American League Roundup : Ball Lost in Sun, So Is Game

The sun was shining on the Blue Jays in the fourth inning Monday night at Toronto, but it proved to be their undoing in a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

With Detroit’s Bill Madlock on first base and one out in a scoreless game, Alan Trammell hit a line drive that right fielder Jesse Barfield never saw.

The ball hit in front of Barfield and skipped to the fence, giving Trammell his first triple of the season. Trammell, who leads the American League with a .357 average and extended his hitting streak to 20 games, longest in the majors this season, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Larry Herndon.

“I just never saw the ball,” said Barfield, a Gold Glove winner last year. “If the ball doesn’t get above the stands here, you just don’t have a chance.

“If it had been another few feet in my direction, it would have killed me. I just never saw it. If I had seen the ball I would have caught it.”

The bizarre blow pinned a loss on Jimmy Key, who pitched a four-hitter. Key (8-4) retired 16 straight batters after Trammell’s hit. He struck out 6 and did not walk a batter.

Walt Terrell and two relievers checked Toronto on five hits. Terrell (5-6) gave up 4 hits in 7 innings, struck out 4 and walked 3.

The Tigers have won four in a row and 22 of their last 30 games. The Blue Jays lost their second straight after a team-record 11-game winning streak.

New York 9, Baltimore 2--Mike Pagliarulo drove in four runs, and Mike Easler went 4 for 5 and drove in a run at Yankee Stadium to hand the Orioles their 11th loss in 12 games.

Pagliarulo hit a three-run double during a four-run sixth inning that made the score 9-2. He also had an RBI groundout in the second. Easler is 7 for 14 since the Yankees acquired him last week in a trade with Philadelphia.

Tommy John (7-2) got the victory despite being forced to leave the game in the sixth inning with a cramp in his left calf. The 44-year-old left-hander gave up two runs on seven hits in 5 innings.

The Yankees have won 10 of the 12 starts John has made this season. Pat Clements replaced John and allowed only two hits over the last 3 innings to earn his second save.

Oakland 7, Kansas City 6--Tony Phillips hit a two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning at Kansas City that powered the A’s past the Royals in a game that featured six home runs.

After the Royals took a 6-5 lead in the eighth on Kevin Seitzer’s RBI single, pinch-hitter Luis Polonia opened the Oakland ninth with an infield single off the glove of losing pitcher Steve Farr (2-2). One out later, Phillips connected for his seventh home run to make it 7-6.

Right fielder Mike Davis preserved the lead in the bottom of the ninth by throwing out Danny Tartabull at the plate. Tartabull tried to score from second on Bo Jackson’s one-out single.

Tartabull’s home run in the fourth broke a string of 25 scoreless innings for the Royals, who were shut out Saturday and Sunday by the Angels. The Royals beat the Angels last Friday night, 1-0, scoring the run in the fourth inning.

Minnesota 5, Milwaukee 0--Bert Blyleven pitched a four-hitter for his 55th shutout, and Randy Bush hit a three-run homer at Milwaukee to spark the Twins to their ninth victory in 10 games.

Blyleven (5-5) pitched his 29th shutout for the Twins, extending his team record. It marked the first time in 21 starts this season that Blyleven had not allowed a home run. Blyleven, who struck out six and walked two in his third complete game of the season, ran his record against Milwaukee to 20-13.

Seattle 8, Chicago 2--Domingo Ramos hit a three-run, inside-the-park homer, and Lee Guetterman and Jerry Reed combined on a five-hitter at Seattle.

The Mariners were leading, 5-2, in the sixth with two runners on base when Ramos hit a fly ball that glanced off the glove of right fielder Ivan Calderon as he collided with center fielder Ken Williams. Calderon and Williams were shaken, and the ball rolled to the wall. Ramos scored by the time second baseman Fred Manrique retrieved it.