AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : No Event, Just Victory for Morris Over Stewart, 7-4

Not long ago, a matchup of Jack Morris and Dave Stewart was an event.

When they hooked up Wednesday at Minneapolis, it was two pitchers struggling to escape slumps.

Morris, who survived a four-run fourth inning, won what was anything but a memorable duel, pitching the Minnesota Twins to a 7-4 victory over Stewart and the slumping Oakland Athletics.

Stewart, whose string of April victories ended at 20 last week, had his third consecutive poor outing, and the A’s, beset by injuries, have lost six of their last seven games.

Morris, signed as a free agent by the Twins after 13 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, had lost three in a row with his new team.

“I finally feel like this is my team now,” Morris said. “The first two times out I was trying to do too much. I pitched better in the loss to California. Today I stayed within myself.”

Rookie second baseman Chuck Knoblauch hit a triple with the bases loaded in the sixth inning to highlight a five-run rally that put the Twins over the top.

“I usually nail it down,” Stewart said of game in which he has a lead. “It’s just a sequence of things that have happened in the last three weeks. There’s nothing I can do except make the adjustments and ride the bad times out.”

How bad is it? Stewart, a 20-game winner in each of the last four seasons, fell to 1-2. It is the first time during a season that Stewart has had a losing record since April of 1987, a year in which he won 20 for the first time.

Stewart won his first start, giving up three hits in seven innings. But in his last three outings, Stewart has been battered. In 18 innings, he has given up 29 hits, 20 runs--all earned--and walked 11 batters while striking out 12.

“Physically, he’s fine,” Oakland Manager Tony La Russa said of Stewart. “The edge is off right now, and I have every confidence he’ll have that edge again.”

Kansas City 4, Cleveland 2--Kirk Gibson extended his home run-hitting streak to four games in dramatic fashion at Cleveland.

Greg Swindell was pitching well for the Indians, giving up three hits, striking out 12 and holding a 2-0 lead going into the ninth inning.

After giving up a single to Jim Eisenreich to open the ninth, Swindell gave way to bullpen ace Doug Jones, who retired Kevin Seitzer and Warren Cromartie.

But Gibson, on a one-and-two pitch, hit the ball over the right-field fence to tie the score. It was his sixth home run.

The Indians left Jones in for the 10th inning and he lost it. Gary Thurman singled in the go-ahead run and eventually scored.

Swindell, who lost his first three decisions, retired the first 14 Royals before Russ Morman, who scored the winning run after opening the 10th with a hit, singled with two out in the fifth.

Gibson, who hit eight home runs in 89 games for the Dodgers last season, has 12 RBIs in 13 games.

Toronto 6, Boston 1--Dave Stieb gave up one unearned run in six innings at Boston to end the Red Sox’s six-game winning streak and the Blue Jays’ three-game losing streak.

Joe Carter had three hits for the second game in a row, stole a base and scored two runs for Toronto.

“I love playing here,” Carter said of Fenway Park. “You see the ball so well because of the background with the big green wall, and the fans are always in the game.

“It’s as much the atmosphere as it is the park. It’s fun. I always enjoy playing here.”

Carter, who hit his 20th home run in Fenway on Monday, raised his average to .359.

Texas 8, Milwaukee 2--Kevin Brown gave up only four hits in eight innings at Milwaukee and the Rangers won their third in a row.

Steve Buechele triggered a four-run fifth inning with a tiebreaking home run. Buechele ended a one-for-14 slump when he homered against Mark Knudson to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

Baltimore 5, Chicago 1--The Orioles, behind the sharp pitching of Jeff Ballard, spoiled the Chicago debut of 43-year-old Charlie Hough with the White Sox.

The knuckleball specialist was wild. He gave up four runs on five hits, five walks and two hit batsmen in 3 2/3 innings.

Ballard, before needing help in the ninth, held the White Sox to five hits in eight innings.