AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Fielder Fuels Tigers With 2 Home Runs, 9-6

Cecil Fielder, by his standards, is having an ordinary season.

Were he having a good year, the slugging first baseman of the Detroit Tigers probably already would have 100 runs batted in.

Fielder, the major league home run and RBI leader the last two seasons, hit two three-run home runs Friday at Cleveland to spark the Tigers to a 9-6 victory.

The second home run broke a 6-6 tie in the ninth inning and gave Fielder a major league-leading 86 RBIs.

Although he has a good shot at his third RBI title, the two home runs left Fielder, with 22 home runs, 10 behind leader Mark McGwire of Oakland. With 58 games left, it would take a severe slump by McGwire for Fielder to win his third consecutive home run title.

“It’s been one of those seasons, up and down,” Fielder said. “One day I do, two-three days I don’t. I’ve been scuffling all season long. Every so often something like that happens that you hope you can hang onto.

“It’s not just not hitting home runs. I haven’t been hitting period. I’d like to bottle this.”

During July, Fielder hit six home runs, drove in 21 runs and batted .224.

The Indians built a 4-1 lead on Albert Belle’s first-inning two-run double.

Fielder’s home run off Eric Plunk in the seventh gave the Tigers a 6-4 lead. But Belle’s two-run home run in the bottom of the inning tied the score.

With two out in the ninth and a runner on, Travis Fryman got his third hit. Fielder, facing Steve Olin, hit a 421-foot drive to win the game.

Minnesota 4, Milwaukee 1--The Twins, handcuffed by Bill Wegman for six innings at Minneapolis, seemed on their way to their fifth consecutive defeat.

But, Scott Leius and Chili Davis hit consecutive two-run doubles in the seventh inning and the Twins ended their skid.

Wegman did not permit a runner past second until the seventh. But a double, a walk and a bloop single loaded the bases. Leius’ grounder inside third barely got past Kevin Seitzer. Davis ripped his double just inside first.

Kevin Tapani (12-6) gave up six hits in seven innings. He is 11-2 in his past 16 starts.

Kansas City 6, Oakland 5--The hot bat of Gregg Jefferies knocked the Athletics out of first place in the West.

Jefferies, who earlier hit a home run, a triple and a single, singled home Curtis Wilkerson from second in the 10th inning at Kansas City. It was Jefferies’ fourth hit in six at-bats.

Mark McGwire hit his 32nd home run in the seventh inning to tie the score and send the game into extra innings.

The Athletics, who started the trip with a three-game sweep of the Twins, fell half a game behind the Twins.

Toronto 13, New York 2--At Toronto, Pat Borders hit a home run and a double and drove in a personal-best five runs.

Borders made it easy for Todd Stottlemyre to end a long slump. Stottlemyre, who had not won since beating the Yankees on June 8, gave up six hits and a run in seven innings.

Boston 7-3, Baltimore 4-4--Tom Brunansky finished his hot July with a home run in each game at Boston, but the Red Sox managed only a split in the day-night doubleheader.

After hitting a three-run home run in the seventh inning to win the day game, Brunansky’s home run in the fifth inning of the second game cut the Orioles’ lead to 4-3.

But before Brunansky could get another at-bat, the rains came and the night game was shortened to 5 1/2 innings.

During July, Brunansky had eight home runs 32 RBIs.

Seattle 6, Chicago 3--Lance Parrish hit a three-run home run and Charlie Hough (4-7) failed for the fifth time to get his 200th victory.

Randy Johnson continued his success in Chicago. Although he needed help in the eighth, he improved his record to 5-0 at Chicago.

Edgar Martinez had three hits and took over the AL batting lead with a .335 average.