American League Roundup : Viola Struggles With Control but Beats A’s, 9-4

Although Frank Viola walked six batters in seven innings Thursday night, his less-than-masterful performance made him believe he’s becoming a pitcher who can win despite some adversity.

“I’m starting to become a complete pitcher. Now I’m not just a thrower,” Viola said after pitching Minnesota to a 9-4 victory over Oakland that moved the Twins back into first place in the American League West, one game ahead of the A’s.

“I didn’t have my best stuff,” said Viola, who is 10-2 in his last 15 starts and 12-7 overall. “My windup was out of sync, and I was rushing tonight. This makes me a better pitcher. Basically, I had nothing and I got by. I feel really good.”

Even though Viola struggled to get the ball over the plate, the A’s struggled even more trying to score. Oakland had 7 hits and 8 walks but stranded 14 runners.

“Every inning we had guys on, and they had guys on,” Oakland Manager Tony LaRussa said. “We both had our chances, but they capitalized and we didn’t.”

The game was billed as a pitching duel as the A’s sent Dave Stewart to the mound with a seven-game winning streak, including a 3-2 victory over Viola last Saturday. Stewart (14-8) lasted only 3 innings this time, allowing 5 of the 11 walks yielded by Oakland pitching.

“Everybody expected a low-scoring game,” Twin Manager Tom Kelly said. “You can’t figure it out. That’s what’s so good about this game.”

Viola got home-run support from Kent Hrbek and Tim Laudner plus Kirby Puckett’s three-run double.

Stewart allowed 7 runs--5 earned--and 4 hits in 3 innings.

Detroit 12, New York 5--Darrell Evans hit a two-run double as the Tigers jumped ahead with four runs in the first inning, and Frank Tanana kept the Yankees in check for seven innings at Detroit.

The victory moved the third-place Tigers within two games of the leading Yankees in the East.

The Tigers chased Ron Guidry (3-5) with a six-run third inning and eventually built a 5-1 lead.

Tanana (12-7), who beat the Yankees in New York last Saturday, used his assortment of off-speed pitches to strike out seven while walking one. The only run he allowed came on Gary Ward’s 13th homer in the second.

Detroit’s Willie Hernandez gave up four runs in the eighth, including rookie Roberto Kelly’s first major league homer, a three-run shot.

Bill Madlock hit a two-run double in the Detroit third, and Mike Heath hit a two-run homer to make it 12-1 in the sixth.

Cleveland 14, Toronto 5--Pinch- hitter Casey Parsons hit a grand slam, and Cory Snyder and Jay Bell also hit home runs as the Indians cooled off the Blue Jays at Cleveland.

Parsons’ homer, his first this season and the second of his career, came on the second pitch from reliever Mark Eichhorn in the sixth and gave the Indians their third four-run inning of the game.

The setback prevented the Blue Jays, who had won 8 of 10 games, from moving into first place in the AL East. They remain one-half game behind New York.

Cleveland starter Scott Bailes (5-4) gave up 3 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings and got relief from Doug Jones, Ed Vande Berg and Sammy Stewart.

Jim Clancy (10-8) retired only one of the six batters he faced during Cleveland’s four-run first inning. The Indians also scored four runs in the fifth.

Toronto’s George Bell hit a two-run double in the first inning, extending his hitting streak to 11 games and increasing his RBI total to 92.

Milwaukee 11, Baltimore 8--Robin Yount’s two-run triple capped a five-run fourth inning at Milwaukee, and the Brewers beat the Orioles for the ninth time without a loss this season.

Fred Lynn hit a three-run homer in the third, and Brewer third baseman Steve Kiefer committed a two-run throwing error on Cal Ripken Jr.’s bases-loaded grounder in the fourth to help the Orioles build a 6-3 lead before Milwaukee broke loose.

Milwaukee’s Paul Molitor had a run-scoring single in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to 20 games, second longest in the majors this season.

Before the game, the Orioles announced that the suspension of second baseman Alan Wiggins for insubordination will last three games. Wiggins, who has appealed to the Major League Players Assn., was involved in a scuffle with teammate Jim Dwyer and an argument with Manager Cal Ripken Tuesday night.