American League Roundup : Tigers Make It Four Straight Over Red Sox, 4-2

As a rookie manager in 1970, Sparky Anderson led the Cincinnati Reds to 102 victories and the National League pennant. Ever since, he has been considered one of the best in baseball.

He has won World Series in both leagues and more than his share of honors.

But Anderson may be doing his best managing this season.

His Detroit Tigers are still leading the American League East, and it is difficult to see just why.

Doyle Alexander, whose fastball would make a good changeup, gave up seven hits Saturday at Detroit, and Matt Nokes hit a two-run home run as the Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-2, for their fourth straight victory in the five-game showdown.

The teams went into Tiger Stadium tied for first place. But the Red Sox, unbeaten at home under Manager Joe Morgan, have fallen 4 games behind.

The Red Sox came to Detroit with a .294 team average, 36 points higher than the Tigers.

The only pitcher the Tigers have hit hard in the last three weeks is two-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens. Before scoring a total of only 10 runs in the other three games of this series, the Tigers opened it by scoring 7 runs in 5 innings off Clemens (15-6).

One thing Anderson does have, especially now that Jack Morris has had three strong outings, is five solid starting pitchers. It’s a good thing, because the Tigers, excluding the 11 runs in the series opener, have averaged 2.9 runs in their last 10 games.

The Tigers will try to sweep the series with their hottest pitcher, Jeff Robinson, formerly of Azusa Pacific. Robinson is 13-4 with a 2.69 earned-run average. The only Tigers with better ERAs are relievers Mike Henneman (1.96) and Guillermo Hernandez (2.00).

Alexander, who struck out six and walked none, is 11-6. He has won his last five decisions at Tiger Stadium, where he is 12-2 in his career.

Marty Barrett, Red Sox second baseman, said of Alexander: “You think, ‘I’m going to get a couple of hits off this guy,’ and the next thing you know, you’re taking a shower and wondering what happened.

“Alexander is effective because he spots the ball well, has a lot of different arm angles, and he’s smart out there. He never throws the ball down the middle of the plate. He always makes you hit his pitch.

“The Tigers are a great team. They’re not in first place by accident. But who knows? They may go on the road next week and hit a slump.”

Oakland 5, Seattle 4--Jose Canseco became the 11th player in major league history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in one season when he stole No. 30 in the ninth inning at Oakland.

Dave Henderson singled to open the bottom of the ninth but was forced at second base on a ground-out by Canseco. Canseco stole second and went to third on an error on a pickoff attempt. He scored on Mark McGwire’s sacrifice fly to win the game. McGwire leads the league with 16 game-winning runs batted in.

Canseco, who has 31 home runs, is trying to be the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases.

Four players--Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson of the New York Mets, Joe Carter of the Cleveland Indians and Eric Davis of Cincinnati--each had 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases last season.

It was the fourth win in a row for the Athletics and the 12th loss in 14 games for the Mariners.

Seattle’s Steve Balboni hit his 16th home run. It was his 14th since June 1 and his 11th in the last 30 games.

Kansas City 11, Toronto 1--Mark Gubicza gave up Fred McGriff’s 27th home run but allowed only two other hits and struck out 10 in 8 innings at Toronto as he improved his record to 14-6 and lowered his ERA to 2.66.

George Brett hit his 250th home run, one of four solo homers by the Royals, and scored his 1,200th run in the fifth inning.

“This is the first time in three years I’ve played without injury, so I’ve been able to keep my stroke,” Brett said.

New York 5, Minnesota 3--Rickey Henderson usually triggers the Yankee offense, and such was the case at New York, when he hit a sacrifice fly to break a tie in the seventh inning.

Henderson also had a single, walked three times and stole three bases to increase his major leagues-leading total to 60.

Jack Clark hit his 21st home run in the eighth for the Yankees, who pulled into a tie with Boston for second place in the East, 4 games behind Detroit.

Steve Shields gave up just one hit in 2 innings of relief to earn the victory.

Baltimore 7, Milwaukee 2--The Orioles are starting to get effective pitching. Rookie Oswald Peraza gave up one hit and struck out 10 in seven innings at Baltimore to improve his record to 5-4.

Tom Niedenfuer yielded just one hit in two innings of relief, striking out the side in the ninth.

Cleveland 5, Texas 3--Brook Jacoby hit a two-run home run off the top of the wall in left field at Arlington, Tex., to end the Indians’ six-game losing streak.

Winner John Farrell (12-7) gave up eight hits in seven innings. He has pitched into the sixth inning in all 35 of his starts.