AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Sutcliffe Beats Royals Again, 3-1

Although they only split their four-game series at Toronto, the Baltimore Orioles went to Kansas City still in the thick of the race in the American League East.

Leo Gomez hit a two-run home run Friday night and Rick Sutcliffe beat the Royals again, 3-1, as the Orioles kept the pressure on the Blue Jays.

Sutcliffe, who lives in a Kansas City suburb, is 6-0 against the Royals. He gave up seven hits and walked four in 6 2/3 innings.

Pat Clements relieved Sutcliffe during the seventh after former Dodger Juan Samuel singled home the Kansas City run.

Gregg Olson pitched the ninth and earned his 28th save.

Kevin Appier (13-5) had won 13 of his previous 15 decisions. But he has always had a problem with Gomez. The home run gave Gomez seven hits in 14 at-bats against him.

“We feel good about the split in Toronto,” said Bill Ripken, who walked with the bases loaded during the ninth.

“We knew we were in all four games. We proved we can play with them and can win in the SkyDome. We know we’ve got a good team. We feel we can win and we think we can catch them.

“It was essential that we not suffer a letdown. We have to keep the pressure on them.”

Toronto 9, Cleveland 5--The Blue Jays’ pitching problems don’t seem too serious when they score seven runs in an inning.

Although David Wells couldn’t make it through the sixth inning at Cleveland, consecutive home runs by John Olerud and Candy Maldonado triggered a seven-run third inning.

The 13-hit attack produced a 9-1 lead, but Wells (7-6) left the game during the sixth and the shaky bullpen gave up two more runs during the seventh.

The Blue Jays retained their two-game lead over the Orioles in the East.

Olerud’s three-run homer fueled the scoring burst.

“I’ve always felt Olerud could be a .300 hitter with power,” Blue Jay Manager Cito Gaston said. “I think if he can stay healthy, he can have a good year. He can learn about the pitchers and stuff like that.”

Olerud had two hits, increasing his average to .301. In the past two months, he has been batting about .330.

“I’m real happy with the average getting up there,” Olerud said. “I’d like to drive in more runs down the stretch.”

Minnesota 9, Seattle 6--Kirby Puckett hit home runs in his first two at-bats at Seattle, one of them a grand slam, and finished with six runs batted in.

The Twins, ending a two-game losing streak, pulled to within three games of first place in the West.

Chicago 6, New York 2--Shawn Abner’s two-run double capped a four-run eighth inning at Chicago that carried the White Sox to victory.

The White Sox capitalized on Scott Kamieniecki’s wildness. They scored twice on wild pitches, including the tiebreaking run during the eighth.

A throwing error by second baseman Steve Sax and a run-scoring single by Don Mattingly enabled the Yankees to make the score 2-2 during the eighth.

Detroit 9, Texas 6--Lou Whitaker homered and Gary Pettis hit two triples at Arlington, Tex., and each drove in three runs.

Whitaker’s two-run home run and Pettis’s first triple fueled a seven-run first that enabled David Haas to improve to 2-0 in two major league starts.

Juan Gonzalez hit two home runs, but it wasn’t enough to get the Rangers even. Haas gave up four runs in 6 2/3 innings but only one was earned.

Gonzalez’s second home run and 30th of the season in the ninth didn’t prevent Mike Henneman from getting his 20th save.

Milwaukee 8-1, Boston 7-0--Jim Gantner hit his first home run of the season leading off the bottom of the 13th inning at Milwaukee to give the Brewers the victory in the first game at Milwaukee.

The home run by the 38-year-old veteran ended the Brewers’ three-game losing streak.

The Red Sox, who held an early 4-1 lead, scored twice during the 12th inning before the Brewers rallied.

The Brewers completed the sweep when Cal Eldred (3-1) and Darren Holmes combined on a three-hitter.

Robin Yount singled home the only run during the first inning.