AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Yankees Still Have No Hitters for Hawkins

Andy Hawkins is as sharp as any pitcher in baseball. But the luck of the New York Yankees’ right-hander is horrible.

Hawkins (1-6), who performed a rarity Sunday--pitching a no-hitter and losing--pitched almost as well Friday night at New York in the first game of a doubleheader against Minnesota. And he lost again.

The Twins had three hits in nine innings, one of them a blooper, but Hawkins finally lost in the 12th inning, 2-0. The Yankees have not scored in the last 23 innings he has pitched.

Everybody that pitches a no-hitter has tried to equal Johnny Vander Meer’s feat of back-to-back gems. Hawkins joined the long list of those who failed when Gene Larkin hit a bloop single with two out in the second. The first clean hit was by Brian Harper with one out in the fifth.

Harper broke the scoreless tie with a two-out bloop single to score Greg Gagne from second in the 12th. Larkin also singled in a run and Hawkins was gone.

Hawkins’ string of innings without giving up an earned run ended at 21 1/3. The 11 2/3 innings was the longest stint of his career. He gave up six hits and struck out eight.

To add insult to injury, the Yankees scored three runs in the first inning of the second game. The Yankees won, 5-3.

“I can’t pitch any better than I’m doing now,” Hawkins said. “I don’t really feel bad. I know in my mind I can get these guys out again. I’m not crushed by any means.

“A pitcher wants to go out there and be consistent and I’ve done that in my last five starts.

In his last five starts, he has an earned-run average of 1.45. It’s quite a turnaround for Hawkins, 30, who had an 8.56 ERA on June 5 after two miserable performances. The hitters were batting .331 and the Yankees gave him two choices: go to the minors or get your release. He opted for the release, but was given a reprieve because Mike Witt went on the disabled list.

“I’ve had games in which I had a lot of runs and didn’t pitch too well. But just like Sunday, I had good stuff. I threw strikes and had all my pitches working.”

Cleveland 6-1, Oakland 1-12--The Athletics, a predominantly right-handed hitting team, were at the mercy of left-hander Greg Swindell in the opener at Cleveland. They had only five hits.

But against right-handers in the nightcap, the Athletics went on their biggest home run binge ever. They hit seven of them, two each by Mark McGwire and Rickey Henderson.

Jose Canseco, who was one for 17 since coming back from being hit on the right wrist with a pitch, hit his first home run in more than a month. Jamie Quirk homered, had two other hits and drove in four runs.

“You can’t explain it,” McGwire said. “It just happens. Don’t make a big deal of it. Our bats came alive in the second game. It’s the first time that our bats woke up in a while.”

Mike Moore (7-7) didn’t need all that help. He held the Indians to four hits in seven innings.

Chicago 4, Baltimore 2--Lance Johnson broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run triple in the seventh inning at Chicago and the White Sox moved back into first place in the West. They are two percentage points ahead of Oakland.

Melido Perez (7-7) got the victory, going seven innings, striking out eight and giving up one earned run. Barry Jones pitched an inning, then Bobby Thigpen gave up two hits in the ninth but earned his 27th save.

Toronto 1, Seattle 0--The Blue Jays are putting pressure on the Red Sox in the East again.

John Olerud hit his 10th home run in the sixth inning at Toronto and the Blue Jays moved to within 1 1/2 games of the Red Sox.

David Wells (6-2) went eight innings to get the victory. He gave up seven hits, struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter. Tom Henke pitched the ninth for his 16th save.

Except for the mistake to Olerud, Brian Holman (8-7) matched Wells. He gave up four other hits in seven innings.

Texas 4, Boston 0--Kevin Brown, shelled by the Red Sox for nine runs and seven hits in 1 2/3 innings Sunday, fared much better on this night at Arlington, Tex.

Brown (10-6) pitched a seven-hitter. He said he pitched poorly at Boston because he was upset about not being picked to pitch in the All-Star game.

Rafael Palmeiro doubled home two runs for the Rangers.