AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : White Sox Refuse to Fold to A’s

There were many who thought that when the Oakland Athletics won three games last weekend at Chicago, it was the beginning of the end for the White Sox.

Somebody forgot to tell the White Sox.

Ron Karkovice broke a tie with a home run in the sixth inning at Oakland on Saturday, and the White Sox made it two in a row over the leaders of the West, 5-3.

Even the return of Jose Canseco failed to inspire the A’s, who lead by two games.

Canseco, in the lineup after missing 14 games because of a back injury, was hit with a pitch in the first inning, then struck out three times and popped out in the ninth.

“It looked like they were throwing 200 m.p.h., to tell you the truth,” Canseco said. “I used five different bats. I lined them up and asked, ‘Which one of you wants to get a hit?’ And they all said, ‘Not me.’ ”

Jack McDowell (4-4), who also hit the Athletics’ Mark McGwire with a pitch in the fourth inning, struck out Canseco twice. McDowell gave up eight hits and struck out seven in six innings.

The White Sox beat Mike Moore, a 19-game winner last season who is 5-7 after giving up Karkovice’s second home run of the season. McGwire hit his 19th home run in the fifth inning.

Both teams were warned after Moore knocked down Ozzie Guillen down with a pitch in the fifth inning. After the knockdown, Guillen then singled to start a two-run rally that put the White Sox ahead, 3-2.

Boston 4, Baltimore 3--Oriole relief pitcher Gregg Olson should avoid Dwight Evans.

As a rookie on April 15, 1989, Olson was tagged for a home run by the Red Sox veteran. Olson went 115 innings and 479 batters without yielding another home run.

But in the bottom of the 10th inning with the Orioles leading, 3-2, with two outs and a runner on first base, Olson faced Evans again. Evans homered high into the screen in Fenway Park’s left field for his 373rd home run.

In the eighth inning, Evans hit his sixth home run of the season to make the score 2-2 and get Roger Clemens off the hook.

In the 10th, Mickey Tettleton homered against Rob Murphy to give the Orioles the lead.

Clemens, trying to become the major leagues’ first 12-game winner, gave up six hits and two unearned runs in nine innings.

Toronto 8, New York 4--Relief pitcher Tom Henke struck out Don Mattingly and Mel Hall with the bases loaded in the ninth inning to preserve the Blue Jays’ half-game lead in the East.

“In my opinion, Don is the best hitter in the game,” Henke said of Mattingly. “In that situation I just try to get him to hit my pitch, a ball out of the strike zone. Fortunately, he missed.

The Yankees, who had won a season-high four games in a row, took a two-run lead in the second inning on Matt Nokes’ home run.

Minnesota 5, Kansas City 1--Dave West had a no-hitter through six innings at Minneapolis and won for the first time since May 2. West struck out nine in 7 1/3 innings and gave up three hits. Bo Jackson spoiled the no-hitter with a single in the seventh.

Milwaukee 11, Cleveland 1--Dave Parker hit a three-run double and Rob Deer a two-run home run in a seven-run second inning at Milwaukee. All seven runs were scored after two were out.

The outburst made it easy for Ron Robinson to get his first victory in the AL. Robinson gave up seven hits in eight innings and the only run was unearned.

Seattle 8, Texas 6--Edgar Martinez hit a two-run, two-out single in the 11th inning at Arlington, Tex., to lift the Mariners.

In the 11th, Ken Griffey Jr. singled, went to second on Ranger third baseman Scott Coolbaugh’s fielding error and advanced to third when Jeffrey Leonard walked off the fourth Ranger pitcher, Kenny Rogers (2-3).

After Pete O’Brien, who left 11 runners on base, popped out, Martinez hit a 3-and-2 pitch up the middle to score Griffey and Tracy Jones.