American League Roundup : No Place Like Home for the Twins

Sparky Anderson professes to be ignorant of a home-field advantage in baseball.

“I don’t play any different in any ballparks anywhere,” the Detroit Tigers manager said. “I’m just not smart enough to do that.”

By Anderson’s criteria, the Minnesota Twins must be the most clever team in baseball. The Twins returned home from an 0-6 trip Monday night to beat the Tigers, 5-4, on Kent Hrbek’s bases-loaded single in the ninth inning.

The win gave the Twins a 43-18 record in the Metrodome, the best home record in baseball, which is why they still lead the American League West by two games despite a 24-42 road record. The Tigers still lead the East by percentage points over the Toronto Blue Jays.

“It’s a big night just to put an end to the skid,” said Steve Lombardozzi, who scored the winning run after driving home the tying run in the seventh. “We had a talk before the game, and nobody was going to try to be Superman. We are all in this together.”

Hrbek’s deciding hit came off Tiger reliever Willie Hernandez. Twin reliever Jeff Reardon (6-6) pitched out of a ninth-inning jam to put away the Tigers, who left 11 men on base.

Tiger leadoff batter Lou Whitaker was ejected in the first inning by umpire Dave Phillips for disputing a ball-strike call. Whitaker had a 3-and-0 count, then took three straight called strikes.

Darrell Evans hit his 25th home run for Detroit, which had swept a three-game series from the Twins in Tiger Stadium last week.

Chicago 6, Boston 3--Ex-Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk hit a home run, the 100th of his career at Fenway Park, and Greg Walker hit a two-run home run, handing Red Sox left-hander Bruce Hurst (14-8) only his second loss in 13 decisions at home this season.

Fisk, who entered the game hitting .312 with 21 home runs and 51 RBIs against his former teammates, homered to the deepest part of center field in the sixth inning.

“I think I still can hit if I play on a regular basis,” said Fisk, who is in his seventh season with the White Sox after signing as a free agent in 1981.

Jose DeLeon (7-11) beat the Red Sox for the second time in a week, with help from reliever Bobby Thigpen, who struck out Dwight Evans with the bases loaded in the seventh. The White Sox have won two straight for the first time since Aug. 2.

Texas 4, Kansas City 2--Bobby Witt, who has gone longer without a complete game than any active pitcher in the big leagues, came within five outs of going the distance before yielding to Mitch Williams in the Rangers’ win over the Royals.

Witt blamed the switch from Texas heat (100-degrees plus) to Kansas City cool (60-65) for his inability to go all the way.

“I was stiffening up every inning,” said Witt, who allowed just three hits but walked eight. “When I went out there in the eighth, I could feel the elbow stiffening up. It was a struggle all night.”

Witt has gone 49 starts without a complete game.

Bo Jackson, the Royal rookie and Raider signee, pinch-hit in the ninth and struck out. Jackson is hitless in his last 15 at-bats, including 12 strikeouts.

Oakland 7, Baltimore 3--The Athletics scored five runs in the sixth inning, two coming on Terry Steinbach’s bases-loaded single and two more on Luis Polonia’s triple, to overtake the Orioles at Oakland.

Rookie Greg Cadaret (3-1) pitched five hitless innings of relief for the win.

Toronto 7, Seattle 3--At Seattle, the Blue Jays moved into a virtual first-place tie with the Tigers behind home runs by Ernie Whitt and Tony Fernandez.

Toronto starter John Cerutti (10-3) took a six-hit shutout into the eighth before being knocked out. Mark Eichhorn finished the game.