BASEBALL ROUNDUP : McGwire Pounds Clemens, Red Sox

Mark McGwire, who has hit two or more home runs in 26 games during his career, did it for the third time this season--and second against the Boston Red Sox--Thursday at Boston, powering the Oakland Athletics to a 6-3 victory.

His first of the game was also the first of his career against Roger Clemens.

McGwire had gone one for 29 in his career against Clemens before his homer in the fourth inning cut Boston’s lead to 3-1.

“It’s nothing new when he gets me out,” McGwire said. “He’s a pitcher that gets me out all the time.

“Sometimes when a guy has your number, you have to try to do something to change that. Today, I was just trying not to think about it and get a hit.”

Clemens (4-2) appeared to struggle with his location through the middle innings. Along with McGwire’s home run, he gave up run-scoring triples to Mike Bordick in the fifth inning and Ruben Sierra in the sixth.

Clemens gave up four earned runs, seven hits and struck out six before being replaced by Greg Harris to start the eighth. The A’s are the only team he has a losing record against--he is 5-10 in 20 starts.

Bobby Witt (2-1) got the win and improved his career record to 2-0 in five confrontations with Clemens.

Toronto 10, Baltimore 8--Joe Carter and Darnell Coles had two-run homers and Ed Sprague hit a tiebreaking solo homer to lift the Blue Jays at Toronto.

Danny Cox (2-0), in relief of rookie Scott Brow, pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on four hits. Duane Ward got the final three outs for his ninth save.

Oriole starter Ben McDonald (2-3) gave up six runs on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts in four innings.

Seattle 9, Cleveland 5--Pete O’Brien ended an 0-for-16 slump with a single and one of the Mariners’ four home runs at Cleveland as Seattle ended the Indians’ five-game winning streak.

Jay Buhner, Ken Griffey Jr. and Tino Martinez also homered for Seattle. Alvaro Espinoza and Albert Belle homered for the Indians, Belle getting his major league-leading 11th.

Randy Johnson (4-2) was the beneficiary of the Mariners’ 16-hit outburst. Johnson, the major league strikeout leader, struck out seven, raising his total to 54.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cincinnati 5, Houston 4--Reggie Sanders’ two-run homer--the second of the ninth inning against Astro relief ace Doug Jones--capped a ninth-inning rally as the Reds scored all their runs in their final at-bat at Houston.

Doug Drabek took a shutout into the ninth, but lost it on a single by Bobby Kelly and a run-scoring double by Jeff Branson. Jones (1-1) came on and gave up Kevin Mitchell’s third homer and a double by Chris Sabo.

Randy Milligan flied out before Sanders hit his fourth homer.

Reliever Milt Hill (1-0) worked one inning, giving up eighth-inning solo homers by Jeff Bagwell and Luis Gonzalez.

Atlanta 13, Colorado 3--David Justice and Ron Gant each homered and drove in four runs at Denver, helping John Smoltz and the Braves defeat the Rockies.

The Braves scored at least one run in each of the first four innings off Colorado’s David Nied, a former Atlanta prospect who was the top pick in the expansion draft. The Braves led, 5-1, before Nied (3-3) pitched a scoreless fifth.

Smoltz (3-3) left the game in the sixth because of a blister on the ring finger of his pitching hand. He went 5 2/3 innings, giving up two of Colorado’s three hits and two runs--one earned.