AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Canseco’s Grand Slam Is Only Second Favorite

The Oakland Athletics’ Jose Canseco hit his first regular-season grand slam with authority.

Canseco’s home run at the SkyDome Tuesday landed on the roof of the stadium club overlooking the center-field seats and led the Athletics to a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Canseco’s only other major league grand slam came against the Dodgers in the first game of the 1988 World Series. It was his only hit of the series.

“It ranks as my second favorite home run simply because it was a grand slam,” said Canseco, who has 15 home runs in 38 games. “The No. 1 was the one in the World Series.

“I’ve had some trouble hitting with the bases loaded. Maybe that will end it.”

The SkyDome is rapidly becoming Canseco’s favorite home run park. He hit his first there after coming back from injury last season, then hit a long home run in the championship series there.

“Jose does it again,” Curt Young (2-1) said. “I’m glad he’s on our team.”

Dennis Eckersley got his 11th save by striking out two in a scoreless ninth.

The Blue Jays, who lost pitcher Jimmy Key in the fourth inning because of a hamstring injury, got home runs from Manny Lee, Junior Felix and Kelly Gruber in the sixth inning. Gruber also had homered in the fourth and has 12 for the season.

Milwaukee 3, Seattle 2--Bill Spiers, batting .077, bounced a single through a drawn-in infield with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning for the victory at Milwaukee.

Brewer Manager Tom Trebelhorn had a ready explanation for using the youngster despite his poor start this season.

“He was a big league hitter last year and he’ll be a big league hitter this year,” Trebelhorn said. “So I decided this was the spot for him to get started.”

The hit made a winner of Mark Knudson (3-1), who gave up seven hits, including Ken Griffey Jr.’s 10th home run, and pitched his first complete game of the season. He is 3-0 lifetime against Seattle.

Baltimore 10, Minnesota 2--Joe Orsulak hit two home runs and drove in four runs at Baltimore and the Twins lost for only the fifth time in their last 19 games.

Orsulak’s second homer capped a six-run rally in the fifth inning. It came too late for Jeff Ballard, who hasn’t won this season. Ballard led the league’s left-handers with 18 victories last season.

It was the Orioles’ 10th victory in their last 26 games.

New York 5, Chicago 2--Bob Geren ended a two-for-29 slump with a three-run home run at New York.

Both dugouts emptied during an argument between the Yankees’ Deion Sanders and White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk.

Fisk, 42, is outspoken in his criticism of the failure of young players to hustle. In the third inning, Sanders merely stood at the plate after hitting a pop-up with a runner on third and one out.

When he came up in the sixth, Fisk told the youngster what he thought about Sanders’ lack of hustle in the third.

Kansas City 9, Detroit 8--The Royals ended their 14-game Tiger Stadium losing streak, but only after relief pitcher Jeff Montgomery got the final out with the bases loaded in the ninth.

Texas 5, Boston 4--Rookie Jack Daugherty had four consecutive singles at Boston and the Rangers won for only the third time in their last 12 games.

Jeff Russell earned a save by striking out Tony Pena to end the game with runners on second and third.