American League Roundup : Carter Goes 5 for 5 With 3 Home Runs to Power Indians Past Red Sox

Joe Carter hit three home runs and went 5 for 5 Friday night at Boston as the Cleveland Indians dealt the Red Sox pennant hopes another blow, 7-3.

With Toronto winning, the Red Sox’s lead in the Eastern Division was cut to 3 1/2 games, and the return to friendly Fenway Park did not turn out to be a blessing.

Although Jim Rice hit his 13th home run and Don Baylor his 26th (only his seventh at home), the Red Sox managed only four other hits off knuckleballer Tom Candiotti (13-9).

Cory Snyder also homered for the Indians, but it was Carter, in his finest offensive display, who led the assault on Tom Seaver (7-11).

In his second full season in the majors, Carter, 26, has blossomed into a star for the Indians. The right-handed-hitting outfielder joined the club in the middle of the 1984 season in the trade that sent Rick Sutcliffe to the Chicago Cubs. The deal won a division title for the Cubs, but, in the long run, it has helped Cleveland more.

Last season, while showing promise with 15 home runs, 59 runs batted in and a .262 average, Carter suffered with the team, which finished 42 games below .500 and 39 1/2 games out of first place.

This year, Carter and the Indians have improved considerably. The win over the slumping Red Sox put the Indians a game above .500 and 9 games out of first.

Carter now has 24 home runs, 90 RBIs and a .302 average.

“Coming to Cleveland meant having a chance to play every day in the majors,” Carter said. “I think we’ve developed as a team because there were a number of us so happy for the chance to play. We all wanted to show our appreciation.”

Toronto 6, Minnesota 5--The hustle of Jesse Barfield enabled the Blue Jays to avoid a double play in the ninth inning at Toronto and win their sixth in a row.

Cliff Johnson singled in the tying run in the ninth, and the Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out. Barfield grounded to shortstop, and the force-out was made at second base, but Tony Fernandez scored the winning run when Barfield made sure he beat the throw to first.

The ninth-inning rally made a winner instead of a loser out of relief pitcher Mark Eichhorn (12-4). He yielded a run in the top of the ninth to give the Twins a 5-4 lead.

Texas 5, Chicago 2--Charlie Hough, with eighth-inning help from Mitch Williams, improved his record to 12-8 and kept the Rangers in the hunt in the West.

Gene Petralli’s two-run single was the Rangers’ only hit in a four-run fifth inning at Chicago.

Hough gave up four hits, while Williams picked up his seventh save by retiring the last five White Sox.

Milwaukee 3, Kansas City 1--Ted Higuera struck out six and gave up only six hits at Kansas City to become the second pitcher in the majors this season to win 17 games. Roger Clemens of Boston was the first.

Higuera broke the Brewers’ club record for strikeouts with 170. The old mark was 169 by Marty Pattin in 1971.

Oakland 4-4, Baltimore 3-0--Dave Stewart (8-1) pitched a six-hitter in the second game at Oakland for his fourth win in a row, enabling the A’s to sweep their second consecutive doubleheader from the fading Orioles, who dropped into the cellar in the East, 10 games out of first place.

In the opener, Mike Davis hit two home runs and scored three times to pace the A’s. Thursday night, the A’s came from behind twice in the ninth to win, 5-4 and 8-7.