American League Roundup : Mohorcic’s Streak Ends; Royals Beat Rangers

It’s over for Texas reliever Dale Mohorcic, his streak of consecutive appearances stopping at 13 after he did not appear in the Rangers’ 4-3 defeat to the Kansas City Royals Thursday night at Kansas City.

On Wednesday night, Mohorcic made his 13th straight appearance to tie the major league record set by former Dodger reliever Mike Marshall in 1974. Mohorcic’s streak began on Aug. 6.

His record-tying effort Wednesday night was somewhat tainted because Texas Manager Bobby Valentine inserted him even though he wasn’t needed. With Charlie Hough pitching a three-hitter, Mohorcic came in to get the last out of a 7-1 Ranger victory.

In Thursday’s loss, Ranger starter Ed Correa (7-11) pitched six innings of seven-hit ball, but gave up home runs to Steve Balboni and Frank White. Correa has allowed five homers in his last three starts.

But instead of replacing Correa with Mohorcic, Valentine brought in Mitch Williams, who did not allow a hit in the final two innings.

Texas fell five games behind the first-place Angels in the American League West.

Balboni hit his 27th home run with two out in the third for a 2-0 Kansas City lead.

White hit a 435-foot home run to left-center leading off the fifth inning to snap a 3-3 tie, and Charlie Leibrandt (10-10) held on for his sixth complete game and his first victory since July 12. Leibrandt allowed seven hits and struck out five as he became Royals’ first 10-game winner this season.

In the fourth inning, the Rangers’ Larry Parrish hit the first inside-the-park home run of his career and his 19th homer of the season after Pete Incaviglia reached first on a two-out fielding error by Leibrandt. Center fielder Willie Wilson leaped for Parrish’s drive in front of the 410-foot sign but the ball hit him in the face and he lay stunned as Parrish circled the bases to tie the score, 2-2.

Chicago 4, Toronto 3--Ozzie Guillen knocked in Jerry Hairston with a ninth-inning single at Toronto as the White Sox snapped the Blue Jays’ five-game winning streak.

Hairston opened the ninth with a double off loser Jimmy Key (11-9) and moved to third on Russ Morman’s sacrifice bunt.

Guillen poked his game-winning hit up the middle through a drawn-in infield to make a winner of Dave Schmidt (1-4). Gene Nelson got the final out to get his fifth save.

Pinch-hitter Carlton Fisk hit a three-run homer in the seventh to give Chicago a 3-2 lead.

Fisk was caught off guard. “I was down in the bullpen when they told me that I was wanted in the dugout,” he said. “I didn’t believe them. I thought they were messing around and they just wanted me to run down from the bullpen and run back.”

The scheduled doubleheader between the A’s and Orioles at Baltimore was postponed due to rain, as was the game between the Mariners and Yankees in New York.