AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Ryan Shaky Again, but Rangers Rally, Win

It isn’t the first time in a fabulous major league career that began in 1968, that there has been speculation that Nolan Ryan is finished, especially since he is 45.

Despite his third disappointing outing of the season Tuesday at Baltimore, Ryan isn’t one of those who believe he is over the hill.

The Texas Rangers overcame Ryan’s shaky performance to beat the Orioles, 5-3, with the help of five shutout innings of relief by Jeff Robinson (3-2). It was only the Orioles’ second home loss in 10 games and ended a six-game winning streak.

The first five Orioles reached base against Ryan and they jumped off to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. But Ryan retired six of the last seven batters before rain stopped play for more than an hour after the second inning. Ryan didn’t return, but Robinson, coming off a poor 1991 season, pitched brilliantly and gave the Rangers a chance to come back.

Despite finishing with a flourish before the rains came, Ryan has an earned-run average of 11.42.

“It’s a long season, and you can’t let a couple of bad outings or being on the disabled list upset you,” Ryan said. “You can’t let it affect the way you approach your job. You have to put each game behind you and go on to the next one.

“Actually, I feel like I threw the ball better than I did in Chicago. But I’m not pleased by any means where I am.”

Ryan had a string of 18 consecutive shutout innings against the Orioles. But it ended quickly. Brady Anderson led off with a walk, stole second and scored on a single by Mark McLemore. Cal Ripken Jr. followed with his third home run, the first off Ryan in 57 1/3 innings.

Sam Horn tripled--his first ever in the majors--and Ryan hit Mike Devereaux with a pitch. Then came signs of the real Ryan. He struck out Chris Hoiles and Joe Orsulak and retired Leo Gomez on a grounder.

Ryan was 12-6 last year for the Rangers, Robinson was 4-9 with an ERA of 5.18 for the Orioles.

Dickie Thon, battling a four-for-22 slump, singled in the lead run with two out in the sixth and singled in another with two out in the eighth.

Chicago 12, Milwaukee 2--George Bell hit a grand slam homer in the first inning at Chicago and it gave Jack McDowell a running start to his sixth consecutive victory.

With the White Sox scoring in four of the first six innings, McDowell, the first to win six in the majors, only went eight innings, departing with an 11-2 lead.

In compiling the 6-0 record, McDowell, the former Stanford star from Van Nuys, has an earned-run average of 2.87. In 47 innings, he has struck out 29 and walked five.

Bell’s slam was the eighth of his career.

In sweeping the two-game series, the White Sox scored 19 runs.

Boston 4, Minnesota 1--Frank Viola didn’t treat his former mates in a friendly manner at Boston.

Viola, who was the most valuable player of the 1987 World Series for the Twins, was making his first start against the Twins after spending more than two years with the New York Mets.

The Twins reached Viola (3-2) for nine hits in 7 2/3 innings, but managed only one run.

Jeff Reardon, who also helped the Twins win the 1987 Series, pitched the ninth for his sixth save of the season. It was the 333rd save and put him just eight behind Rollie Fingers, the all-time major league leader.

The Red Sox jumped on rookie Pat Mahomes (2-1) for four runs in the first inning. Wade Boggs started the rally with a single and Ellis Burks doubled in one run and Tom Brunansky singled in two others.

Cleveland 8, Kansas City 6--Shortstop Mark Lewis of the Indians isn’t having any trouble hitting the baseball. But catching it is another story.

Lewis had two hits, scored two runs and drove in two runs at Cleveland, but he also made his 10th error in the last seven games.

“When you’re struggling with one thing, you’ve got to do the other things well,” said Lewis, who is batting .283.

“But I can’t let it get too far. I’ve had terrible luck. My luck can only get better.”

Toronto 5, Oakland 1--Joe Carter hit a solo home run and Kelly Gruber hit a three-run homer at Oakland and the Blue Jays took over first place in the East. At the same time, they knocked the Athletics out of first place in the West.

Jose Guzman pitched a strong seven innings to improve his record to 4-0. Duane Ward finished.

Seattle 7, New York 4--Rookie Dave Fleming pitched seven strong innings at Seattle and the Mariners ended a six-game losing streak with the help of four Yankee errors.

Harold Reynolds had three hits, drove in two runs and stole a base to spark the Mariners.

Mike Schooler came in in the ninth inning to save Fleming’s third win.