American League Roundup : Royals Get Victory Over Brewers but Lose Brett to Knee Injury

Driving in the tying run is great, but driving in the winning run is even better. Just ask Danny Tartabull.

Tartabull’s run-scoring single with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning gave Kansas City a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday night for the Royals’ team-record 15th win in April.

Tartabull had tied the score with an RBI single in the eighth.

“It’s like catching the winning touchdown pass on the last play of the football game or drilling a three-point goal at the buzzer,” Tartabull said. “It’s a wonderful feeling. There’s not a better feeling in sports competition.”

It wasn’t all happiness and joy in the Kansas City clubhouse, however, because the Royals had to put first baseman George Brett on the 21-day disabled list after he suffered ligament damage in his right knee. He caught his spike in the turf while turning to make a throw during the first inning.

“There is no way of knowing how long he will be out until we do an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) on Sunday,” said Charles Rhoades, a team physician. “It is a moderately severe sprain, possibly a tear. We can’t know anything else until (today).”

Ironically, it was against Milwaukee on May 15, 1987, in Kansas City when Brett suffered what was described as a “slight” tear of the same ligament. He missed 24 games.

Brett, 35, is a two-time American League batting champion whose .390 average in 1980 is the highest in the major leagues since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

With the Brewers leading, 3-2, in the eighth, Kevin Seitzer doubled with two out off Chuck Crim, and left-hander Dan Plesac came in to face Bill Buckner.

Buckner hit a routine grounder to Gary Sheffield, but the rookie shortstop’s throw pulled Terry Francona off first base for an error and Tartabull followed with a game-tying single.

Bo Jackson hit his major league leading eighth home run with one out in the seventh to move the Royals within 3-2.

Oakland 3, Detroit 2--Dave Stewart became the first five-game winner in the major leagues as the Athletics scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning on center fielder Ken Williams’ error at Oakland.

Stewart (5-0) is 14-0 in 15 starts in April over the last three seasons. He pitched a five-hitter, struck out one and walked one in the Athletics’ first complete game of the season.

Luis Polonia led off the eighth with a blooper to left-center that went for a triple when Williams collided with left fielder Fred Lynn. Polonia scored on the play when Williams’ throw bounced away from third baseman Torey Lovullo.

Doyle Alexander (3-1) saw his six-game winning streak end. He lost for the first time in 10 starts since last Sept. 6.

Stewart held the Tigers to one hit for six innings. Trailing 2-0, the Tigers tied the game on Dave Bergman’s two-out, two-run single.

The Athletics have won 10 of their last 11. Detroit has lost four straight games.

Texas 7-5, Boston 6-8--Ellis Burks homered twice to drive in four runs as the Red Sox rallied for a win in the regularly scheduled game at Arlington, Tex., after the Rangers won the completion of a suspended game on Julio Franco’s 12th-inning homer.

Knuckleballer Charlie Hough (2-2) allowed Burks’ third homer of the season after Ed Romero singled in the seventh inning as the Red Sox took a 6-4 lead. In the ninth, Romero singled with one out and Burks homered off reliever Jeff Russell.

In the suspended game, Franco homered on a 2-and-2 pitch from Rob Murphy (0-2). The home run gave him 21 RBIs, a club record for April.

The game resumed in the top of the 11th inning after Friday night’s contest was suspended because of a curfew at 1:20 a.m. A rainstorm during the third inning delayed the game 2 hours 2 minutes.

Cleveland 4, Minnesota 1--Frank Viola, the 1988 AL Cy Young Award winner, fell to 0-4 and the Twins lost their seventh straight as John Farrell allowed only six hits in 8 2/3 innings at Minneapolis.

Rookie Luis Medina homered, Oddibe McDowell sparked Cleveland offensively and defensively, and Pete O’Brien improved his major league-leading batting average to .408 with three doubles and two RBIs in support of Farrell, 1-1.

The Twins have scored only 10 runs for Viola, who was 24-7 with a 2.64 ERA in 1988, but has a 5.26 ERA this season. All four of his losses have come in the Metrodome, where he once won 19 straight and had lost just twice all last year.

Viola, who started this year in a bitter contract dispute with management before signing for $7.9 million over three years, allowed 12 hits in seven innings.

Farrell was helped by McDowell, who made two superb plays in left field, robbing Dan Gladden in the first and Gary Gaetti in the fourth.

McDowell, who reached base four times, began the game with a bunt single, advanced to third on a wild pitch and a groundout and scored on Joe Carter’s bloop single.

Medina, who played at Warren High in Downey and at Arizona State, led off the second with his second homer of the year, a line drive to left, snapping an 0-for-8 slump.

New York 8, Chicago 2--Roberto Kelly and Steve Sax each drove in two runs and Ken Phelps added four hits at Yankee Stadium.

Kelly singled home two runs in the second inning to snap a 1-1 tie that enabled Dave LaPoint (3-1) to gain a victory in his first career start against a team for which he pitched parts of the last two seasons.

Sax’s two-run single in the sixth inning gave the Yankees a 7-2 lead that reliever Dale Mohorcic protected over the final 3 1/3 innings to earn his second save.

Seattle 4, Baltimore 3--Alvin Davis’ run-scoring single broke a sixth-inning tie and Mark Langston allowed six hits in eight innings at Seattle.

Langston (3-3), who has not lost to Baltimore since May 18, 1987, struck out Chris Hoiles to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the sixth. He struck out eight and walked five. Mike Schooler retired the side in the ninth for his second save.

Dave Schmidt (1-3) took the loss.