American League Roundup : Yankee Catcher Puts In Full Night; Red Sox Win

Don Slaught might have started to feel picked on Friday night in Boston.

Being hit by a Roger Clemens pitch was nothing compared to what happened to the New York catcher in the sixth inning of the Red Sox’s 6-4 victory, which ended the Yankees’ three-game winning streak.

In the top of the inning, Slaught hit his fourth home run to get the Yankees even, 4-4, but in the bottom half, he was involved in two bruising plays at the plate.

First, big Mike Greenwell bowled Slaught over in a jarring collision while getting the Red Sox’s first inside-the-park home run in seven years. The short-hop relay from shortstop Alvaro Espinoza arrived at the same time as Greenwell, and Slaught couldn’t hold the ball.

Slaught hardly had time to recover before Rick Cerone, scoring from first base on a double by Luis Rivera, crashed into him at the plate. The relay from Steve Sax came in on a good hop, but again Slaught couldn’t come up with the ball.

With help from reliever Rob Murphy, Clemens improved to 9-6, although he gave up three home runs. One, by Sax leading off the game, appeared to be foul, but it was ruled a home run.

Greg Cadaret, making his first start after 117 relief appearances, couldn’t stop the first five Red Sox batters, all of whom hit safely against him. Wade Boggs, celebrating a new contract, began the onslaught with a double.

Boggs, who has won four consecutive batting titles, signed for three years for $7.3 million. The deal did not include a no-trade clause, leading to speculation that Boggs may be traded.

Murphy, a hard-throwing left-hander, entered the game with runners on first and third and none out in the seventh, and kept the Yankees from scoring. He gave up a hit to Sax, the former Dodger’s third of the game, in the ninth inning but picked up his fourth save.

Greenwell, who recently called his teammates “wimps,” hit a drive off the wall near the 379-foot mark that caromed into right field. He was running at full speed when he crashed into Slaught.

Milwaukee 6, Baltimore 4--Joey Meyer, recently back from the minors, hit a leadoff home run to trigger a five-run third-inning rally at Milwaukee that handed the Orioles their second loss in a row.

Meyer, who is 6-foot-3 and weighs 260, was batting only .173 when he was sent down.

Toronto 6, Detroit 4--The Tigers had a 4-1 lead at Detroit going into the eighth inning, but Pat Borders hit a grand slam to highlight a five-run rally that handed the Tigers their fifth loss in a row.

Gary Ward and Rick Schu hit home runs for Detroit, and Paul Gibson had a three-hitter until the eighth.

Kansas City 4, Chicago 2--Terry Leach won more than a game by holding the White Sox to five hits in seven innings at Kansas City. He also earned a regular job in the rotation.

It was the first American League start for the former New York Met, who is 12-2 as a starter.

Frank White’s RBI double broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth.

Texas 6, Oakland 3--Steve Buechele, who hit a home run to help knock the Angels out of first place in the AL West recently, is playing no favorites.

Buechele homered in the seventh inning at Oakland, and after Ruben Sierra hit a three-run home run in the eighth, the Rangers had knocked the A’s out of first place.

Bobby Witt (7-8) held the A’s to four hits in seven innings.

Cleveland 4, Seattle 3--Pinch-hitter Dave Clark tied the game with a ninth-inning single off Mariner relief ace Mike Schooler, and Dion James doubled home the winning run in the 12th to give the Indians the victory at Seattle.