AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Against A’s, White Sox Get High Marks

The big question in the American League West when the baseball season finally opened was whether there would really be a pennant race.

Were the world champion Oakland Athletics just too good? Or, had the Kansas City Royals with their free agents improved enough to challenge? Or, would Mark Langston bring the Angels close?

As the season approaches the midway point, there is an answer. Yes, there is a race in the West. The surprise is the team making it a battle--the Chicago White Sox.

Dan Pasqua led off the 10th inning Sunday at Oakland with an opposite field home run off Dave Stewart (9-6) and the amazing White Sox beat the Athletics, 3-2, to sweep the three-game series and move to within one game of the A’s.

Stewart got into a shouting match with Jack McDowell and Steve Lyons, who were in the Chicago dugout, during the 10th inning.

Afterward, the normally diplomatic Stewart had some uncomplimentary things to say about the White Sox.

“They seemed to think they have some pretty good ballplayers,” Stewart told the Sacramento Bee. “There are not many players over there--except for maybe (Carlton) Fisk, (Ivan) Calderon and (Ron) Kittle--who can hold my jock, as far as I’m concerned.

“The White Sox are a team having trouble handling success. Until they do, they’ll always be second-rate.”

The White Sox had to win this one twice. Melido Perez shut the A’s out on three hits for eight innings and led, 2-0. But bullpen ace Bobby Thigpen, instead of picking up his 24th save, served up a two-out two-run home run to Dave Henderson in the ninth. Thigpen lucked into the victory.

Jose Canseco missed the final game because his right wrist, hit by a pitch from McDowell in Saturday’s game, was sore.

The A’s scored only five runs and had just 19 hits in three games.

“For our club to come back shows a great deal of what we’ve got here,” Torborg told the Associated Press. “There’s a quiet character building here. It’s what good teams are built on.”

Pasqua is one of Torborg’s reclamation projects. Except for 1986 with the New York Yankees when he hit .293, Pasqua has hit for power, but not a high average.

This season with the White Sox, he is batting .321 and has 25 runs batted in and eight home runs in 112 at-bats.

“To play a part in sweeping three from the best team in baseball, that’s a thrill,” Pasqua said. “I knew I hit it well, but I wasn’t sure it was going out. After the one Dave Henderson hit (that stayed in the park) Saturday, you don’t know.”

Boston 2, Baltimore 0--A couple of old-timers are keeping the Red Sox in the pennant race.

Greg Harris, a 34-year-old right-hander who has spent most of his career as a journeyman reliever, has solved the starting pitching problems.

Dwight Evans is 38, but it is not really surprising that he is providing the power. It’s one of the contributions he’s been making for 18 seasons.

Harris held the Orioles to five hits and struck out seven in eight innings to improve his record to 8-3. Manager Joe Morgan put Harris into the rotation April 28 and he has pitched brilliantly almost every time out.

Evans drove in both runs as the Red Sox stayed half a game behind Toronto. Evans, whose second home run of the game Saturday brought the Red Sox from behind to win in 10, hit his eighth home run and a sacrifice fly.

Evans is the only current major leaguer to hit 20 or more home runs for each of the last nine seasons. He seems ready to make it a decade.

“I rarely really go for home runs,” said Evans, who has hit 422. “But yesterday and today I did, because we needed the runs.”

Harris, who calls himself a journeyman, says that association with Roger Clemens and Mike Boddicker is making him a better pitcher.

“It’s rubbing off on me,” he said.

Toronto 8, New York 3--George Bell wears a protective ring around his sore right thumb. It doesn’t affect his hitting.

The Blue Jays’ slugger hit consecutive home runs at Toronto, then added a run-scoring single, driving in four runs to keep Toronto atop the East.

Bell has hit five home runs in the last four games and has driven in 11 runs in the last five games.

“The soreness isn’t going away because I’m not taking a rest,” Bell said. “Every game is important and I’m playing. It feels a little better, but it’s sore.

“I’m just hoping you’ll be seeing me wearing this thing in the World Series.”

Kansas City 11, Minnesota 2--Most of the game the Royals were moving ahead just one base at a time at Minneapolis. But 20 singles is certain to get a team some runs, especially when seven of them are in a row.

The seven-run third in which Jim Eisenreich singled in two runs with one of his five hits, made it a romp for Storm Davis (2-5).

Cleveland 9, Milwaukee 5--Chris James had four hits and drove in four runs at Milwaukee to lead the Indians.

With a 9-1 lead, the Indians took out John Farrell after five innings. But before winning, they had to call on Doug Jones, who went 1 2/3 innings for his 22nd save of the season and 100th of his career.

Seattle 11, Texas 5--Dave Valle had three hits, including a three-run homer, and drove in four runs at Arlington, Tex., to lead the Mariners’ offense.

Erik Hansen (7-6) gave up eight hits and five runs in 7 2/3 innings, but was the winner as the Mariners moved into fourth place in the West.