AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Rangers Give Brown 12th Victory, 16-13

If it’s a low-scoring, tight game, Kevin Brown can usually win it.

And if it’s a wild-scoring game, the Texas Rangers’ 6-foot-4 right-hander can usually win that, too.

Brown didn’t have to be at his best Tuesday night at Toronto, and wasn’t, but he became the major league’s first 12-game winner when the Rangers outlasted the Blue Jays, 16-13.

At first glance, it appears Brown didn’t pitch very well. He gave up eight hits and eight runs, seven earned, in seven innings.

Ruben Sierra keyed a nine-run third inning that ended any Blue Jay hopes. Sierra had a run-scoring double and a bases-loaded walk in the big inning. All the runs in the inning were unearned because of an error by rookie third baseman Jeff Kent.

Except for a three-run home run by Joe Carter in the fifth, Brown seemed to have the game under control. He left with Texas leading 15-8.

Gerald Alexander, just up from the minors, gave up five runs in the ninth to make it look close.

Sierra was four for five, including two doubles and a triple, and drove in three runs to lead the Rangers’ 20-hit attack.

Brown, who has won seven of his last eight decisions, is 12-4. He has won, 1-0, and twice by 3-2 scores. This one was not as close, but Brown said he earned the victory.

“People who saw the game might not think so, but I worked hard,” Brown said.

The 29 runs were the most in the majors this season. The Blue Jays won Monday night’s game, 11-4.

“It seems to me that we’re always in a slugfest with them,” said Ranger Al Newman, who had two singles in the nine-run inning. “But they don’t need to hang their heads, they scored 13 runs.”

The Rangers lost Juan Gonzalez when he injured his hamstring running out an infield hit in the first inning.

Oakland 4, Seattle 2--Mark McGwire drew a bases-loaded walk that broke a seventh-inning tie and sent the Athletics to victory at Seattle.

Jose Canseco, expected to go on the disabled list today because of a sore shoulder, hit his 18th home run in the third inning. The Athletics want him rested and ready when they resume play after the All-Star break.

The A’s won for the 12th time in their last 17 road games and ran their record to 5-0 against the Mariners this season. Seattle has lost nine of 11.

Bob Welch (5-4) pitched eight innings and gave up six hits, all singles. Dennis Eckersley pitched the ninth inning and remained perfect in 27 save chances this season, and has converted 31 in a row in two years. Both streaks are major league records.

Boston 8, Detroit 5--Rookie Bob Zupcic has the distinction of being the leading hitter on the worst hitting team in the American League.

The .317 hitter can also point with pride to his first grand slam. It came with one out in the ninth inning at Boston to bring the Red Sox from behind.

Daryl Irvine, another rookie, who was called up earlier in the day from Pawtucket, pitched three scoreless innings for the victory.

Zupcic’s second career home run came off Tiger bullpen ace Mike Henneman on a 3-and-1 pitch with the Red Sox trailing, 5-4. Henneman was going for his 13th save in 14 tries. He walked Phil Planter with one out, gave up a double to Scott Cooper and walked Jody Reed intentionally before facing Zupcic.

New York 6, Kansas City 0--Scott Sanderson (7-5) used only 86 pitches and held the Royals to four hits at New York.

Sanderson threw strikes on the first pitch to 19 of the first 24 batters he faced, did not walk a batter and struck out five.

The Yankees hit as many home runs as the Royals had hits and all of them came on the first pitch.

Don Mattingly, who matched the Royals’ hit total, had his ninth home run and a double in a four-for-four performance.

“I didn’t know it had been three years since I had four hits in a game,” Mattingly said, “but I feel good at the plate. I enjoy hitting in the fourth spot rather than the second.”

Baltimore 12, Milwaukee 3--After three defeats in a row and more than an hour delay because of rain at Baltimore, the Orioles were ready to hit.

Rookie Jeff Tackett drove in five runs with a home run and a double and the Orioles scored 10 runs in the second and third innings to make Rick Sutcliffe’s 10th victory a breeze.

Tackett, who has been a bit of a sensation since taking over for injured catcher Chris Hoiles on June 22, hit a three-run homer to climax the four-run third that was all Sutcliffe needed.

Since taking over Tackett is hitting .321 and has two home runs.

“He’s taking advantage of the situation,” Manager Johnny Oates said. “I told him in spring training he wasn’t going to play too much, unless something happened to Chris (Hoiles). When it did, Jeff was ready.”

Sutcliffe (10-6) gave up eight hits in seven innings. Before Sutcliffe won, Baltimore starters were 1-10 with an ERA of 6.36 in the previous 16 games.

Cleveland 5, Chicago 4--Carlos Martinez singled through a drawn-in infield to drive in Alex Cole to win the game at Cleveland.