American League Roundup : Niekro and Berenguer Combine to Defeat White Sox

Joe Niekro, who was traded to the Minnesota Twins by the New York Yankees June 6, said Sunday he’s glad he is finally with a team where he can relax and enjoy himself.

“I haven’t had that much fun in the last couple years. There was more pressure in New York,” Niekro said after he and Juan Berenguer combined on a five-hitter as the Twins beat the White Sox, 6-3, at Chicago. It was Niekro’s second victory since joining the team.

The Twins, who lead the American League West, have won eight of their last nine.

Tim Laudner, batting only .180, hit a grand slam in the second inning off Jose DeLeon (4-6) to give Minnesota a 4-0 lead. The Twins added a fifth run in the inning on Kent Hrbek’s RBI single.

“I wanted to hit it in the outfield somewhere,” Laudner said. “It was a fastball, right over (the plate).”

Chicago Manager Jim Fregosi said DeLeon, who lasted only 1 innings, got behind on the count too often and walked too many hitters.

Minnesota Manager Tom Kelly said he took Niekro out after the sixth because he didn’t think Niekro had a good knuckleball.

Said Laudner: “After watching somebody like Niekro throw 67 miles an hour for six innings, and then having to watch Berenguer throwing 90 miles an hour, I’m sure it threw off the White Sox batters.”

Niekro (5-4) gave up three runs and five hits in earning his 218th career win. He and Cleveland pitcher Phil Niekro--the winningest combination of brother pitchers in baseball history--now have 534 victories between them.

Berenguer retired the last nine Chicago batters for his second save.

Chicago scored three runs in the fourth on Ivan Calderon’s two-run double and Donnie Hill’s run-scoring single.

The Twins took a 6-3 lead when Tom Brunansky scored from second base on Laudner’s sacrifice fly. Kenny Williams, who caught it, slipped after making the catch and had trouble throwing the ball to the plate.

Seattle 4, Cleveland 3--Jim Presley hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Mariners the victory at Seattle.

Presley hit his 14th home run over the right-field fence against Rich Yett (1-5), the fourth Cleveland pitcher. Winner Edwin Nunez (2-1) pitched a scoreless 10th after Seattle starter Mike Morgan had gone the first nine innings, allowing three runs on 11 hits.

Texas 5, Oakland 1--Charlie Hough pitched a three-hitter and Pete O’Brien homered as the Rangers won at Arlington, Tex., ending the A’s five-game winning streak.

Hough (6-2) allowed only an unearned run. He struck out eight, walked one and pitched his fourth complete game. Eric Plunk (1-3) took the loss despite a career-high 11 strikeouts in six innings.

Geno Petralli went 3 for 3 with a double, scored twice and drove in two runs. The Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the first when Petralli singled with one out and O’Brien hit his 15th homer.

Baltimore 8, Toronto 5--Ray Knight, Cal Ripken Jr. and Jim Dwyer hit home runs as the Orioles broke a 10-game losing streak by beating the Blue Jays at Baltimore.

The loss snapped Toronto’s club-record 11-game winning streak but still left the Blue Jays with a 6-1 record on the trip, the most successful in club history. During the trip, Toronto outscored Baltimore and New York, 51-24.

Dave Schmidt (7-1) won in only his seventh start in his last 197 major league appearances. He allowed Jesse Barfield’s 17th homer leading off the second inning and was removed during a three-run eighth that pulled Toronto within one at 5-4.

Knight’s two-run homer snapped a 1-1 tie in the sixth. Knight connected for the homer, his seventh, off reliever Mark Eichhorn (8-3) after a single by Eddie Murray. Ripken’s 16th homer, a two-run shot, knocked Eichhorn out of the game in the seventh.

Dwyer hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in the eighth against Tom Henke.

Detroit 2, Boston 1--Mike Heath singled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning, and Jack Morris won his eighth straight as the Tigers beat the Red Sox at Detroit and swept the three-game series.

Detroit shortstop Alan Trammell extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a leadoff single in the seventh. Boston third baseman Wade Boggs, who trails Trammell by 10 points in the American League batting race, extended his hitting streak to 16 with a run-scoring triple in the first.

With the score tied, 1-1, in the eighth inning, Trammell drew a two-out walk off Boston starter Bruce Hurst (7-5). Larry Herndon singled Trammell to second and Heath, who hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh, lined an 0-2 pitch up the middle for an RBI single.

Morris (9-2) allowed six hits and struck out 10. His winning streak is the longest in the league this season.

Hurst, who left after Heath’s single, has not won in Tiger Stadium since April 26, 1980, losing six times in that span.

With one out in the Boston seventh, Mike Greenwell broke a scoreless tie by hitting a 2-1 pitch from Morris over the left-field fence. It was Greenwell’s seventh homer.

But the Tigers tied it in the bottom of the seventh when Trammell scored on Heath’s sacrifice fly.

Milwaukee 6, New York 4--Bill Schroeder hit a two-run home run, and Dale Sveum hit a bases-empty homer in the ninth inning to give the Brewers a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over the Yankees at New York.

The Brewers, trailing, 4-3, after New York’s four-run eighth, scored three runs in the ninth off reliever Dave Righetti (4-3). Sveum started the rally with a one-out homer, his seventh of the season, and Schroeder followed Glenn Braggs’ single with his third home run.

Dan Plesac (3-0), who is tied for the league lead with 13 saves, failed to protect the Brewers’ 3-1 lead in the eighth. He hit pinch-hitter Lenn Sakata with a pitch with the bases loaded and then allowed a two-run single by Rick Cerone, who was mired in a 1-for-19 slump, giving the Yankees a 4-3 lead.

Milwaukee starter Teddy Higuera allowed five hits in seven-plus innings, struck out six and walked three.

Schroeder, who went 4 for 4, doubled home the Brewers’ first run in the second off New York starter Ron Guidry. Guidry, making his seventh appearance and second start, gave up only four hits in six innings, struck out six and walked none.

With the Brewers ahead, 1-0, in the eighth, Jim Gantner followed Schroeder’s leadoff single off reliever Tim Stoddard with his fourth homer.