American League Roundup : Future Is Now: Orioles Enjoy View From Top

It’s no mistake. The Baltimore Orioles are on top of the American League East.

Sure, the Orioles are 21-21 and tied with the Boston Red Sox, but the Orioles were the worst team in baseball last season, when they lost their first 21 games and were crying “wait until next year.”

Oriole Manager Frank Robinson is having trouble holding back the enthusiasm of his young team. A number of things are going right.

For instance, the Orioles were short a starting pitcher, so they sent Jay Tibbs out to face the White Sox Wednesday night at Chicago.

Tibbs, who was working on a 10-game losing streak, pitched six strong innings as the Orioles won, 8-0.

Mickey Tettleton hit his 10th home run and Phil Bradley had three hits to back Tibbs.

After beating Texas last July 9, Tibbs lost nine consecutive starts and a relief appearance as the Orioles totaled 107 defeats.

Tibbs’ success typifies the change in fortune of the Orioles. Even when they have trouble scoring runs, they get solid pitching from some young arms.

Oakland 6, Milwaukee 2--Since he signed as a free agent, Mike Moore hasn’t received much offensive support from the Athletics.

Moore was given a 5-0 lead after three innings in this game. He held the Brewers to five hits in eight innings at Milwaukee and improved to 5-3.

Moore lost his bid for a shutout when Gary Sheffield singled in the fourth and Rob Deer hit a 420-foot drive, his 12th home run of the season.

Oakland, which needed the victory to stay ahead of the Angels in the West, had 13 hits.

Detroit 2, Cleveland 1--Doyle Alexander didn’t get the victory at Detroit, the Tigers’ fifth in six games under interim manager Dick Tracewski, but he exemplified the renewed Tiger spirit.

Alexander, despite pitching with a hairline fracture of the jaw, held the Indians to four hits in seven innings. The Tigers won it in the 10th when Gary Pettis doubled and scored on Lou Whitaker’s one-out single.

Alexander was hit in the jaw last Friday night by a smash off the bat of Kansas City’s Frank White. One X-ray showed nothing, but the second revealed a hairline fracture.

“He told me he only feels pain if he squeezes his jaw,” Tracewski said. “Doyle’s a gritty old goat.”

It was the ninth time this season that the Tigers have scored three or fewer runs with Alexander pitching.

Boston 6, Seattle 5--Wade Boggs, who has been hitting about 50 points below his career average, ended his slump at Boston as the Red Sox won their second in a row.

Boggs went three for three, getting two doubles and a single, scoring two runs and driving in another.

Boggs, winner of four consecutive batting titles, has been bothered by a hamstring problem. The perfect night at the plate increased his average to .301.

Mike Boddicker (3-4) ended his three-game Fenway Park losing streak. He gave up three runs, one unearned, and seven hits before Bob Stanley had to rescue him with the bases loaded and two out in the seventh.

The Mariners played without Ken Griffey Jr., who suffered an apparent neck injury while making a sensational catch in Tuesday’s game. Doctors said he might return to the lineup tonight.

Minnesota 10, Toronto 4--Frank Viola still isn’t pitching as well as would be expected, but his teammates are giving him more than enough support.

Kirby Puckett led a 13-hit attack at Toronto with his second four-hit game of the season and the 30th of his career to lead the romp.

Viola, given a five-run lead in the first inning, made it through six innings. He gave up eight hits and four runs in six innings but improved to 3-6.

Puckett was 4 for 6, including a double, and increased his average to .337.

Kansas City 6, Texas 4--Bo Jackson hit his 12th home run and Frank White went three for four at Arlington, Tex., to help the Royals end a six-game losing streak.

Although he fell behind by 2-0 early, Bret Saberhagen went 6 2/3 innings to improve to 4-4. Tom Gordon took over in the seventh and pitched the last 2 1/3 innings to earn his first major league save.

Second baseman Julio Franco made an error before Jackson’s home run, but he also drove in two runs to increase his RBI total to 41.