Major League Roundup : Reggie’s Home Run Leads A’s Past Brewers, 4-1

Reggie Jackson hit a two-run homer, and Dave Stewart and Jay Howell combined to pitch a three-hitter as the Oakland A’s beat Milwaukee, 4-1, Thursday afternoon at Oakland. The loss was just the third of the season for the Brewers.

The Brewers’ 18-3 opening-month record is the second-best in major league history, behind the 18-2 record by the 1984 Detroit Tigers. Milwaukee started the season with 13 consecutive victories.

Jackson hit his homer deep into the right-field bleachers in the third inning with one runner on. It was Jackson’s third home run in the last five days, fourth of the season, 552nd of his career and 61st against Milwaukee--more than he has hit against any other team.

Milwaukee, which brought a .304 team batting average into the game, scored its only run in the second inning, when Rob Deer walked and came home on Cecil Cooper’s double.

Seattle 11, Boston 2--Jim Presley hit two home runs and Scott Bankhead held Boston to five hits as the Mariners beat the Red Sox at Seattle in a game which featured two bench-clearing incidents and a full-scale brawl.

Bankhead (4-1) struck out seven and walked one. Loser Bruce Hurst (2-3) was roughed up for seven runs in 3 innings as the Red Sox lost for the sixth time in their last seven games.

In the fourth inning, Bankhead hit Mike Greenwell on the wrist, and Greenwell charged the mound, but no punches were thrown.

In the seventh, Boston’s Steve Crawford hit Presley in the ankle. Presley started for the mound but was wrestled down by catcher Marc Sullivan. Many individual fights broke out and both Crawford and Red Sox Manager John McNamara were ejected.

New York 11, Montreal 3--Rick Aguilera gave up three runs on three hits in the first inning at New York, but then held the Expos hitless for the final eight innings while receiving 13-hit, 4-home run support from his Met teammates.

Aguilera (2-1) struck out seven, walked two and allowed the fewest hits in a game in his three-year career. He retired 15 consecutive batters in one stretch, and no Expo reached second base after the first inning.

Keith Hernandez and Howard Johnson hit three-run homers for New York, Kevin McReynolds added a two-run shot, and Dave Magadan had a solo blast. Every Mets starter had at least one hit.

St. Louis 5, San Diego 4--Rod Booker had a pair of hits and drove in two runs in his second major league game to lead the Cardinals at St. Louis.

Booker, 28, starting at second base in place of the injured Tom Herr and Jose Oquendo, got the first RBI of his career after receiving a bases-loaded walk from Storm Davis (0-4) in the third.

San Francisco 5, Chicago 4--Pinch-hitter Harry Spilman’s line single to center drove home Chris Speier from third with one out in the top of the ninth inning at Chicago, snapping a 4-4 tie and giving the Giants a team record-tying 10th straight one-run victory to start the season.