AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Athletics Fall to Tigers, 5-4, and Out of First

Though falling into second place isn’t all that bad, the Oakland Athletics might be wondering when they are going to get some production out of the highest-paid player in the game.

In a 5-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers Wednesday at Oakland that dropped the Athletics .004 behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League West, Jose Canseco left after two innings complaining of a sore right wrist.

Canseco, who was on the disabled list because of a lower back injury, is 0 for 9 since returning and has struck out five times.

Canseco was hit on the wrist by Chicago’s Jack McDowell last weekend. The A’s say his status is day-to-day.

Oakland’s Mark McGwire hit his 20th homer and Dave Henderson hit his 13th. For the second time in the last week, Henderson missed pulling out a victory with a long out to end the game. Mike Heath had put the Tigers ahead, 5-4, in the ninth inning with a home run off reliever Todd Burns.

“We were fortunate,” Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson said. “That last drive of Henderson’s got caught up in the wind and stayed in.

“Oakland’s a great team, but they’re all right-handed. If you are a right-hander and you throw hard and have a hard-breaking ball, you can beat them.”

Boston 9, Toronto 5--Mike Boddicker is about baseball’s hottest pitcher, but two months ago the Red Sox veteran was wondering if he would ever win again.

After winning his first start of the season Boddicker had lost three games in a row, giving up 12 runs in 14 innings. His mechanics were, in his words, all fouled up.

He really didn’t need to worry. When he pitched seven innings of the Red Sox’s victory over Toronto in a rain-delayed game at Boston, Boddicker won his ninth in a row.

Starting with seven shutout innings in a victory over Seattle, the 33-year-old right-hander has been unbeatable.

His ninth consecutive victory improved his record to 10-3 and the Red Sox, after winning three in a row over the Blue Jays, lead the American League East by 2 1/2 games.

There was a 1-hour 40-minute delay before the start of the game.

Boddicker gave up nine hits and all five Toronto runs. One of the hits was a two-run home run by Kelly Gruber.

When Boddicker lost three in a row, the Red Sox were shut out twice and scored only one run in the other.

The Red Sox broke it open with six runs in the fifth inning. Tom Brunansky hit a one-out flyball to right that Junior Felix misplayed into a triple. It opened the gates and made a loser of Jimmy Key (4-3). In six previous starts at Fenway Park, Key was 4-0 with an ERA of 1.84, rather surprising for a left-hander.

“I’m still winning,” Boddicker said. “And I’m grateful for that. But actually, I have not been pitching that well lately.

“What has happened is that either the hitters or the relief pitchers have bailed me out.”

Before the sweep, the Blue Jays had won 15 in a row in Boston.

Texas 9, Minnesota 2--Nolan Ryan moves steadily toward his goal of 300 victories. Apparently recovered from a stress fracture in his lower back, he earned his 296th victory.

Ryan, 43, gave up six hits and a run in seven innings at Minneapolis to improve to 7-4.

In his last four outings, which include his sixth no-hitter, he has given up only six earned runs.

Although he only struck out three Twins, Ryan needs three more strikeouts to reach 100 for the 22nd season. It would break a tie with Don Sutton.

Julio Franco snapped a two-for-22 slump in five games without a run batted in. He went three for four and drove in four runs.

Ruben Sierra was back in the Ranger lineup. He tripled in the second inning for his first hit in 14 at-bats.

Milwaukee 5, New York 4--Dave Parker singled in the second inning at New York to reach the 2,500-hit plateau. He had two more singles, one of them coming before Rob Deer hit his 13th home run to give the Brewers a 5-1 lead.

Don Mattingly singled with two out and the bases loaded in the ninth to cut the lead to a run, but Matt Nokes grounded to second to end the game and give Chuck Crim his sixth save.

Mattingly, who has not hit a home run in 33 games, had two singles.

Baltimore 6, Cleveland 3--Chris Hoiles hit his first major league home run with two on in the 10th inning at Baltimore to give the Orioles the victory.

The home run, Hoiles’ fourth hit in 26 at-bats in the majors, was the first hit for the Orioles since the second inning and made a winner of Gregg Olson (4-2).

The Orioles had five hits and three runs in the first two innings. Tim Hulett and Mike Devereaux hit home runs.

Seattle 3, Kansas City 2--The Royals stayed out of the cellar for 24 hours. Rookie Jeff Schaefer’s run-scoring single in the eighth inning at Seattle broke a tie and the Royals dropped below Texas again.

Edgar Martinez drew a walk from Mark Davis (1-4) and Tracy Jones had his third hit to set the stage for Schaefer.