American League Roundup : Stewart Gets 7th Win, but Record Eludes Him

The way the balks have been going hand in hand with his victories, it’s surprising Dave Stewart didn’t break the major league record Tuesday at Detroit.

Without yielding a balk, Stewart pitched a shaky six innings in an 8-2 victory over the Tigers. It was Stewart’s seventh win this season and the ninth in a row for the Oakland Athletics.

In his first six victories, the hard-throwing former Dodger right-hander had 11 balks, tying the major league record set by Steve Carlton.

Except for no balks, it wasn’t a noteworthy performance. For the first time in his seven starts, he failed to make it into the seventh inning.

But the way the Athletics are going, a pitcher who holds the opposition in check for six innings is a likely winner. Carney Lansford and Mike Gallego each drove in three runs, and the Athletics finished their trip with a 10-1 record.

“It was tough early,” Stewart said. “They were hitting my forkball, so I made some adjustments, and as the game went on I did a little better.

“I can’t get excited about 7-0. To me, it’s just one month’s work. I just take my turn and try to go as long as I can. The most important thing is that we keep winning. If I can contribute, that’s great.”

Although the umpires failed to detect Stewart, they didn’t neglect the call. In fact, they enabled reliever Don Heinkel to tie a major league record with three of them in the sixth inning.

One call came as Lansford grounded to short. Given a second chance, Lansford hit a 2-run homer to make it 7-1.

It started out as a duel between two unbeaten pitchers, but after three scoreless innings, Frank Tanana gave up four runs in the fourth and was knocked out in the fifth, losing his first after five victories.

Toronto 9, Seattle 2--Rookie Todd Stottlemyre had retired 19 batters in a row before hitting Ray Quinones with one out in the seventh inning. The no-hitter ended on Alvin Davis’ double on the next pitch and Quinones ended the shutout, too, by scoring.

That was all for Stottlemyre, but he earned the victory with the help of two home runs by Fred McGriff. McGriff also had two singles, driving in four runs in the Blue Jays’ romp.

Texas 4, Baltimore 2--There were 11,507 fans at Baltimore for this one, and the Orioles lost.

Larry Parrish drove in two runs, and Ray Hayward made his American League debut a victorious one as the Orioles lost for the 24th time in 26 games.

Hayward gave up 8 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings before Dale Mohorcic came along to get the last 5 outs. Hayward was 0-2 for San Diego in 1986.

Kansas City 9, Boston 3--Fenway Park, with its cozy left-field fence, is supposed to be a paradise for right-handed swingers. George Brett swings from the other side, but he has always hit well there.

Brett had 3 hits, including 2 doubles, drove in 2 runs and scored 2 to help Bret Saberhagen improve his record to 4-2.

In the 2-game series, Brett was 6 for 10, and the Royals won them both.

Saberhagen gave up seven hits and all the Red Sox runs in seven innings before giving way to Dan Quisenberry.

New York 4, Chicago 1--As often as the Yankees change managers, it’s not surprising that sometimes the new manager doesn’t know what to expect.

For instance, Billy Martin either didn’t know or forgot that Charlie Hudson is a terrific cold weather pitcher.

In fact, this game at Chicago was the first time Hudson (3-1) started this season. After several superb relief efforts, he went six strong innings to move the Yankees into first place in the East.

Rickey Henderson also was prominent in the win. He homered, stole two bases and scored three runs.

Milwaukee 4, Minnesota 3--Jim Gantner singled in the winning run with nobody out in the ninth at Milwaukee, and Teddy Higuera shook off a back pain to improve his record to 3-1. Higuera gave up six hits and struck out six.