AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Mattingly Returns to Lineup in Style

Don Mattingly, sidelined a week with a dislocated right pinky, hit a key home run and Mel Hall broke a sixth-inning tie with a single as the surging Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-3, Tuesday night at New York.

“I wanted to contribute right away,” said Mattingly, the Yankee captain. “I didn’t want to bog the team down.”

With the Blue Jays leading, 3-0, Mattingly sparked the comeback with two out in the fourth inning when he hit a pitch from Todd Stottlemyre (5-2) into the right-field stands for his fourth home run and the Yankees’ first hit.

Scott Sanderson (7-2) got off to a shaky start, but settled down and retired 11 in a row at one point. Steve Farr got his fourth save.

The Yankees, who won for the ninth time in 12 games, tied the score, 3-3, in the fifth inning on Alvaro Espinoza’s RBI single and Pat Kelly’s run-scoring grounder.

Hall’s RBI single in the sixth inning gave him 13 hits in 24 at-bats against Stottlemyre during his career.

“Coming out of the bullpen, I had some of the best stuff I had all year,” Stottlemyre said. “The first three innings they hit the ball where we were, and in the next three they hit them where we weren’t.”

Chicago 4, Cleveland 1--Jack McDowell took the league lead in complete games, and Frank Thomas had two runs batted in as the White Sox won at Cleveland and ended the Indians’ four-game winning streak.

McDowell (6-3) allowed four hits and struck out eight in his fourth complete game. He was 0-1 with a 6.00 earned-run average in his previous four starts. He did not allow a hit until Chris James singled in the fourth inning and did not allow a runner to second until Brook Jacoby singled and advanced on a groundout in the fifth.

Cleveland spoiled McDowell’s shutout bid in the seventh inning on Jacoby’s single.

Rod Nichols (0-4) lasted 3 1/3 innings, giving up four runs. The White Sox led off each of their four innings against him with a hit. Sergio Valdez pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings in relief.

Seattle 8, Detroit 6--Henry Cotto hit a two-run homer and scored four runs as the Mariners won at Detroit to hand the Tigers their seventh defeat in a row.

The Mariners won for the fourth time in five games, and Brian Holman (6-5) got his second consecutive victory despite allowing six runs in 5 1/3 innings. Mike Jackson, the fifth Seattle pitcher, got the last two outs for his sixth save.

Minnesota 4, Baltimore 3--A pinch-single by slumping Randy Bush with two out in the 10th inning gave the Twins a victory at home.

With two out, Brian Harper singled off Gregg Olson (0-2). After Kent Hrbek walked on four pitches, Pedro Munoz ran for Harper and scored when Bush--two for 22 at the time--looped a hit in front of right fielder Dwight Evans to give the Twins their seventh victory in eight games.

Kansas City 4, Texas 1--Danny Tartabull returned from injury with a decisive homer, and Mike Boddicker again baffled Texas at Kansas City as the Royals ended Texas’ seven-game road winning streak.

Tartabull, in his first game since being hit in the hand May 27, broke a 1-1 tie by hitting a homer off Jose Guzman (0-2) in the seventh inning.

Boddicker (4-4) gave up four hits--all doubles--for his first victory since May 12 and raised his lifetime record against Texas to 13-4. Jeff Montgomery pitched the ninth for his 10th save.

Ruben Sierra’s double in the third inning was his 318th extra-base hit, breaking the Texas record of Toby Harrah.

Oakland 4, Milwaukee 3--Bob Welch (5-3) won for the first time in four starts, holding the Brewers to four hits in eight innings, striking out three and walking three.

Dennis Eckersley worked the ninth, getting his major league leading 16th save by striking out Jim Gantner and Dale Sveum after issuing his first walk in 25 innings this season.