American League Roundup : Bean Earns His Stripes, Gets 4 Hits in Debut to Lead Tigers to 13-2 Win

The Tigers hit four home runs Saturday at Detroit, and Jack Morris won another game, but the big story at Tiger Stadium was Billy Bean.

The former Loyola Marymount and Santa Ana High School outfielder had the kind of major league debut that usually occurs only in dreams.

Bean, who arrived from Toledo of the International League a few hours before the game with Kansas City, had hits in his first three at-bats, finished 4 for 6 and played a major role in the Tigers’ 13-2 rout of the Kansas City Royals.

Before his big day was over, the 22-year-old left-handed hitter had scored two runs, driven in another and received a standing ovation from a crowd of 18,052, which was chanting his name.

“I’ll tell you, 18,000 is the most fans I’ve ever played in front of,” said Bean, who had half a season of Double-A ball after graduation from Loyola last year. “It can get you pumped. I’d really love it if they treated me this warmly every day.

“This game doesn’t make a season, though. This is a big day for me, but tomorrow’s just as important to the team.”

Bean’s debut overshadowed home runs by Alan Trammell, Dave Bergman, Darrell Evans and Tom Brookens, as well as the five-hitter by Morris and relievers Eric King and Jeff Robinson.

The hitting of Bean, who was driven to Detroit late Friday night by a Toledo teammate and had only a few hours of sleep, wasn’t what impressed Manager Sparky Anderson the most.

“I’ll tell you what’s the best thing Bean did,” Anderson said. “He backed up third base on a throw from right field. You haven’t seen a left fielder on this team do that in five years.” Bean played 80 games for Glens Falls, N.Y., of the Double-A Eastern League last summer. He batted .276, hit 8 home runs and drove in 49 runs. Moved up to Triple-A this season, he was hitting only .231 in 11 games but had 3 home runs and 9 runs batted in.

As the Tigers’ leadoff man, Bean doubled on a 1-and-1 pitch by Mark Gubicza to start a two-run rally. He singled again in the third, and his two-out single in the fourth helped the Tigers build a 7-0 lead.

The four hits tied an American League record for hits in a debut in a nine-inning game. The major league record was set by Hall of Famer Fred Clarke, who had five with Louisville of the National League in 1894.

Milwaukee 8, Baltimore 2--Bill Wegman must think he’s pitching for a different team. As a rookie with the Brewers last season, Wegman, a 6-5 right-hander, was 5-12 and had 15 no-decisions.

The Brewers, on their way to their 15th win in 16 games, staked Wegman to a 5-0 first-inning lead and he breezed to his second win without a loss.

A three-run home run by catcher B. J. Surhoff highlighted the first inning.

Cleveland 2, New York 1--After the wild finish Friday night at Cleveland (a 6-5 Indian win), Manager Pat Corrales said the hair on the right side of his head turned from black to gray. After this finish, the other side must have also turned gray.

Frank Wills, brought back from the minors 24 hours earlier, struck out Dave Winfield with the bases loaded on a slider to end the game and save the victory for Scott Bailes.

The Yankees left 12 runners on base as they threatened in every inning and scored only in the second--when Lenn Sakata, in a rare start at third base, hit his first home run since Sept. 14, 1985.

Oakland 7, Seattle 3--Mark McGwire and Scott Bankhead were teammates on the U. S. Olympic baseball team.

Now they’re on opposite sides. In this game at Oakland, McGwire’s two-run home run in the third inning sent Bankhead (3-1) on his way to his first defeat.

McGwire drove in another run, and Stan Javier had three hits. Dennis Eckersley pitched 2 innings for his first save in 11 years.

Texas 2, Boston 1--Bob Brower is proving to be more than just an adequate replacement for Oddibe McDowell, the Rangers’ injured center fielder.

In this game at Arlington, Tex., Brower made two outstanding catches in the outfield, then followed Jerry Browne’s triple in the seventh inning with a game-winning single.

Jose Guzman pitched a five-hitter to beat Bruce Hurst, who also went the distance and gave up seven hits.

Chicago 5, Toronto 4--Tom Henke threw one ball, and it gave the White Sox the victory at Chicago. With the bases loaded and a 3-and-1 count on Greg Walker, Henke replaced Mark Eichhorn. The pitch was low and outside, forcing in the winning run.

Gary Redus opened the inning with a double and was sacrificed to third. Two intentional walks loaded the bases with two out.