AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Howe Wins for Yankees; Sax to Play Third

It was the worst of four appearances in his comeback, but for Steve Howe, Sunday in New York was a day to remember.

Howe, whose alcohol and drug problems have kept him out of baseball in the past, was the winning pitcher in the Yankees’ 3-2 victory that stopped the Seattle Mariners’ six-game winning streak.

Howe, who had not won since he played with the Texas Rangers in 1987, gave up a run in the seventh inning after relieving Pascual Perez in the sixth. However, he was the pitcher of record when Mel Hall, who had twice hit into double plays, hit a two-run home run in the sixth.

“It feels good to get that win, but my personal goals are secondary,” Howe said. “We needed this win. I feel I belong here and can make a contribution.”

So can Perez. In two starts since recovering from shoulder surgery, he has given up only three hits and a run in 11 2/3 innings.

He gave up only one hit in 5 2/3 innings Sunday, but with two on in the sixth the Yankees decided to bring in Howe, who got Ken Griffey Jr. on a soft line drive to third to end the inning.

A bunt single, his own throwing error and a walk put Howe in trouble in the seventh inning, and Alvin Davis hit a sacrifice fly for the first run Howe has yielded in 5 2/3 innings. Davis homered in the ninth off Lee Guetterman, but the Mariners lost for only the second time in 14 games and fell out of first place in the West.

“I didn’t mind coming out of the game,” Perez said. “I think I’m back almost all the way. It’s just a case of getting stronger. Maybe, after 89 pitches, I can go 95 or more next time.”

After the game, the Yankees announced they would bring up Pat Kelly from their Columbus, Ohio, triple-A affiliate and move All-Star second baseman Steve Sax to third base.

“I’d rather play second, but I’ll do what they want,” Sax said.

Chicago 5, Toronto 4--Mark Whiten punched Chicago pitcher Jack McDowell in the face to trigger a bench-clearing brawl at Comiskey Park, but the White Sox had the last laugh.

After John Olerud homered to put Toronto ahead, 4-3, McDowell threw the next pitch behind Whiten. Whiten charged the mound and landed a roundhouse right just below McDowell’s left eye.

McDowell and Whiten were ejected.

The White Sox scored twice in the sixth inning, with Lance Johnson driving in the go-ahead run with a single.

“We needed to get a little fired up,” Johnson said. “Maybe this game will get everyone juiced. We needed something like this to wake everybody up.”

Whiten was still upset after the game. “I wasn’t worried about him moving me off the plate,” he said. “But that wasn’t a brushback. That was too much.”

McDowell, his swollen eye almost closed, denied that he threw at Whiten. “If he thinks that, he’s mistaken,” McDowell said.

Oakland 9, Cleveland 4--Dave Henderson doubled twice and singled at Cleveland, driving in four runs for a major-league leading total of 35.

Henderson is hitting .369. The A’s needed all of his contribution because the Indians have a hitter nobody has figured out how to stop.

Rookie second baseman Mark Lewis had three hits and drove in three runs. He has played in 20 games and in 13 of them he has had at least two hits. His average is .420.

Texas 12, Boston 4--The Rangers, in completing their three-game sweep at Arlington, Tex., stretched their winning streak to seven games.

After knocking Roger Clemens out of the unbeaten ranks in a 13-5 rout Saturday, the Rangers did the same to Tom Bolton (4-1).

Julio Franco went three for four with a home run and had four RBIs, leading the 16-hit attack.

Detroit 8, Minnesota 3--The Tigers hammered former teammate Jack Morris at Detroit and ended their eight-game losing streak.

Morris, a longtime Tiger mainstay, gave up a three-run home run to Cecil Fielder and a grand slam to Milt Cuyler in the first inning to make it easy for Dan Petry (2-2) to get the victory.

Milwaukee 4, Kansas City 2--Jaime Navarro (3-2) pitched a strong eight innings at Kansas City. He tired in the ninth and Julio Machado struck out the last two batters for the save.