AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Olerud’s Four RBIs Give Blue Jays Victory, Three-Game Division Lead

In a matchup between two hot teams, John Olerud’s hot hitting was the difference Monday night.

Olerud drove in four runs to match his career high as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Orioles at Baltimore, 7-2, giving the Orioles consecutive losses for the first time in June.

Olerud went two for four to raise his batting average to .406. He has added seven points to his average with five hits in his last two games.

“I thought he would be a .300 hitter,” Toronto Manager Cito Gaston said of Olerud. “I know .400 is asking a lot, but if anybody can do it, John can.”

The top four players in Toronto’s lineup reached base 11 times, making it easy for Olerud to clean up. He hit a bases-loaded single in the first and a two-run double in the seventh.

“We’ve gotten hits from a lot of different people in the lineup,” Olerud said. “Things have been going our way lately.”

Toronto has won three in a row and 11 of 13 to take a three-game lead in the American League East, its largest this season.

Todd Stottlemyre won his eighth consecutive decision against Baltimore, and Olerud hit a bases-loaded single in the first and a two-run double in the seventh.

Roberto Alomar went four for five and scored three runs for the Blue Jays.

Baltimore, which lost to New York on Sunday, hadn’t dropped consecutive games since May 29-30.

The Orioles are 19-6 in June.

Rick Sutcliffe (8-3) gave up seven runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings, losing for the first time in 11 starts since April 27.

Stottlemyre (5-5), who won for the first time since May 16, gave up two runs in six innings and improved to 8-0 against Baltimore in his career. Al Leiter finished for his first save.

After the first three Toronto batters reached in the first, Olerud lined a two-run single to right. David Segui’s sacrifice fly made it 2-1 in the second, but doubles by Devon White, Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter put Toronto ahead, 4-1, in the third.

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Boston 4, Milwaukee 3--Scott Cooper hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to lift the Red Sox at Boston and extend their streak to a season-best seven games.

Kevin Reimer’s 11th home run of the year, a drive against Paul Quantrill, put Milwaukee ahead, 3-2, in the eighth. But Mike Greenwell singled against Jesse Orosco in the ninth, Andre Dawson doubled against Doug Henry (0-2) and Mo Vaughn was walked intentionally, loading the bases.

Pinch-hitter Ernest Riles struck out and, with a 3-and-2 count, Cooper fouled off one pitch before hitting a grounder over second base.

Greg Harris (3-2) pitched a scoreless ninth despite Dickie Thon’s double and second baseman Scott Fletcher’s error.

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Kansas City 4, Texas 2--Chris Haney struck out a career-high nine in 5 1/3 innings to lead the Royals at Arlington, Tex., ending a three-game losing streak.

Brian McRae hit a two-run single for the Royals and Kevin McReynolds hit his first home run since April 23. Haney (4-1) gave up four hits and walked none before leaving with a 3-2 lead. Jeff Montgomery pitched two innings for his American League-leading 23rd save.

Kenny Rogers (5-6) gave up three runs and six hits in six innings, struck out six and walked three.

Kansas City went ahead in the third on Rogers’ wild pitch with Gary Gaetti on third. McRae’s two-run single made it 3-0 in the fourth.

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Seattle 4, Minnesota 1--Dave Fleming gave up five hits in eight innings, and Kevin Tapani remained winless at home this season as the Mariners won at Minneapolis.

Fleming (3-1) walked three and struck out two as he won his third consecutive decision. Seattle helped him with a pair of double plays, and Mariners catcher Dave Valle threw out baserunners in the first and third decision.

Norm Charlton pitched a perfect ninth for his 15th save.

Tapani (3-9) is 0-5 this year in the Metrodome, where he was 11-4 in 1992. He gave up eight hits in eight innings, struck out five and walked one as he lost for the seventh time in nine decisions.

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New York 8, Detroit 2--Jimmy Key sent Detroit to its seventh successive loss, pitching effectively into the eighth inning to lead the Yankees at New York.

Detroit, which has fallen out of first place in the American League East, has dropped all seven games on the road and been outscored, 62-23. The losing streak began at the start of a streak in which the Tigers play 20 of 24 games away from home.

Don Mattingly hit a run-scoring single in the fourth inning, helping the Yankees take a 7-1 lead. He hit his fifth home run of the season in the sixth.

Key (10-2) won his sixth decision in a row. He pitched four-hit ball for 7 2/3 innings, struck out eight and walked four. Rich Monteleone finished with one-hit relief.

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Cleveland 2, Chicago 0--Jose Mesa pitched eight shutout innings, and Alvaro Espinoza and Felix Fermin hit consecutive run-scoring singles in the eighth at Cleveland to lift the Indians to their fourth consecutive victory.

Mesa (7-5) gave up eight hits, walked three and struck out one. Eric Plunk, Cleveland’s fourth pitcher, got two outs for his seventh save. With two runners on, right fielder Wayne Kirby caught Frank Thomas’ drive against the fence and Robin Ventura lined to left for the final out.

Jason Bere (3-2) lost for the first time since May 27 but pitched a seven-hitter for his first complete game in seven career starts. He struck out five and walked seven.