AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Starting Is No Cure for Davis

Mark Davis was arguably the best relief pitcher in baseball last season. He saved 44 games and won four others for the San Diego Padres. He won the National League Cy Young Award, and The Sporting News named him the best pitcher in baseball.

The 29-year-old left-hander became a free agent and signed with Kansas City for $13 million for four seasons. Davis, who failed on only four opportunities for saves last season, failed more often than that in his first two weeks in the American League.

Royal Manager John Wathan tried taking pressure off by bringing him in earlier in games. But after 31 1/3 innings, he had an earned-run average of 5.40 and a 1-5 record and he had given up 39 hits and 25 walks.

Kansas City gave him a shot as a starter Sunday at Detroit. Same result.

The Tigers knocked Davis out in the fourth inning in a 10-4 victory. He only gave up three hits but walked six and yielded four runs.

It was Davis’ first start since June 19, 1987, when he was with San Francisco. He is 13-29 as a starter.

John Shelby, Mike Heath and rookie Travis Fryman homered for the Tigers. Fryman’s three-run shot in the seventh inning off Jeff Montgomery was his first major league hit.

“I can’t figure it out,” Wathan said. “We’ve tried everything else. We’ve now tried him in all the different situations.

“It was the same old stuff we’ve seen. He was wild. You’ve got to throw strikes in this game.”

Davis walked 31 in 92 2/3 innings last season. He has walked 31 in 35 innings for the Royals.

“They wanted me to try a couple of things mechanically,” Davis said. “At times I felt comfortable. There were some spurts. I want to pick out the good things, because that’s what the start was for. I expect to be going back to the bullpen.”

Oakland 8, Cleveland 3--Jose Canseco emerged from his slump in time to put the Athletics back on top in the West.

Canseco, who was three for 33 since coming off the disabled list, hit his 22nd home run, a triple and a single at Cleveland. The home run, to center field against Tom Candiotti, went about 460 feet.

Dave Stewart held the Indians to five hits in seven innings and earned his 11th victory.

Texas 4, Boston 3--Jack Daugherty, who had hit his first two major league home runs earlier in the game for the Rangers at Arlington, Tex., scored the winning run in the 11th inning on shortstop Luis Rivera’s throwing error with two out and the bases loaded.

Roger Clemens, seeking his 13th victory, had a 3-0 lead and a two-hitter until the seventh, when Daugherty hit a two-run home run. Jeff Reardon took over for Boston in the ninth, and Daugherty tied the score with a homer.

Baltimore 8, Chicago 6--Bobby Thigpen, who has 27 saves and four victories for the White Sox, usually pitches only one or two innings. But, in a 6-6 tie, he was asked to go a third inning, the 11th, in Chicago.

Mike Devereaux tagged the 26-year-old right-hander for a two-out, two-run double, and the White Sox lost their second game in a row.

Seattle 6, Toronto 3--Matt Young pitched a three-hitter, and Henry Cotto hit a two-run home run at Toronto as the Mariners ended the Blue Jays’ five-game winning streak.

Young (3-9) struck out seven for the Mariners, who had won seven of eight before losing the first two games of the weekend series at Toronto.

The Mariners built a 6-1 lead in the first three innings, and Young was in control except for Junior Felix’s 11th home run in the fifth.

Minnesota 6, New York 3--It probably figured that Tim Leary (3-12), their biggest loser, would be on the mound when the Yankees lost their 50th game.

Leary lost his eighth consecutive decision in this game at New York. He contributed to his downfall with an error on a pickoff attempt and a wild pitch. Leary went 4 2/3 innings, giving up five runs and eight hits.

Greg Gagne homered and drove in two runs to help David West improve to 4-6.