American League Roundup : Confident Orioles Defeat Blue Jays

When the Baltimore Orioles played their 81st game last season, it merely meant that their worst nightmare was half over. They would go on to finish with the worst record in the majors.

This season, the Orioles reached the halfway point Wednesday night at Toronto as the leaders of the American League East and confident that they can win the pennant.

Catcher Bob Melvin had three hits, including a two-run double, and the Orioles outlasted the Blue Jays, 5-4, to win their third game in a row and maintain their 6 1/2-game lead over the New York Yankees.

The Orioles (47-34) are 23 games ahead of where they were a year ago, when they were 24-57 and already 26 games out of first place. The rest of the league keeps waiting for the Orioles to fall apart, but they show no signs of it.

Their lead is the biggest in any division. Only Oakland and the Angels in the American League, and San Francisco in the National League, have better records than Frank Robinson’s team.

The Orioles built a big early lead for Bob Milacki (5-8), getting six consecutive hits after two were out in the third inning. Phil Bradley had already hit a first-inning home run for the Orioles. Milacki gave up three runs and five hits before the bullpen took over in the sixth.

Although he gave up a run in the eighth, Gregg Olson worked out of a bases-loaded jam and went on to pitch a scoreless ninth for his 13th save.

It was only the second time in 19 appearances that Olson had given up a run.

“We did the things tonight we have been doing all season,” Robinson said. “We made some good defensive plays and we made some good pitches. I give the pitchers credit for not walking people. If the other team hits the ball, we have a chance to cxatch it. This is the way we’ve been doing it.”

Most of the Orioles were impressed by the SkyDome, Toronto’s new home, but Bradley, who hit his sixth home run, had a complaint.

“They didn’t take the outfielders into consideration when they put up the lights,” he said. “It’s worse than in most parks (including Memorial Stadium), because it’s just one string of lights. You can’t get (sight of the ball) in and out of them.”

However, Billy Ripken was impressed by the artificial surface. “On most AstroTurf,” he said, “after the first game my feet are really barking. But this is nice--soft and with few seams.”

New York 9, Detroit 0--It took half a season, but the Yankees are starting to put it all together. Their second straight shutout in New York had them talking.

Andy Hawkins (10-8) pitched a five-hitter for his first American League shutout. As usual in Hawkins’ victories, the Yankees scored in bundles. They have 60 runs in his 10 wins, but only 11 in his eight defeats.

One of the Yankees who has delivered all season, former Dodger Steve Sax, and newcomer Luis Polonia led the attack.

The one-two hitters in the lineup each had four hits and drove in three runss to make it a breeze for Hawkins.

“We haven’t banged people around too often like that,” Manager Dallas Green said. “The story was Hawkins. You need good pitching, no matter how many runs you score.

The Yankees jumped on Brad Havens, who last started for the Dodgers in 1987. Havens was a substitute for David Palmer, a last-minute scratch because of the flu. The Yankees got to him for seven hits and four runs in 2 2/3 innings.

The Yankees totaled 15 hits, but Don Mattingly didn’t have one. His longest hitting streak ended at 17 games.

Although the consecutive shutouts have given the Yankees a lift, it hasn’t put them any closer to the Orioles, whom they trail by 6 1/2 games.

“When I was a kid, 9-0 was a forfeit,” Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson said. “With Palmer and (Ed) Nunez ill, we did the best we good. I think it’s best not to even talk about games like this.”

Cleveland 4, Chicago 2--Now, all Greg Swindell can do is wait and see if Oakland Manager Tony LaRussa picks him for the All-Star game.

Swindell held the White Sox to six hits in 7 2/3 innings at Cleveland and improved his record to 11-2.

“I think I would be the starting pitcher if my name was Dave Stewart,” Swindell said.

Last season, Swindell was 10-1 in May, then lost eight in a row. He was also 10-1 this season before losing to Oakland last week.

“That’s why this was a big one,” he said. “If I go 10-3, people would remember last year.”

Seattle 7, Minnesota 3--Rookie Ken Griffey Jr. hit two more home runs, and Gene Harris earned his first American League victory in the game at Seattle.

Harris, who went to the Mariners in the deal that sent Mark Langston to the Montreal Expos, held the Twins to one run and four hits in six innings.

Griffey has 13 home runs, more than any other rookie in the majors.

Kansas City 12, Oakland 9--Bo Jackson had three hits, stole three bases and scored the tiebreaking run in the 11th inning as the Royals won at Oakland, making the Athletics winless in seven extra-inning games this season.

Mark McGwire hit his 100th career home run and drove in five runs for Oakland, but the Athletics still fell out of first place in the American League West for the first time since June 4. The Angels moved a half-game ahead of Oakland.

McGwire’s three-run home run in the third inning had tied it, 5-5. The home run made McGwire the second-fastest to reach 100 homers in major league history. It came in his 1,400th at-bat. Only Ralph Kiner got to 100 faster, in 1,351 at-bats. Kiner finished with 369 homers.

The home run was the 16th this season for McGwire, who had gone homerless in his previous 46 at-bats.