AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Turnabout Is White Sox Play

The Chicago White Sox have turned it around. They have exactly the opposite record they had a year ago.

Last year at this time the White Sox were already planning for this season. They were 17 games out of first place in the West and had a 20-36 record.

After hammering the Mariners, 11-2, Wednesday at Seattle, the White Sox returned home carrying a 36-20 record before opening a four-game series with the Oakland Athletics.

Chicago, which was 5-1 on the trip, is two games behind the Athletics and only one behind in the loss column.

Jack McDowell (3-3), a former Stanford star, was impressive against the Mariners. The 6-foot-5 right-hander from Van Nuys pitched a four-hitter and struck out seven in his second complete game in the majors.

Dan Pasqua and Ron Kittle hit consecutive home runs in the third inning, and the White Sox sent McDowell off to a 5-0 lead. They wound up with 16 hits.

The 11 runs and 16 hits were Chicago’s biggest output of the season.

“I wish we had saved some of those runs,” center fielder Lance Johnson said after going three for six and scoring twice. “You always need all the runs you can get against the Athletics.”

They will go up against Dave Stewart (9-3) in the opener tonight. He will face Eric King (5-1).

“This trip meant a lot for us,” Torborg said. “We played two good teams, and we won five out of six in domes. Domes aren’t easy to play in, either.”

The White Sox swept three in Minneapolis before taking two out of three in the Kingdome.

Oakland 3, Texas 2--An error and a pop single by Walt Weiss in the 11th inning at Oakland enabled the struggling world champions to salvage the final game of the three-game series. The A’s are 5-0 in extra innings.

As a right-handed batter, Weiss, the switch-hitting shortstop, was batting .118 when he blooped a two-out single to right to drive in Doug Jennings with the winning run. Jennings reached when his ground ball rolled through the legs of Texas first baseman Rafael Palmeiro for a two-base error.

The Rangers, 1-4 in extra innings, tied the game in the ninth with an unearned run.

Despite playing without power-producing Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, the Athletics go into Chicago with a 39-19 record, just one game off last season’s pace.

Boston 4, New York 1--Roger Clemens gave up six hits in eight innings at New York to win his seventh game in a row and improve his record to 11-2. Clemens, who has given up only nine runs in his last six outings, struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter.

It was another tough loss for Tim Leary (3-8). In his eight losses the Yankees have scored 10 runs. In the last two seasons he has lost 21 games and his team has scored just 27 runs in those losses.

The Red Sox lost Wade Boggs, in a one-for-13 slump, because of a hand injury in the seventh inning.

Milwaukee 7, Baltimore 2--Dave Parker hit a home run and drove in three runs at Baltimore, but the Brewers lost pitching ace Teddy Higuera.

The talented left-hander, beset by injuries the last two seasons, lasted for only two batters before reinjuring his groin.

In his previous start, June 6, Higuera lasted just three innings before suffering the injury. In this one he gave up a single to Phil Bradley, then got Joe Orsulak on a pop fly. “I felt a twinge on the pitch Bradley hit,” the crestfallen Higuera said.

Mark Knudson (4-3) took over and gave up just five hits and a run in 6 2/3 innings. Greg Brock homered for the Brewers.

Baltimore fans booed shortstop Cal Ripken, who is in a deep slump, every time he came up to the plate. He was 0 for 4.

In the fourth, Ripken hit a long, high drive that curved foul at the last moment. He then hit into a double play.

Detroit 5, Cleveland 4--Cecil Fielder hit his 23rd home run and led off the eighth inning at Detroit with a single that led to the winning run. Lloyd Moseby’s single scored pinch-runner Kenny Williams to break a 4-4 tie.

Toronto 10, Minnesota 1--Junior Felix, Glenallen Hill and Fred McGriff each hit home runs and left-hander John Cerutti held the Twins’ all-right-hander lineup to one run in seven innings-plus at Minneapolis. It was Minnesota’s sixth consecutive loss.