American League Roundup : Tigers Score 4 in 9th to Win, 6-4

Dave Bergman hit a two-run home run to complete a four-run rally in the ninth inning Thursday night that gave the Detroit Tigers a 6-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Detroit.

The Tigers had lost five of six games and scored just three runs in their previous three games. But Detroit broke out of the slump in the ninth and increased its first-place lead in the East to 3 games over the Boston Red Sox and 3 1/2 over the New York Yankees.

With Detroit trailing, 4-2, Tom Brookens led off the ninth with a single off reliever Bobby Thigpen (5-7). Lou Whitaker walked and Luis Salazar sacrificed. A wild pitch scored Brookens and sent Whitaker to third.

Next, second baseman Fred Manrique dropped Alan Trammell’s infield pop-up for an error, allowing the tying run to score.

Bergman then followed with his fourth home run of the season, which made a winner of Mike Henneman (6-2).

Chicago jumped to a 4-0 lead scoring twice in both the third and fourth innings with the help of two Tiger errors.

But Trammell led off the bottom of the fourth with his 13th home run, and Darrell Evans hit his 15th homer in the sixth to cut Chicago’s lead in half.

Baltimore 10 Oakland 1--Jeff Ballard pitched a four-hitter, and Cal Ripken highlighted a five-run first inning with a two-run double as the AL East’s last-place team routed the West leaders at Baltimore.

The Orioles, who have the major leagues’ worst record at 40-80, roughed up starter Bob Welch (14-7) for nine runs in 3 innings to beat the team with the majors’ best mark (77-45).

Ballard (7-10) walked five and struck out three in pitching his fourth complete game. He has two straight complete-game victories.

Mark McGwire’s 24th home run, a leadoff blast in the fourth inning, ruined Ballard’s shutout bid and made it 5-1.

But Fred Lynn’s 18th home run in the fourth started the Orioles’ second five-run inning of the game in which all the runs were scored in the first and fourth innings.

Seattle 6 Boston 1--Mark Langston and Mike Jackson combined on a five-hitter, and Jim Presley doubled with the bases loaded to key a four-run sixth inning to lead the Mariners at Boston.

The loss was the Red Sox third in their last four games at Fenway Park after setting an American League-record 24-game home winning streak.

The Red Sox trail East leader Detroit by 3 games.

Langston (9-10) allowed five hits, walked five and struck out three over 7 innings. Mike Boddicker (9-14) took the loss, dropping his record to 3-2 since being acquired by Boston from Baltimore.

Cleveland 4 Milwaukee 3--Right fielder Cory Snyder threw out B.J. Surhoff at the plate for the final out as the Indians survived a ninth-inning rally at Cleveland.

“Nobody in the league has a better arm than him. But with two out, you’ve got to take the chance,” said Surhoff, who was cut down trying to score the tying run from second base on Jim Gantner’s two-out single.

It was Snyder’s 14th assist this season, tops in the American League.

Andy Allanson broke a 1-1 tie with a two-out, three-run double in the seventh inning. The Brewers scored two runs in the ninth before Surhoff was gunned down.

Texas 4 Minnesota 2--Jeff Russell pitched a five-hitter, and Pete Incaviglia and Geno Petralli hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning to lift the Rangers to victory at Minneapolis in front of a record-breaking crowd.

Russell (10-5) retired the first 10 batters he faced and allowed only one hit until the eighth, when he gave up two runs and three hits.

The attendance of 40,656 gave the Twins a total for the season of 2,111,711, breaking the previous team high of 2,081,976 in 1987.

Charlie Lea (6-7) gave up the consecutive home runs and took the loss.