American League Roundup : Brett, Champion Royals Stay Hot

The World Series champion Kansas City Royals are making a strong run at first place in the American League West.

George Brett hit a home run and drove in four runs Thursday night at Kansas City as the Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-2, for their sixth win in seven games.

The victory moved the Royals (27-25) within a half-game of the first-place Texas Rangers, who were idle.

Scott Bankhead, in relief of Mark Gubicza, pitched 5 innings without giving up a run to improve to 2-0. Minnesota starter Mike Smithson (5-5) left in the third after giving up Brett’s eighth home run of the season.

The Twins have lost five of their last six games.

Milwaukee 7, Boston 5--Rookie Dale Sveum hit a bases-loaded double in the Brewers’ four-run third inning at Milwaukee, extending his hitting streak to 14 games, and Bill Wegman scattered six hits in 7 innings as the Brewers stopped a five-game Boston winning streak.

After Boston had pulled within 5-3, Rob Deer hit a two-run homer, his 10th, in the eighth inning. Rich Gedman and Dwight Evans hit consecutive homers off former teammate Mark Clear in the Boston ninth to cut the final margin to two runs.

Wegman (1-5), a rookie right-hander, picked up his first victory of 1986 in his 12th start. Clear earned his fourth save, despite giving up Boston’s third run on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly by Bill Buckner and the two homers in the ninth.

Buckner’s RBI was the 1,000th of his career.

Chicago 9, Oakland 5--Harold Baines drove in four runs at Chicago as the White Sox snapped a three-game losing streak.

The victory was only the second in the last 12 games for the White Sox, who rapped out 13 hits, one more than they had during the entire Texas series, in which they were swept.

Baines got his four RBIs with a sacrifice fly and a pair of singles.

Neil Allen (2-0), who scattered 11 hits, came within two outs of pitching his first complete game and his first shutout in three years but couldn’t quite make it as the A’s knocked him out by scoring five runs in the ninth inning.

Baltimore 7, Seattle 1--Lee Lacy drove in two runs with a double and a single, and Tom O’Malley ignited a five-run fifth inning with a run-scoring double as the Orioles won at Baltimore.

Storm Davis (5-4) was tagged for a home run by designated hitter Ken Phelps but scattered six other hits over eight innings to earn the victory.