AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : McDowell Beats Rangers for Seventh Win

Jack McDowell became baseball’s first seven-game winner Friday night, pitching a four-hitter to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 4-0 victory over the Texas Rangers at Arlington, Tex.

McDowell (7-1) struck out six and walked one. Only one runner reached third base in McDowell’s first shutout of the season.

Kevin Brown (4-2), who started the game leading the American League with a 1.27 earned-run average, also pitched a four-hitter. He struck out five and walked four.

Ron Karkovice hit a two-run homer in the second inning, putting Chicago ahead, 3-0. The White Sox won for the 16th time in 21 games.

McDowell, 7-1 lifetime against Texas, was in trouble only once, retiring Jose Canseco and Butch Davis in the sixth with a runner on third.

Oakland 2, Seattle 1--Lance Blankenship’s pinch-hit single in the 11th inning gave the Athletics their 15th consecutive victory over the Mariners at Oakland.

Dave Henderson drew a leadoff walk from Rich DeLucia (1-2) and Terry Steinbach was hit by a pitch. Blankenship squared to bunt before grounding a hit-and-run single to right field that easily scored pinch-runner Eric Fox.

Joe Boever (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory.

Toronto 8, New York 6--John Olerud’s two-run homer in the ninth inning lifted the Blue Jays at New York.

The Blue Jays, 11-3 against New York last season, won the first game of the season between the teams.

Paul Molitor singled with one out in the ninth off Rich Monteleone (3-3), and Olerud hit his fourth home run with two outs.

Duane Ward (1-2) was the winner despite giving up Mike Humphreys’ tying, two-run single in the eighth.

Molitor, whose single put the Blue Jays ahead in the seventh, had three hits and drove in two runs.

Minnesota 4, Boston 3--Scott Erickson pitched three-hit ball for 8 1/3 innings at Minneapolis, continuing his mastery of the Red Sox, and former Twin Frank Viola walked a career-high seven in losing for the first time to Minnesota.

Erickson (2-4) walked leadoff man Scott Fletcher, who moved to third on a single and later scored from third on a double play. Boston didn’t get another hit until Greenwell’s seventh-inning double.

Erickson is 5-2 lifetime against Boston with a 1.30 ERA.

Rick Aguilera relieved after a one-out single in the ninth and gave up two run-scoring hits before recording his 11th save.

Erickson walked two and struck out two in the longest effort by a Twin starter this season.

Viola (4-3) had been 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his first two starts against his former club.

Milwaukee 5, Cleveland 2--John Jaha hit his first homer of the season and drove in two runs at Milwaukee, leading Mike Boddicker and the Brewers.

Jaha doubled and scored in the second inning, singled home a run in the third and led off the sixth with a home run.

Boddicker (3-1) gave up two runs and nine hits in five innings.

Cliff Young (0-2) gave up five runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings in his first start of the season.

Detroit 4, Baltimore 3--Lou Whitaker singled home the winning run with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning, lifting the Tigers at Detroit.

Brady Anderson’s leadoff homer in the top of the ninth pulled Baltimore into a 3-3 tie. But Detroit, which lost at Toronto, 6-5, Thursday night on Paul Molitor’s two-out, two-run double in the ninth, came back to win.

With one out in the ninth, Todd Frohwirth (2-3) gave up Whitaker’s single through the drawn-in infield with the bases loaded.

Mike Henneman (1-0) got the victory, after blowing his third save opportunity of the season.