American League Roundup : Clark Hits Homer in 5-4 Win

Jack Clark ended his 0-for-New York string with a tremendous home run Tuesday night, but the former St. Louis Cardinals slugger is not enjoying his new role as a designated hitter.

Clark, who was 0 for 10 at Yankee Stadium, hit a 415-foot home run in the fourth inning after a single by Don Mattingly. But it was Don Slaught’s home run in the eighth inning that broke the tie and gave the Yankees a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

Slaught, off to his best start, sliced an outside pitch from Charlie Leibrandt into the right-field seats for his fourth home run. It was only the fourth hit off Leibrandt (1-4), but the third home run. Dave Winfield hit his seventh homer in the second inning.

Winfield has 27 runs batted in this month, two short of Ron Cey’s April record. He has four games in which to break it.

Until his booming home run, Clark not only had been hitless at home, he had struck out three times and hit into two double plays. Clark, signed as a free agent, also was finding trouble adjusting to his designated hitter role and to American League umpiring.

To overcome the DH problems, Clark has taken to running in the corridor outside the clubhouse between at-bats.

“Nobody I know of likes being DH,” Clark told Steve Jacobson of Newsday. “It is boring. There is no better feeling (than) when you’re playing all the time and playing well. That means you’re giving all you’re capable of. That’s a good feeling.”

Although he was thrown out of one game for protesting a third strike and has been unhappy with a number of calls, he doesn’t feel there is a conspiracy to make him pay his dues in his new league.

“I don’t think there’s anything going on,” he said. “I’m sure learning to be a DH has something to do with the problem.”

Clark is 6 for 31 with 2 home runs. New York fans have shown patience. It probably would not be the same if Winfield had those same numbers.

Cleveland 12, Seattle 6--If Joe Carter doesn’t slow down, he’s going to bring back, all by himself, the charges of “rabbit” in the baseballs.

The Indians’ slugger continued his torrid pace at Cleveland. He hit two home runs, giving him five in the last four games and drove in five runs.

In the last four games, Carter is 11 for 17, has driven in 15 runs and scored 9 runs.

He is a big reason why the Indians are leading the East with a 15-4 record.

Tom Candiotti gave up six runs in the first three innings, but the way Carter is hitting, the Indians could afford to leave him in the game. Candiotti settled down to pitch six scoreless innings and improve his record to 4-0 with his fourth complete game. He did not win his fourth last season until Aug. 4. It was the ninth complete game for the Cleveland pitching staff.

Carter said his bat is hot because his approach to hitting is patiently cool.

“The pitchers are getting behind and then throwing the pitches I’m looking for,” he said. “I’m not getting myself in a hole swinging at bad pitches.

“Once the count is in my favor I can be more aggressive.”

Texas 3, Milwaukee 1--Two of the first three Milwaukee batters reached first base and one of them scored at Arlington, Tex.

Then Jose Guzman did an about-face, retiring 26 of the next 27 batters and finishing with a 3-hitter to improve his record to 3-1.

Chris Bosio gave up seven hits and pitched his fourth complete game for the Brewers. But Pete Incaviglia, who singled to start a 2-run second inning, homered in the fourth.

Oakland 6, Toronto 1--Mark McGwire was mired in a slump. He hadn’t hit a home run in 10 games, was batting .171 and began this game at Toronto on the bench.

He came up as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning with runners on first and second and the score tied, 1-1. Toronto Manager Jimy Williams, with some of the best right-handed relievers in his bullpen, elected to have left-hander David Wells come in to pitch to the right-handed hitter.

McGwire hit his fifth home run to make a winner out of Storm Davis and singled in a run in the ninth.

Davis gave up four hits in seven innings, and Dennis Eckersley pitched two scoreless innings for his major league-leading ninth save.