Baseball Roundup : Mattingly Gets Two Hits, Can’t Overtake Boggs

Don Mattingly was realistic. Going 6 for 6 to win the American League batting championship on the final day of the regular season was a little too much.

So Mattingly decided he just wanted to do well--and that’s what he did Sunday by driving in three runs with a homer and a double to lead the New York Yankees to a 7-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Boston.

Yankee rookie Scott Nielsen (4-4) shut out the Red Sox on five hits.

Mattingly, moved up to the leadoff spot in the order to give him more at-bats, went 2 for 5 with a walk, finishing the year with a .352 average.

Boston’s Wade Boggs won his third American League batting title in four years with a .357 average after sitting out the last four games of the season because of a right hamstring tear. Boggs is expected to start in Game 1 of the American League playoffs at Boston on Tuesday night against the Angels.

Mattingly said: “The game was meaningless and I didn’t think I had a realistic chance of going 6 for 6 and finishing just ahead of Boggs. All I tried to do was hit the ball hard.”

Mattingly led off the game with his 31st homer. He later hit his 53rd double, breaking the team record of 52 set by Lou Gehrig in 1927.

Boggs said: “Every time he was up there I was going cuckoo. I was on the edge of my seat with every at-bat. Don’s a great hitter. He kept saying there was no way he could do it (go 6 for 6), but deep down I thought he could.”

Boston, swept in four games for the first time this year, ended with a 95-66 record. The Yankees were second in the AL East with a 90-72 record, 5 1/2 games behind the Red Sox.

Detroit 6, Baltimore 3--The big news came after this game at Baltimore when the Orioles scheduled a news conference for today. The Associated Press reported that coach Carl Ripken Sr., who has been in the Oriole organization for 30 years, will be named manager.

Ripken will replace Earl Weaver, who retired. Ripken was passed over for the job twice previously, when Weaver retired at the end of the 1982 season and again when successor Joe Altobelli was fired in June, 1985. Instead, Weaver was persuaded by team owner Edward Bennett Williams to end his 2 1/2 years of retirement.

The Orioles, finishing last for the first time in theirhistory, lost 42 of their final 56 games.

Oakland 6, Kansas City 0--Curt Young retired the first 20 Kansas City batters and finished with a one-hitter as the A’s won at Oakland. Kevin Seitzer’s infield single with two out in the seventh inning was all that stood between Young (13-9) and a perfect game. Seitzer hit a chopper to third and beat the throw by a step. Bret Saberhagen took the loss to finish 7-12.

Milwaukee 4-2, Toronto 3-1--Dale Sveum singled home the tie-breaking run with two outs in the ninth inning, giving the Brewers a victory in the second game of a doubleheader at Toronto. In the first game, Robin Yount’s two-out single in the eighth scored Jim Gantner from second base for the victory. Mark Clear recorded saves in both games.

Cleveland 4, Seattle 2--Brook Jacoby’s RBI single broke a seventh-inning tie and Tom Candiotti (16-12) pitched his American League-leading 17th complete game as the Indians won at Cleveland. The Indians finished with four straight victories and an 84-78 record, their best since going 86-75 in 1968.

Minnesota 3, Chicago 0--Frank Viola (16-13) pitched a two-hitter at Minneapolis to register his first shutout since Aug. 12, 1984.

New York Mets 9, Pittsburgh 0--Darryl Strawberry hit a grand slam and Ron Darling and Sid Fernandez combined on a four-hitter as the Mets won at New York for their 108th victory. Gary Carter and Ray Knight also homered for the Mets, who matched the 1975 Cincinnati Reds for the best record in the National League, 108-54, since division play began in 1969.

Houston 4, Atlanta 1--Five Houston pitchers combined on a four-hitter at Houston and Jose Cruz hit a two-run double as the Astros won their fifth straight to finish 96-56, best in their history. Houston won the division in 1980 with a 93-70 record.

Chicago 8, St. Louis 1--Jody Davis and Brian Dayett hit home runs and Guy Hoffman combined with rookie Drew Hall on a seven-hitter as the Cubs won the first game of a scheduled doubleheader at Chicago. The second game was canceled due to darkness in the second inning with no score.

San Diego 2, Cincinnati 1--Andy Hawkins (10-8) pitched a three-hitter over eight innings at Cincinnati for his first victory in six weeks. The Padres collected four hits and both runs off Chris Welsh (6-9) in the first inning.

Philadelphia 2, Montreal 1--Luis Aguayo scored on Dann Bilardello’s passed ball in the 10th inning as the Phillies won at Philadelphia.