American League Roundup : Dotson’s Perfect Game Turns Into a Loss

Richard Dotson won 22 games for the Chicago White Sox in 1983 when he was only 24. The big right-hander was a key pitcher on a young staff that led the Sox to 99 wins that season.

The future seemed bright for Dotson and the White Sox. It wasn’t. While Dotson struggled with arm and other ailments, the White Sox, too, fell on hard times.

After two years of agony, the strength returned this season to Dotson’s arm. For a while Sunday at Chicago, he was in a position to recapture the glory days.

When he struck out Dave Winfield to open the eighth inning, Dotson had a 2-0 lead and was only five outs away from pitching a perfect game.

Fate intervened and Dotson not only didn’t get a perfect game, he lost, 5-2, and his record fell to 7-7.

Mike Pagliarulo followed Winfield with a line single over second baseman Fred Manrique’s outstretched glove to end the string of outs at 22. Then, Mike Easler doubled down the right-field line, moving Pagliarulo to third.

Dotson became the loser when, with two out, Dan Pasqua, a .199 hitter, clubbed a three-run homer. It was only Pasqua’s fourth hit in 17 at-bats since being recalled from the minors.

It mattered not that the Yankees made certain they ended their four-game losing streak when Gary Ward and Winfield homered in the ninth to chase Dotson, Pasqua had already broken his heart.

“Well, I guess I didn’t have that good of stuff,” the dejected Dotson said. “I gave up five runs and we only got two. I pitched pretty well early but made a couple of bad pitches with the change late in the game.

“I wasn’t really thinking about a no-hitter. You can’t do that when you’re only ahead, two-zip. You have to go out and get ‘em.”

The crowd of 22,762 cheered Dotson’s every pitch from the sixth inning until Pagliarulo hit a high change-up for the single that broke the no-hitter.

There have been 14 perfect games in major league history, the last by Mike Witt of the Angels on Sept. 30, 1984.

Kansas City 4, Baltimore 0-- Charlie Leibrandt fired a two-hitter as the Royals ended the Orioles 11-game winning streak.

“I was never confident of ending their streak,” Leibrandt (10-8) said, “until I was sure that Eddie Murray or Cal Ripken wouldn’t be coming up in the ninth with a chance to tie the game.”

The first hit off the veteran left-hander was a sixth-inning single by Ken Gerhart. Billy Ripken, the younger brother of Cal Ripken Jr., singled in the ninth for Baltimore’s other hit.

It was Leibrandt’s second shutout of the season and only Kansas City’s fourth win in its last 18 games.

Lonnie Smith provided the offensive punch against Ken Dixon (3-8), who lost his sixth in a row. Smith had four hits, including his first home run since rejoining the Royals.

Boston 11, Seattle 1--Roger Clemens was battling the flu at Boston, but it was the Mariners who suffered.

Clemens, who struck out a major league record 20 Mariners in April, 1986, struck out 14 Seattle hitters and pitched an eight-hitter to improve his record to 10-8.

“Everything was working,” Clemens said. “I was getting the ball where I wanted it. It was a good day.”

It was also a good day for several Red Sox hitters. Wade Boggs came out of a slump with a 4-for-4 performance, including his 18th home run; rookie Sam Horn homered for the second day in a row and Dwight Evans hit his 20th home run.

Milwaukee 7, Oakland 4--Paul Molitor stole second, third and home in the first inning at Milwaukee, the first player in the league to accomplish the feat since 1974.

Dave Nelson of Texas did it Aug. 30, 1974. Dusty Baker, then with the Giants, did it June 27, 1984.

Molitor stole home on the front end of a double steal with Robin Yount and the run started Ted Higuera (10-7) on his way to victory.

Toronto 4, Minnesota 2--Jimmy Key (11-6) held the Twins to four hits in 8 innings at Toronto and George Bell went 4 for 4. Bell scored the winning run in the eighth inning on Bert Blyleven’s wild pitch.

Blyleven struck out 12, but threw 140 pitches on a hot, humid day.

Key had retired 17 out of 18 batters when he hit Kirby Puckett with two out in the ninth. He asked to be taken out and Tom Henke struck out Gary Gaetti for his league-leading 21st save.

Texas 11, Cleveland 3--The Rangers, sneaking into the wide-open race in the West, hammered five home runs at Cleveland and moved to within 4 1/2 games of first.

Bob Brower and Pete Incaviglia each hit two home runs and Ruben Sierra hit the other to help rookie Paul Kilgus earn his first victory.