American League Roundup : Royals Tie Team Mark With Win Over Brewers

The Kansas City Royals matched their club record for April victories by beating the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-1, Friday night at Kansas City.

With the score tied, 1-1, Kansas City jumped on Paul Molitor’s double error to score five runs in the sixth inning and record its 14th win of the month.

“We’ve been able to capitalize on other teams’ mistakes. That’s been the key to it,” Royal Manager John Wathan said. “The turning point was the potential double-play ball to Molitor. Things really turned around for us at that point.”

Molitor, the Brewers’ normally reliable third baseman, bobbled the sharp grounder by Danny Tartabull and then threw wildly to first for a double error.

“The ball came up on me and I never got control of it,” Molitor said. “It popped out of my glove and I tried to grab it. I can live with bobbling a ball. The foolish part was panicking and trying to throw it. That was a turning point in the game.”

With the victory, Kansas City improved to 14-8. The Royals also were 14-8 in April 1978, when they won the AL West title.

Charlie Leibrandt (2-2) gave up five hits in eight innings to a team that had just scored 27 runs in a three-game sweep of Minnesota.

“I knew they had just clobbered the Twins, but I never worry too much about what a team’s been doing,” Leibrandt said.

Jeff Montgomery pitched with hitless ninth.

New York 3, Chicago 1--Roberto Kelly’s disputed two-run double snapped a seventh-inning tie and Andy Hawkins won his third consecutive game as the Yankees beat the White Sox at New York.

“Sometimes I wonder if Roberto is seeing the ball good,” Yankee Manager Dallas Green said. “Then he’ll get a big hit. He’s one of those frustrating players to manage.”

Hawkins (3-2) allowed five hits, walked five and struck out two in 7 2/3 innings. In his first nine innings this season, Hawkins allowed 15 earned runs, but in his last 24 1/3 innings he has allowed three.

“I consider that his third quality pitching performance,” Green said. “Now he’s getting the ball over the plate. Earlier, he had no command of his pitches, he was pitching hitters high and had no control.”

Said Hawkins: “I have better command of my pitches now. In my first two starts (both losses), I was too high in the strike zone.”

Lee Guetterman followed Hawkins, and Dave Righetti finished the combined seven-hitter for his fourth save, getting Ozzie Guillen to line into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded.

With the score tied, 1-1, Bob Brower led off the seventh with a single off Shawn Hillegas (0-3) and took third on Alvaro Espinoza’s hit-and-run single.

Kelly then doubled down the left-field line. The ball was touched by a fan and called a ground-rule double by third-base umpire Rocky Roe, but home plate umpire Mike Reilly ruled Espinoza would have scored if there was no interference. White Sox Manager Jeff Torborg argued the call briefly.

New York took a 1-0 lead when Rickey Henderson led off the game with a home run for the 36th time in his career to set a major league record. Henderson had shared the mark with Bobby Bonds.

Hawkins allowed no hits for 3 1/3 innings, but Harold Baines hit his second home run of the season to tie the score. It was Baines’ 175th career homer, a White Sox record.

Oakland 2, Detroit 1--Mike Moore and two relievers combined on a two-hitter as the Athletics won for the ninth time in 10 games by beating the Tigers at Oakland.

Moore (3-1) broke his five-game losing streak against Detroit. He gave up two hits and an unearned run and has allowed only two unearned runs in his last 27 2/3 innings, lowering his earned-run average to 1.91.

He didn’t give up a hit until Matt Nokes doubled with two out in the fifth.

Rick Honeycutt pitched the seventh and eighth, and Dennis Eckersley pitched the ninth for his eighth save.

Cleveland 9, Minnesota 7--Jerry Browne and Oddibe McDowell hit three-run homers as the Indians snapped a four-game losing streak and sent the Twins to their sixth consecutive loss despite 14 hits by Minnesota.

Browne hit the third homer of his major league career in the third inning off Shane Rawley (1-3), and McDowell homered in the seventh off Juan Berenguer. It was the first homer of the season for both.

Tom Candiotti (2-1) allowed six runs and nine hits in six innings, and Doug Jones pitched 1 1/3 innings for his fourth save.

Seattle 11, Baltimore 5--Dave Valle drove in four runs and Harold Reynolds snapped a sixth-inning tie with a two-run single as the Mariners defeated the Orioles at Seattle.

Jeffrey Leonard hit his major league leading seventh home run for Seattle, which sent Baltimore to its third straight loss.

Boston 6, Texas 6--The Rangers’ Scott Fletcher hit a run-scoring single to cap a three-run, game-tying rally in the eighth inning, and the contest was suspended after 10 innings at Arlington, Tex.

The game was delayed 2 hours 2 minutes by rain in the third inning. It will be completed before tonight’s regularly scheduled game.