American League Roundup : Rice Gets Hot, Boggs Stays Hot for Red Sox

Jim Rice, gripped in a season-long hitting slump, took an extra 1 1/2 hours of batting practice. Wade Boggs just did what has worked mostly all season.

In other words, everything seemed to come together offensively as the Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 9-5, Tuesday at Boston.

Rice led the way with three singles, including a two-run shot off the wall in left-center that capped a six-run sixth inning. Rookie Ellis Burks also hit a three-run home run. Rice raised his average eight points to .258.

“I’ve been killing the team,” Rice said. “This is just a start.

“I’ll work some more the next couple of days in the cage under the bleachers and go from there. The (automatic) pitching machine has been broken, but now that it’s fixed I want to use it as much as I can. It helps lay the foundation for what I want to do at bat in a game.”

Boggs extended his hitting streak to 24 games, tops in the major leagues this season, with an RBI single for Boston’s first run in the fifth. He went 1 for 3 and his average remained at .380.

New York 2, Baltimore 1--Relief pitcher Doug Corbett, the former Angel, was making his debut in a Baltimore uniform, but it didn’t fool an old nemesis, Gary Ward.

Ward, who came into the game with a career 5-for-5 mark against Corbett, including two home runs, hit a two-out, eighth-inning homer off him to give the Yankees a victory at Baltimore.

“I don’t know all that stuff . . . I’m not a stats man,” Ward said. “I’m just out there hacking.”

The loss was the 22nd in the last 25 games for the Orioles, who had signed Corbett earlier in the day, while the Yankees won their ninth in their last 12.

Rick Rhoden (9-4) had battled through the first seven innings against Mark Williamson, a 27-year-old rookie making his first major league start and only the third of his six-year pro career. He last started in a 1984 Class-A game.

Rhoden, who was warned in the seventh for scuffing baseballs, allowed three hits during his seven-inning stint, including a leadoff homer by Terry Kennedy in the sixth, which ended his bid for a perfect game and tied the score, 1-1.

Dave Righetti pitched the final two innings for the Yankees to pick up his 15th save.

Minnesota 9, Cleveland 4--Gary Gaetti drove in four runs with his 15th home run and a double, and Mike Smithson won his first game since April 20 to lead the Twins at Minneapolis.

Indian first baseman Joe Carter suffered a broken nose when he was hit in the face by a pitched ball from reliever Keith Atherton in the seventh inning.

Chicago 13, Seattle 3--Carlton Fisk and Harold Baines each had a home run and a pair of singles at Chicago as the White Sox had a season-high 18 hits in a victory over the Mariners.

“For quite a few days and maybe the whole month of June we haven’t had the opportunities to hit-and-run, squeeze and do the things that turn managers into geniuses,” Fisk said.

The victory was only the fifth in the last 23 games for the White Sox, while the Mariners lost for only the second time in their last eight games.

Toronto 8, Detroit 7--Willie Upshaw hit a grand slam, Fred McGriff hit a two-run homer and George Bell hit his major league-leading 24th homer to power the Blue Jays at Detroit.

Dave Stieb (6-4) allowed six hits in 6 innings for his third win in four starts. Tom Henke, the fifth Toronto pitcher, earned his 13th save despite allowing a two-run homer to Alan Trammell in the ninth.

Jeff Robinson (4-4) took the loss for the Tigers.

Kansas City 4, Oakland 0--Mark Gubicza fired a three-hit shutout, did not allow any runners past second base, and George Brett supplied most of the offense with three RBIs to lift the Royals at Oakland.

Gubicza (5-8) struck out a career-high 10 and retired the last 16 batters.