8--George Bell opened the eighth inning at Minneapolis with a home run to break a 6-6 tie, and it triggered an eight-run outburst by the Blue Jays.

Six singles, a double, a walk and two sacrifice flies followed Bell’s 408-foot home run.

Bert Blyleven, who struck out nine batters in seven innings, was the loser. Blyleven is 4-4, and his 11 starts are the most by any pitcher in the league.

Kirby Puckett ended an 0-for-9 slump with his 15th home run, a drive that cleared the 418-foot mark in center field.

Kansas City 4, Milwaukee 3--Hal McRae bounced a single into left field with one out in the ninth inning at Kansas City to score Frank White with the winning run.

White was still in the game, apparently, because official scorer Del Black didn’t call an error on him. White has threatened to walk off the field the next time Black calls an error that White, the Royal second baseman, believes is a wrong call.

New York 6, Seattle 5--Mike Easler and Rickey Henderson hit first-inning homers to stake the Yankees to a 4-0 lead, and Don Mattingly added two solo shots at Seattle.

Reliever Ed Whitson (4-1), who took over in the third inning with New York leading, 5-2, worked 3 innings for the victory. Al Holland pitched 2 innings, and Dave Righetti pitched the ninth for his 11th save.