AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Morris Beats Orioles for Third Victory in Row

Jack Morris couldn’t remember the last time he had a winning record, and he wasn’t thrilled to be reminded that it was 13 1/2 months ago.

“If you’re a starting pitcher in any league, your goal is to be over .500,” said the Minnesota pitcher Monday night after winning his third consecutive start, 3-2 over the Baltimore Orioles at Minneapolis. “You don’t want to be a .500 pitcher or a losing pitcher. You want to win.”

After an 0-3 start, Morris has improved to 6-5--his first winning record since he was 2-1 on April 18, 1990.

The 36-year-old right-hander, who left Detroit via free agency during the off-season, gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out five in eight-plus innings Monday.

“I was struggling a bit, but it was still good enough,” said Morris, helped by Rick Aguilera, who got his 12th save. “I was getting ahead of batters so I could afford to miss with a few pitches.”

As important as Morris’ pitching rejuvenation has been to the Twins, so has Kent Hrbek’s hot hitting. With both of them playing well, Minnesota has won six of seven games and is 24-16 after a 2-9 start.

Hrbek drove in two runs with a home run and a double, giving him a six-game hitting streak, 33 hits in his last 113 at-bats and raising his average from a season-low .122 to .247.

Baltimore is 5-6 under John Oates, who on May 23 replaced the fired Frank Robinson as manager. The five victories came in the six games before Monday’s loss.

Oriole starter Jeff Robinson (3-5) gave up eight hits in 4 2/3 innings and is 0-3 with a 9.22 ERA in road games.

Oakland 5, Chicago 3--Harold Baines broke out of a slump with four hits against his former team, including a three-run homer in the first inning as the Athletics won at Chicago.

Joe Slusarski (2-2) won for the first time since April 11, allowing two runs and three hits in six innings. Joe Klink pitched 1 2/3 innings and Dennis Eckersley finished for his 15th save.

Carlton Fisk led off the White Sox ninth with a home run off Eckersley. Eckersley has given up five homers in 24 innings this season, compared to two in 73 1/3 innings last season.

The Athletics and White Sox split a four-game series, which included a bench-clearing brawl on Saturday when A’s catcher Terry Steinbach was hit in the head by a pitch from Bobby Thigpen and hospitalized. Steinbach was released from the hospital Monday.

Cleveland 2, Detroit 0--Charles Nagy pitched seven strong innings and Beau Allred drew a bases-loaded walk from Walt Terrell in the sixth as the Indians beat the Tigers to complete a four-game sweep at Cleveland.

It was Cleveland’s first four-game sweep of the Tigers since 1977. The Tigers have lost six in a row, all on the road. They are 1-12 in their last 13 road games.

Nagy (2-5) got his first victory since April 22. He gave up eight hits, struck out six and walked one. Shawn Hillegas pitched two innings for his fourth save.

Toronto 5, New York 3--Joe Carter hit his third home run in three days in a two-run fifth inning to lead the Blue Jays at New York in a game that was rain-delayed for 2 hours 8 minutes in the top of the sixth.

Carter opened the fifth inning with his ninth homer, breaking a 3-3 tie.