American League Roundup : Steinbach an Unlikely Hero as Oakland Wins 11th in Row

After enduring a monthlong slump, Terry Steinbach joined in the fun the rest of his Oakland teammates have been enjoying.

Steinbach, who started Thursday’s game with a .182 batting average and just 3 RBIs, broke out of a 1-for-23 slump by hitting a solo homer and a two-run double, and Mark McGwire singled home the decisive run to lift the Athletics to an 8-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Oakland. It was Oakland’s 11th straight win.

The American League West-leading A’s won for the 15th time in 16 games and matched the Oakland club record, set in 1981, with the winning streak.

“It feels good,” said Steinbach, who batted .284 with 16 home runs as a rookie last season. “I hadn’t been hitting the ball very well in the last couple of weeks. It’s a team game, and right now everybody on our team is contributing.”

With the score tied, 5-5, Carney Lansford opened the Oakland seventh with a walk off reliever Jose Nunez (0-1). Despite a Toronto pitchout, Lansford beat catcher Pat Borders’ throw and stole second base.

McGwire singled in front of left fielder George Bell. Lansford ran through third base coach Jim Lefebvre’s stop sign and slid in under Borders’ tag with what proved to be the winning run.

Jose Canseco added a two-run double in the eighth for Oakland to make it 8-5.

Canseco came out of the game with a .294 average and 28 RBIs. McGwire is at .302 with 21 RBIs and his hit in the seventh gave him a league-leading five game-winning RBIs.

Canseco also stole two bases, giving him 11, third-highest total in the league, to go with 8 homers.

Milwaukee 9, Texas 1--Greg Brock’s triple keyed a four-run first inning, and Bill Wegman pitched a four-hitter at Milwaukee as the Brewers won their sixth straight game.

The Rangers have lost six of their last eight games and have not won a series this season.

Milwaukee’s Glenn Braggs hit a three-run homer in the fifth off loser Bobby Witt (0-5), who walked five batters in 5 innings to increase his league-leading total to 35. Witt, who gave up 7 hits, is 0-7 in his last 8 starts on the road extending back to last season.

Braggs has a team-high 20 runs batted in.

Wegman (3-3), pitching his third complete game of the season, struck out two and walked one. Texas scored its only run on Pete O’Brien’s seventh homer of the season, in the fourth inning.

Boston 16, Chicago 3--Todd Benzinger and Dwight Evans each had four hits and four runs batted in as the Red Sox ended a four-game losing streak by routing the White Sox at Boston.

After seeing his club score only five runs in its previous four games, Boston Manager John McNamara tried his 18th different lineup in 25 games, and the Red Sox broke out of the slump by getting 11 hits and 9 runs in the first 3 innings against starter Rick Horton (3-4) and reliever Jose Segura.

Unbeaten Bruce Hurst breezed to his fifth victory. He allowed four hits in seven innings, including Carlton Fisk’s two-run homer in the fifth. Dennis Lamp and Wes Gardner finished for Boston.

Benzinger hit a three-run homer, his second, to go with a double and two singles. Evans had two doubles and two singles.

John Marzano had two singles in Boston’s 18-hit attack, and Wade Boggs extended his hitting streak to seven games with a two-run double before walking twice.

New York 5, Kansas City 3--Mike Pagliarulo hit two sacrifice flies, including one in the sixth inning to supply the go-ahead run, as the Yankees swept a two-game set from the Royals at Kansas City.

The Yankees have won the first four games of a seven-game trip and have taken seven in a row on the road.

Rich Dotson (4-0) pitched 6 innings and allowed 6 hits, including Bo Jackson’s fifth homer of the season. Dotson walked three and struck out three. Cecilio Guante earned his third save with 2 innings of relief.

Dave Winfield, who entered the game as the American League’s leading hitter, went 0 for 3 to snap a 16-game hitting streak.

Seattle 7, Cleveland 2--Alvin Davis hit his fifth career grand slam to highlight a five-run sixth inning as the Mariners beat the Indians at Seattle.

Davis greeted reliever Dan Schatzeder in the sixth by drilling a 2-0 pitch into the right-field seats.

Billy Swift (2-0) worked eight innings, scattering nine hits. He walked five and struck out three.