American League Roundup : Sax Sparks Yankees Again as They Rout Twins, 11-3

The New York Yankees are in sixth place in the American League East and might not be able to climb over everyone to the top.

If they do, you can bet that former Dodger Steve Sax will play a prominent part.

Of the many moves owner George Steinbrenner has made in recent seasons, he hasn’t made a better one than signing Sax as a free agent.

The second baseman, who helped the Dodgers become World Series champions last season, has also been a star for the Yankees.

Sax had four hits, scored a run and drove in two Friday at Minneapolis to lead the Yankees to an 11-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Steve Balboni, emerging from a five-for-35 slump, hit two two-run home runs to make it easy for Walt Terrell to gain his first victory as a Yankee.

Terrell, given a 4-0 lead in the third inning, yielded 10 hits and all three runs in 7 1/3 innings. In his first three games, he has had an earned-run average of 7.79, giving up 26 hits in 17 1/3 innings.

Sax has been among the top hitters in the league for most of the season. After his four-hit game, he is hitting .326.

Although he often led the Dodger attack, he had only one season in his eight with them during which he hit over .300. That was in 1986, when he batted .332.

“I’m not kidding myself,” Sax said. “I know I can’t do it alone. But we do have a better chance if I’m getting on base. My job is to stir things up. When I do, we have a chance to win.”

The Yankees gained on all five teams ahead of them. Four of the clubs were involved in split doubleheaders, and Toronto lost to Kansas City.

The Yankees are 5 1/2 games behind Baltimore with 47 games to play.

Boston 6-1, Baltimore 4-4--The Red Sox received a big lift from Roger Clemens in the opener of the doubleheader at Baltimore.

Clemens (12-8) was removed after 11 pitches in his previous start, last Sunday. He threw 123 pitches in this one, indicating that his elbow was no longer sore. He gave up three hits and one earned run in seven innings.

“I’m happy with the results,” Clemens said. “I’ll have to see how my arm responds tomorrow. I think I’ve learned a pretty good lesson throughout this thing. You have to let someone know. I’ve always been hard-headed about that. I won’t be again.”

In the second game, Pete Harnisch pitched a three-hitter for his first complete game and his second victory in seven decisions. The split and the loss by the Blue Jays improved the Orioles’ lead to 2 1/2 games.

Phil Bradley scored two of the Oriole runs in the second game and hit his eighth home run.

Said Harnisch, who retired the last 17 batters: “I’m sure it’s a relief for everyone that we got a split,” he said. “Every game is a big one now.”

In the opener, Nick Esasky hit his 21st home run, had two other hits and drove in three runs for Boston.

Cleveland 5-7, Milwaukee 0-8--The Indians’ Joe Carter hit three home runs in the doubleheader at Cleveland.

In the first game, Carter’s two-run home run backed John Farrell (7-11), who gave up six hits and struck out 10.

Milwaukee’s Mark Knudson, after 30 consecutive relief appearances, started the second game and, despite giving up three home runs, made it through five innings to get the victory.

Carter drove in five runs for the night. He has 25 home runs and 75 runs batted in.

Kansas City 6, Toronto 2--The Blue Jays were in a position to gain on their rivals in the East in this game at Kansas City.

But Bret Saberhagen, usually easy for the Blue Jays, was at his best.

Until Fred McGriff hit his 31st home run, a two-out, two-run shot in the ninth, Saberhagen (13-5) had complete control. His second victory in a row over the Blue Jays improved his record against them to 3-7.

Saberhagen gave up six hits for his 10th win in his last 11 decisions.

Chicago 9, Seattle 6--Darryl Boston walked with the bases loaded in the 10th inning at Seattle, and Steve Lyons followed with a three-run double to lead the White Sox.

The White Sox trailed, 5-3, when Dan Pasqua hit a two-run double to tie the score in the eighth.

Greg Briley hit two home runs for Seattle.

Texas 7, Detroit 3--The Rangers hit four home runs, including a two-run shot by Julio Franco, at Arlington, Tex., to help rookie Kevin Brown (11-6) win his fourth in a row.

Pete Incaviglia, Jack Daugherty and Ruben Sierra also homered for the Rangers, who scored six of their runs off Frank Tanana (8-10) in the second inning.

Sierra has 20 home runs and 84 RBIs, while Franco has 13 home runs and 82 RBIs.