American League Roundup : Kingman’s Homer Off Guidry in Ninth Beats Yankees, 4-3

Dave Kingman tagged Ron Guidry for a home run with one out in the ninth inning Saturday at Oakland to give the A’s a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees.

It was the big slugger’s 11th home run and third in the last four games. With rookie Jose Canseco already on a home run binge (15), the A’s are developing a powerful one-two punch.

Kingman’s home run was only the fifth hit off Guidry (4-4), but it was the third home run. Earlier, catcher Bill Bathe and right fielder Mike Davis reached Guidry for home runs.

Until Kingman unloaded, though, Guidry handled the 1-2 punch with no trouble. Canseco went 0 for 4 and struck out twice. Kingman was 0 for 3 when he came up in the ninth after Canseco became Guidry’s eighth strikeout victim.

Often these days Kingman, 37, does not choose to talk to the media. On this occasion he was verbose.

Kingman spoke out to UPI the day after two Bay Area columnists criticized him.

“I’m always a slow starter,” he said. “This is a perfect example of getting a hit when you need it. I’ve had critics all my life but I needed a good laugh,” he added, referring to the articles. “Maybe that’s what got me going. It was a thrill to get the hit.

“Having the game on the line is an advantage. I concentrate much more in that situation. I wish there was a way to do that all the time. That’s something I lack.”

Guidry was upset that Kingman, who hit the home run on a 3-and-2 pitch, was not called out on strikes three pitches earlier.

“I made a good pitch,” he said. “It was a slider over the plate, but I didn’t get the call. I threw him two more good pitches and he fouled them off. Then, he hit a slider and that was that.”

Eric Plunk, given a starting assignment because Joaquin Andujar has a stiff shoulder, pitched well, giving up four hits in seven innings.

He gave up a two-run homer to Dave Winfield in the fourth. Winfield, who had been 0 for 13, appeared to extend the slump when he hit a foul pop-up. But it landed 20 feet away from Bathe, who never saw it in the gray sky. Then, Winfield hit his No. 7.

Boston 7, Minnesota 2--Wade Boggs went 5 for 5 for the second time in 11 days in this game at Minneapolis and raised his major league-leading average to .402. On May 20 in Boston, also against Minnesota, Boggs had the first five-hit game of his career.

Boggs, who won the batting title with a .368 average last season, appears to be a legitimate contender to hit .400. It hasn’t been done since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

While increasing their lead to 2 1/2 games in the East, the Red Sox lost a pitcher. Bruce Hurst (5-3) held the Twins to two hits in five innings but at the end of the fifth had to be carried off by teammates after suffering a severe groin injury.

Sammy Stewart finished but gave up an earned run in the ninth to end his string of 21 innings without giving up an earned run.

Kansas City 8, Texas 1--The Royals are below .500, but with this offensive outburst at Kansas City--led by Lonnie Smith with three hits, three runs and an RBI--they moved within a game of first place in the West.

The Royals have scored 20 runs in two games with the division-leading Rangers and have been helped by six errors.

Cleveland 3, Milwaukee 2--Andre Thornton hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning at Cleveland to enable the Indians to end a six-game losing streak.

The Brewers had taken a 2-1 lead in the top of the inning on a pinch single by Charlie Moore. But Julio Franco singled to open the Indians’ half. After Joe Carter popped out, Thornton hit Dan Plesac’s first pitch for his seventh home run.

Toronto 4, Chicago 3--Lloyd Moseby hit a two-run home run in the first inning at Toronto, but it was his bloop double with two out in the 11th that handed the fading White Sox their seventh loss in a row.

Garth Iorg opened the 11th with a single off Gene Nelson (4-2) and was sacrificed to second. One out later, Rance Mulliniks walked. Moseby, fooled on a pitch, blooped it down the left-field line just out of the reach of Ron Kittle, who had been playing the left-handed pull hitter in left-center.

Seattle 7, Detroit 4--Danny Tartabull’s two-run triple keyed a four-run seventh at Seattle that enabled the Mariners to withstand Darnell Coles’ grand slam.

Mark Langston (3-4) took a shutout into the eighth but was chased when Coles connected.