AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Leery of Leary, Orioles Protest Yankees’ Victory

Pitcher Tim Leary of the New York Yankees insisted the only thing in his mouth was saliva, but the Baltimore Orioles thought otherwise.

Mel Hall hit two two-run home runs and Don Mattingly and Charlie Hayes also connected as the Yankees beat the Orioles, 8-2, Sunday night at Baltimore, but the Orioles played the game under protest, saying Leary was doctoring the ball.

Baltimore Manager Johnny Oates told the umpires to check Leary in the fifth inning, and no evidence was found.

“I have nothing to hide,” Leary said. “My fingers were dry out there, and I was just putting some saliva on them.”

A replay showed that Leary put his glove close to his face and seemed to put something in his mouth as the umpires converged on the mound. The umpires found nothing in the glove, and Leary (5-5) stayed in the game.

At the end of the inning, a replay showed the former UCLA and Dodger pitcher reaching into his mouth and apparently taking something out as he walked into the dugout tunnel.

Oates had asked crew chief Dave Phillips to check Leary’s mouth, but Phillips refused.

“It’s not my right to look in his mouth and frankly I don’t want to put my hand in somebody’s mouth,” Phillips said. “Later (umpire) Jimmy (Joyce) came over to me and said it looked or appeared that he went to his mouth, but looking or appearing is different from knowing. We can’t eject him for suspicion. You have to have the goods.”

Leary said he did nothing to warrant the search.

“I have never been checked, and to be honest with you, when they came out to the mound I had no idea what was happening,” he said. “I go to my mouth a lot when I pitch.”

Oates said the Orioles collected several balls that were scuffed in the same place, and he is confident his protest will be successful.

“I think we have enough evidence,” Oates said. “There’s no doubt in our minds. The videos we’ve got, the baseballs we’ve got, his actions on the mound and a couple of comments that were made to me by one of this umpires . . . we’ve got a strong case.”

Leary gave up two runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Chicago 6, Detroit 5--Catcher Ron Karkovice hit a home run with two out in the seventh inning to give the White Sox a comeback victory over the Tigers at Chicago.

The homer was the fifth of the season and second in two days for Karkovice. He also had a run-scoring double during the fourth inning.

Detroit starter Bill Gullickson left the game in the first inning when Robin Ventura lined a single off his right shin. X-rays on Gullickson were negative.

Texas 3, Boston 2--Brian Downing’s two-run single capped a three-run rally in the sixth inning against a wild Roger Clemens and the Rangers beat the Red Sox at Arlington, Tex., for a three-game sweep.

Clemens (9-5) took a two-hitter and a 2-0 lead into the sixth, but consecutive walks, an RBI single by Juan Gonzalez, an error and Downing’s single led to his downfall.

Red Sox Manager Butch Hobson said outfielder Mike Greenwell will undergo surgery to repair his ailing right elbow. If it is major surgery, as expected, Greenwell might miss the rest of the season.

Kansas City 2, Toronto 0--Kevin Appier shut out the Blue Jays on five hits for eight innings at Kansas City, then he was relieved by Jeff Montgomery.

Montgomery worked around John Olerud’s leadoff double in the ninth to preserve the shutout and earn his 16th save.

Minnesota 5, Seattle 0--Willie Banks, the first pitcher taken in the amateur draft five years ago, gave up four hits in six-plus innings, and Tom Edens completed the shutout with three innings of relief at Minneapolis.

Milwaukee 4, Cleveland 2--B.J. Surhoff’s run-scoring single during the sixth inning at Milwaukee sent the Brewers to their 14th victory in 20 games.