AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : A’s Play Pair of Aces and Deal Indians 4-1 and 5-2 Defeats

Bob Welch of the Oakland Athletics has the best record of any pitcher in the majors, but his manager, Tony La Russa, says his record doesn’t show how good he has really been.

Welch held the Cleveland Indians to six hits in eight innings and improved his record to 15-3 Wednesday when he pitched the A’s to a 4-1 victory in the first game of a doubleheader at Oakland.

The Athletics turned on the power for Dave Stewart (12-8) and won the nightcap, 5-2, to extend their lead in the American League West to 1 1/2 games over the Chicago White Sox. Jose Canseco hit two home runs and Mark McGwire and Jamie Quirk also homered.

Dennis Eckersley retired three batters in the opener and two in the second game to get his 29th and 30th saves.

Candy Maldonado spoiled Welch’s bid for a shutout when he hit his 14th home run in the fourth inning.

In the continued absence of the one-two hitters in the batting order, it was the eight-nine batters who led the Athletics’ offense in the opener.

With Rickey Henderson and Carney Lansford injured, Walt Weiss and Mike Gallego keyed the offense. The double play combination had a hand in all four runs. Weiss had four hits, scoring twice and driving in a run, and Gallego had one hit, driving in a run and scoring another.

Of Welch, La Russa said: “He’s had the toughest two losses in the league, a freak injury contributed to a third and he still hasn’t pitched a bad game this year. He is a fantastic pitcher.”

Welch had a 10-game winning streak ended July 5 in Milwaukee, shortly after sliding into a railing behind home plate while catching a foul pop in the second inning. He had to leave after the next inning because of a hip injury received on the play.

It is his only loss since May 5. In that 5-1 defeat at Boston, Welch gave up one earned run in seven innings. In his other defeat, April 20, Brian Holman of Seattle, had a perfect game for 8 2/3 innings.

“I’m not worrying about number of victories or anything else,” Welch said. “I’m just concentrating on every pitch, pitch by pitch.”

This was Welch’s 20th start. Although he has only two complete games, he has gone seven or more innings 13 times. The only time he failed to go into the sixth was the game in which he had to leave because of the hip injury.

The A’s brought up Canseco’s twin brother Ozzie, despite a .229 average at double-A Huntsville, Ala. He struck out as a pinch-hitter in the second game.

Chicago 7, Detroit 5--The White Sox, trailing 5-4 going into the ninth at Detroit, faced the prospect of falling 2 1/2 games behind Oakland.

But Sammy Sosa hit his second two-run double of the game to give the White Sox another victory.

Donn Pall (2-4) got the win with ninth-inning relief help from Bobby Thigpen, who earned his 31st save, tops in the majors.

Cecil Fielder hit his 30th home run for the Tigers. The long homer to center triggered a four-run rally in the sixth that put Detroit ahead, 5-4.

Texas 7, Baltimore 1--Rafael Palmeiro had four hits, including a home run, and Bobby Witt struck out 10 at Arlington, Tex., winning his fourth in a row.

Palmeiro also drove in three runs. He is 14 for 29 with 11 RBIs in his last seven games. He has nine hits in his last 13 at-bats. He has raised his average to .325.

Palmeiro’s 10th homer of the season, a two-run shot in the third inning, gave Texas a 3-0 lead. His RBI single highlighted a three-run fifth that made it 6-0. Texas had lost three in a row after a seven-game winning streak.

Palmeiro hit his homer off Dave Johnson (8-6), who has given up 22 home runs, tops in the majors.

Seattle 5, Toronto 2--Matt Young’s pitching overcame Matt Young’s throwing at Seattle.

Young (4-10) pitched a two-hitter and defeated the Blue Jays despite his two throwing errors and two more errors by third baseman Edgar Martinez.

Young’s two-base wild throw contributed to the Blue Jays’ runs in the fourth inning. He leads major league pitchers with eight errors. In large part because of his own fielding, he leads the league with 14 unearned runs.

“I made a wild throw in Boston in 1985,” Young said, “and it’s been a mental block ever since.”

The Mariners had 13 hits, including Pete O’Brien’s first home run since May 2.

New York 5, Kansas City 3--In one of the most dismal seasons in their history, the Yankees may have someone to cheer about. Rookie outfielder Oscar Azocar hit a single, double and home run in his first start at New York.

The Royals’ Bo Jackson, who dislocated his shoulder after hitting three home runs Tuesday night, did not play and may miss three more games.