AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : McDonald Stops White Sox, 3-0

Ben McDonald was sensational as a rookie last season for the Baltimore Orioles. He was one of the reasons the young team did so well.

But this season, the Orioles don’t know what to expect from the young right-hander. As one writer put it, they don’t know whether Ben or Ronald McDonald will show up.

Surprisingly, it was the Ben of last season who showed up to face the White Sox Friday night at Chicago.

The White Sox had won eight in a row, scoring 72 runs in that span. It didn’t figure that McDonald, with his 5.73 earned-run average, would stop them.

But McDonald and the Orioles’ bullpen held the White Sox to eight hits and ended the streak with a 3-0 victory.

McDonald gave up four hits in 5 2/3 innings, while four relievers gave up the rest in 3 1/3 innings, turning back one threat after another.

Bullpen ace Gregg Olson got the last three outs to earn his 23rd save.

Chicago’s Alex Fernandez (5-8), who had not lost in his previous eight starts, gave up five hits and all the runs despite striking out 10 in 6 2/3 innings.

Oakland 3, Minnesota 1--It may be a little early for a division showdown, but in the opener of a three-game series at Oakland, the Athletics welcomed a fine effort by Bob Welch.

Welch (9-6), who was 17-4 last season and won the Cy Young Award, went the distance, giving up seven hits as the A’s moved to within three games of the Twins in the West.

Terry Steinbach threw out four Twins trying to steal, hit a double and scored the tiebreaking run in the fourth on Mark McGwire’s single against Jack Morris (13-8).

Boston 5, Toronto 3--There are people in the Boston organization who are saying Roger Clemens has lost something on his fastball.

They point out that he struggled through the month of July with only one victory, didn’t have a double-digit strikeout performance and began August with an 11-7 record after winning his first six starts.

The Blue Jays are the best team in the East and they can find nothing wrong with the Red Sox right-hander.

Despite home runs by Kelly Gruber and Joe Carter, the Blue Jays couldn’t handle Clemens.

Tom Candiotti was nursing a two-hitter through four innings, but his wildness put him in a jam in the fifth and Mike Greenwell and Tom Brunansky hit back-to-back home runs to highlight a five-run inning.

Greenwell’s eighth home run was a three-run blast.

It was the third time in the last two seasons that Clemens has given up two home runs in a game and won.

Clemens (12-7) struck out nine and walked one. He gave up five hits and pitched his sixth complete game in 22 starts.

It was the third time this season Clemens has beaten the Blue Jays, who lead the East by five games over Detroit. He has beaten the Blue Jays eight times in a row.

Clemens opened the season by beating them at Toronto, 6-2, giving up a run in eight innings. Then, April 23 at Boston, he shut them out for seven innings and won, 3-0.

The Red Sox were without Wade Boggs, who is out indefinitely with a hamstring injury.

Kansas City 6, Cleveland 4--Kevin Appier won his fifth in a row, but not before he stirred things up at Cleveland.

Although he gave up nine hits in seven innings, Appier took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

The first batter he faced, Carlos Martinez, had a 16-game hitting streak. Appier hit him and an irate Martinez tried to charge the mound. Both benches emptied and a brief brawl ensued.

Martinez was slowed by home plate umpire Jim Evans and catcher Brent Mayne.

Martinez was ejected and Manager Hal McRae removed Appier.

Detroit 7, New York 3--Cecil Fielder and Rob Deer get most of the headlines among the power hitters of the Tigers, but second baseman Lou Whitaker is also having another big season.

Whitaker had two hits, including a two-run home run, at Detroit as the Tigers continued to stay in contention in the East.

Whitaker extended to 46 his streak of games in which he has been on base at least once.

Whitaker is hitting .292, but since the streak started, he has batted .337.