American League Roundup : A’s Start to Stretch It Out, Win in 10

Apparently, the Oakland Athletics have shaken their slump and are ready for the stretch drive in the American League West.

The Athletics took over first place April 20 and quickly sprinted into a big lead. Right after the All-Star break, the 1987 World Series champion Minnesota Twins made their move and pulled within three games.

Many thought it was the beginning of the end for the A’s. Not so, because the Twins never got any closer, and with 47 games to play, Oakland has a seven-game lead.

The A’s didn’t gain any ground Wednesday, but they improved their position nevertheless. Slump-ridden Carney Lansford singled home Mike Gallego from second base with one out in the 10th inning at Oakland to give the A’s a 2-1 victory.

The big news, though was the pitching of Curt Young. The left-hander, who won 13 games each of the last two seasons, has been out since July 17 with a tired arm.

Young went six innings and gave up only four hits and a run, which came on a balk.

“We hoped for six innings,” A’s Manager Tony LaRussa said. “He exceeded expectations. I was proud of him today. He could give us a good lift.”

Young was upbeat, too. “I was excited, but I wasn’t concerned about my arm. The club showed a lot of confidence in me and that helped me.”

The Athletics have won 10 of their last 12 games, while the fading White Sox have dropped 11 of 14.

Detroit 2, Texas 1--Jack Morris is reclaiming his rightful place as ace of the Tigers’ pitching staff.

The hard-throwing right-hander, who has struggled most of the season, pitched his fourth consecutive solid game in this one at Arlington, Tex.

Morris gave up four hits in eight innings and improved his record to 10-11 when clutch-hitting Luis Salazar singled home the winning run in the eighth inning.

Alan Trammell singled with two out in the inning and continued to second on an error. After an intentional walk to Chet Lemon, Salazar, as he has done all season, delivered.

In his last four outings, Morris has pitched 33 innings and given up only 3 earned runs. The Tigers have won all four of them.

With both challengers losing, the Tigers lead the East by four games.

Milwaukee 8, Boston 3--Paul Molitor hit two home runs and drove in four runs at Milwaukee to help Teddy Higuera win for the first time in three weeks.

The Red Sox took a 3-0 lead on Higuera (8-8), but Molitor homered in the fourth. Then, with two on in the fifth, he hit another home run, and the Brewers had a 5-3 lead.

Jeffrey Leonard, who was in a 6-for-45 slump, also homered for the Brewers.

It had been almost two years since Molitor had hit two home runs in a game.

Toronto 5, New York 0--With both Boston and Detroit on the road, the Yankees, playing at home, had hoped to close in on first place in the East.

Instead, the Yankee hitters have been unable to handle the Blue Jay pitching. Jimmy Key (7-2) and Tom Henke combined on a six-hitter for Toronto’s second win in a row at New York.

Jesse Barfield homered and drove in two runs for Toronto.

New York’s Dave Winfield ended an 0-for-23 skid, longest in his career, with a single in the fourth.

Minnesota 10, Cleveland 4--Frank Viola didn’t pitch well at Minneapolis, but the left-hander became the first 18-game winner in the majors.

Kent Hrbek continued to feast on Eastern Division pitching. The Twins’ slugger hit his 21st homer, all against the East, to give Viola the lead for good.

Viola went seven innings, giving up all four runs and six hits to improve his record to 18-4.

He held only a 5-4 lead after the Indians’ Julio Franco hit a two-run homer in the seventh. But the Twins scored five times in the bottom of the inning.

Kansas City 4, Baltimore 3--Bo Jackson singled home the tie-breaking run in the eighth inning at Kansas City to give the Royals an 11-0 record over the hapless Orioles this season.

Baltimore’s Cal Ripken hit his 20th home run. It marked the seventh season in a row that Ripken has hit at least 20.