American League Roundup : Clemens, Boggs Keep Red Sox Winning, 3-0

Thirty-game winners and .400 hitters are a rare breed. There hasn’t been a 30-game winner since Denny McLain of the Detroit Tigers in 1968. It was 1941 when Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox batted .406.

With the major league season just about one-third complete, the Boston Red Sox are shooting for one of each. In modern times, at least, it has never been done by players on the same team in the same season.

Roger Clemens pitched a four-hitter, and Wade Boggs drove in all the runs Friday night at Milwaukee as the Red Sox beat the Brewers, 3-0. Clemens improved his record to 10-0, while Boggs went 2 for 3 and raised his average to .404.

The Red Sox, who increased their lead in the East to five games, have a 37-16 record. They have 109 games remaining. If Clemens starts only every fifth game, he figures to get 22 more starts. The way he has been pitching, he may be able to win 20 of them.

Although he has not missed a turn, the 23-year-old right-hander was delayed a couple of days because of a knuckle injury on his pitching hand. Apparently, the injury has not affected his pitching.

He injured the knuckle in the second inning May 25. In 24 innings since the injury, he has given up 13 hits and only three runs.

Boggs, who went into this season with a career average of .351, has been on a spree. In May, he batted .471. For the first six games in June, he has fallen off to .417. However, in the last three games, he is 7 for 11.

Boggs calls himself a hot weather hitter. A year ago at this time, he was hitting .310. He finished at .368. The hot weather hasn’t arrived, but Boggs doesn’t seem to know it.

Kansas City 6, Minnesota 1--Another batter who usually gets going in June is George Brett. Brett, who flirted with .400 in 1980 before settling for a .390 average, was having his troubles and was below .250 through May.

In this game at Kansas City, Brett went 4 for 4 and drove in two runs to back Charlie Leibrandt’s six-hit pitching and keep the World Series champions hot on the tail of Western Division-leader Texas.

In his last three games, Brett is 9 for 14. He is 10 for 21 in June and has raised his average to .280.

All was not joy for the Royals. Pitcher Mark Gubicza was struck in the head by a thrown ball in pregame practice. He was taken to a hospital, and a CAT scan revealed a fracture of the bone above his right eye.

Baltimore 5, New York 2--As the Orioles began a 26-game stretch against Eastern Division rivals in this game at New York, they were, they said, in their best frame of mind.

Scott McGregor pitched a strong seven innings to beat Ron Guidry for the first time ever, and John Shelby and Cal Ripken hit home runs to make their frame of mind even better.

After McGregor, who was 0-5 against Guidry, held the Yankees to six hits, Don Aase finished up to earn his 15th save. Guidry (4-5) dropped his fourth in a row, the longest losing streak of his career.

The Orioles had lost 10 in a row at Yankee Stadium.

Texas 6, Seattle 5--The Rangers managed to hold onto their half-game lead when Oddibe McDowell doubled home Geno Petralli from first with one out in the 10th inning at Arlington, Tex.

The Rangers, who have won four in a row, trailed, 5-3, going into the ninth. With one out, Pete Incaviglia hit his 11th home run. The Rangers were down to their last out when Ruben Sierra, called up last Saturday, hit the third home run of his career.

Toronto 12, Detroit 2--Jesse Barfield hit a three-run home run in the second inning at Detroit, and the Blue Jays went on to rout the Tigers.

Doyle Alexander (4-2) gave up five hits in seven innings. He lost his shutout bid in the sixth when Darrell Evans hit a sacrifice fly to score Kirk Gibson.

Chicago 6, Oakland 4--Ozzie Guillen, Julio Cruz and John Cangelosi each drove in two runs at Chicago to help Richard Dotson (4-5) win his second game in a row.

Dotson, who underwent shoulder surgery last July, almost went the distance for the first time. But with one out in the ninth, he needed relief help.

Joaquin Andujar started for the A’s but reinjured a hamstring muscle after just 12 pitches and had to leave.