AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Kelly Calls Bosio Lucky, Garner Calls Him Great

Chris Bosio didn’t necessarily impress Manager Tom Kelly of the Minnesota Twins with his ability Sunday when he pitched the Brewers to a 4-2 victory at Milwaukee.

But he did impress Kelly with his luck as the Brewers moved into contention in the American League East.

Bosio (10-5) thwarted a Twins’ rally in the seventh inning, won his fourth game in a row and moved the Brewers within 4 1/2 games of Toronto.

With runners on first and third and nobody out, Bosio struck out Shane Mack on a curve in the dirt for the first out. Chuck Knoblauch grounded to third and Jim Gantner nailed Mike Pagliarulo at the plate, and Bosio escaped when Kent Hrbek grounded to first.

“We had runners on first and third, and we didn’t get the job done,” Kelly said.

“Bosio is lucky, but he gets the job done. He’d had more walks if we’d swung the bat better.”

Brewer Manager Phil Garner disagreed with Kelly.

“Bosio pitched another great game,” he said. “He got in a jam and got out of it. That was a big strikeout and Gantner made a fine play. He didn’t have a play at first.”

Two innings earlier Mack extended his hitting streak to 14 games. In the streak he is 28 for 56 (.500).

Bosio left after the seventh, Mike Fetters pitched an inning and Doug Henry pitched the ninth for his 23rd save.

Kansas City 5, Oakland 2--George Brett hit a two-run double in the third inning at Oakland to reach 1,500 RBIs. He also helped the Royals win their first game in the West after 11 defeats.

Kevin Appier (13-4) finally beat the Athletics after losing to them twice. He gave up both runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Gregg Jefferies led off the game with his eighth home run and went two for four. It was his 12th multi-hit game in the last 14. During the hot spell he is 23 for 44 (.523). The spree started when he became the lead-off hitter.

New York 6, Boston 0--Sam Militello couldn’t have picked a better time for his major league debut.

With the Yankees crying for pitching help, the 22-year-old right-hander gave up one hit, a single to left by Tony Pena in the second inning, in seven innings at New York and retired 15 batters in a row.

Pena’s hit bounced off the glove of shortstop Andy Stankiewicz and into left field.

After a 36-minute rain delay, the Yankees brought in Steve Farr, who finished.

Detroit 9, Toronto 2--Just about everyone except rookie David Haas was impressed with his first major league start.

Haas, who had made 12 relief appearances, was disappointed because he was taken out in the seventh inning at Detroit with a 9-2 lead.

“Unfortunately, I’ll remember that I didn’t finish the inning,” Haas said. Travis Fryman helped the rookie get his victory with a home run and four RBIs.

Baltimore 3, Cleveland 2--When Cal Ripken singled home the winning run with one out in the 10th inning at Baltimore, it sent the Orioles into a four-game series at Toronto tonight with momentum and only a two-game deficit.

Seattle 6, Texas 5--Tino Martinez singled with the bases loaded in the 14th inning at Seattle to end the Mariners’ seven-game losing streak and the Rangers’ 13-game winning streak in the Kingdome.

Edgar Martinez, who reached second on an error by third baseman Dean Palmer, scored on the hit by Tino Martinez.