Major League Roundup : Higuera’s Three-Hitter Drops Yankees 4 1/2 Games Out of Lead

Just when the New York Yankees began showing a little life again, Teddy Higuera and the Milwaukee Brewers silenced them with a 4-1 victory Thursday at Milwaukee.

After winning two straight games, the Yankees managed just three hits against the Brewers in a game that was a makeup of an Aug. 4 rainout.

The defeat dropped the third-place Yankees 4 1/2 games behind Detroit in the American League East.

Rob Deer hit his 17th home run and drove in three runs, and Higuera (11-8) retired the final 19 batters for his fourth straight win.

Higuera walked one, struck out nine and dropped his earned run average to 2.41, second-lowest in the league.

Chicago 6, Atlanta 1--Calvin Schiraldi (8-8) struck out a career-high 12 batters to defeat the Braves at Atlanta.

After Ryne Sandberg’s bases-empty home run in the third and a run-scoring single by Shawon Dunston in the fourth, the Cubs used four singles and a walk in the fifth to take a 5-0 lead.

Cincinnati 4 St. Louis 1--Keith Brown allowed four hits in seven innings of his major league debut to lead the Reds past the Cardinals at Cincinnati.

John Franco pitched two innings for his league-leading 27th save.