AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Red Sox’s Kiecker Opens Series on Good Note

Dana Kiecker, battered in three starts since Roger Clemens was hurt, pitched well and Ellis Burks and Mike Greenwell emerged from slumps to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 3-0 victory over the Yankees on Friday night in New York.

With Toronto losing to Cleveland, the Red Sox moved back into a tie for first place with the Blue Jays.

Kiecker gave up only two singles in seven innings to improve his record to 7-9. Larry Andersen gave up one hit in the last two innings for his first save.

The Red Sox had lost two in a row and won only two out of their last 10. Burks and Greenwell, between them, had only eight hits in 48 at-bats.

For five innings Boston was blanked by Chuck Cary. In the sixth, Wade Boggs looped a hit down the left-field line that skipped past left fielder Hensley Meulens for a triple. Burks hit the next pitch high into the bleachers in left for his 20th home run.

Greenwell, who had three hits, hit his 13th in the eighth innings.

“Down the stretch, if we’re going to win this, I’m going to have to have a few quality starts,” Kiecker said. “Obviously, tonight helped me, but I think it helped the team more. Now we have the right guys pitching the next two days.”

That would be Mike Boddicker (16-8) today and Clemens (20-6) on Sunday.

Yankee Manager Stump Merrill said the game turned around on Boggs’ single in the sixth inning.

“It should have been caught,” Merrill said. “It’s tough to say, because it hurts. But the kid is learning to play the outfield. A year from now, he’ll catch that ball.”

The triple was Boggs’ first hit at Yankee Stadium this season in 12 at-bats.

Don Mattingly started at first base for the first time since July 24 and was one for four.

Cleveland 2, Toronto 1--Sandy Alomar hit his eighth home run in the top of the 13th inning at Toronto to end the Blue Jays’ six-game winning streak that had put them into sole possession of first place.

Efrain Valdez pitched three hitless innings for his first major league victory, and Doug Jones pitched the 13th for his 39th save.

Alomar hit Frank Wills’ first pitch of the 13th inning to give the Indians their fifth victory in a row.

“We’re playing a hot team,” Manager Cito Gaston of the Blue Jays said. “We came up against some tough pitching. But we’ll be back at them tomorrow.”

Alomar said he went up looking for a fastball, and it was right down the middle.

Of the 11 games remaining, the Blue Jays play two at home, today and Sunday against the Indians. The Red Sox play eight at home, including three against the Blue Jays.

Oakland 6, Detroit 3--At Oakland, Bob Welch became the first major league pitcher to win 25 games in 10 years.

The score was tied, 2-2, in the seventh inning but designated hitter Harold Baines hit a three-run double to break it open.

The last pitcher to win 25 was Steve Stone of Baltimore in 1980. Welch (25-6) will have two more starts this season.

Welch went seven innings, giving up two runs and five hits. The Tigers rallied to get within a run in the eighth, but Dennis Eckersley turned back the threat for his 44th save.

Mark McGwire hit his 39th home run.

Dave Henderson was activated and drew a walk as a pinch-hitter in the sixth.

Chicago 5, Seattle 4--Sammy Sosa hit a home runs and drove in four runs as the White Sox disappointed a Seattle crowd of 55,679 by beating the Mariners.

It was the second largest crowd ever in the Kingdome.

Texas 2, Minnesota 1--Bobby Witt gave up only two hits at Minneapolis to win for the 14th time in his last 15 decisions and improve his record to 17-9.

For Witt, it has been a struggle since he won 11 games as a rookie in 1986.

He found a groove this season and won 12 in a row before losing Sept. 12. Jack Daugherty had three hits and drove in both Texas runs.

Baltimore 5, Milwaukee 3--Chris Hoiles had two hits and scored twice at Baltimore as the Orioles handed Ron Robinson his first defeat since Aug. 1.

Robinson (11-4) had won seven in a row. He pitched a complete game, giving up four hits. Three of the five runs were unearned.