AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Olerud Reaches .400 on Winning Homer

John Olerud raised his batting average to .400 with a home run leading off the ninth inning Thursday night, and the Blue Jays beat the Rangers, 8-7, at Arlington, Tex.

“I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t hit Texas pitching that well,” Olerud said. “They’ve got some good left-handed pitching, that may be part of it.”

Olerud hit a 3-2 pitch from Cris Carpenter (0-1) for his 19th homer. Olerud went two for two with a run-scoring double in the first inning. He also walked three times--twice intentionally.

“We tried not to let Olerud beat us,” Ranger Manager Kevin Kennedy said. “He’s hitting .400 for a reason. That’s why we intentionally walked him.”

Joe Carter doubled twice and drove in four runs, and Devon White tied a team record by scoring four times as Toronto ended its six-game losing streak against Texas. Juan Gonzalez hit his 27th home run for the Rangers, tying Barry Bonds for the major league lead.

Mike Timlin (2-1) pitched the eighth inning for the win and Duane Ward struck out the side in the ninth for his 24th save.

Carter, who had only two extra-base hits in his last 17 games, had run-scoring doubles in the first and sixth innings. He also had a two-run single in the second.

Boston 9, Oakland 7--The Red Sox won their seventh consecutive game, capitalizing on the Athletics’ fourth error for two runs in the eighth inning at Boston.

Rickey Henderson hit two solo homers and drove in three runs for the Athletics, but also botched two fly balls in left field. Oakland rallied for two runs in the eighth, tying it, 7-7, with help from an error by pitcher Tony Fossas.

But Boston started the bottom of the inning with Scott Fletcher’s grounder into the hole to second baseman Brent Gates. His throw to first glanced off the glove of pitcher Edwin Nunez (3-5), who was covering, and Gates was given an error.

When Billy Hatcher bunted up the first base line, the ball was headed foul, but first baseman Jerry Browne picked it up and tagged Hatcher, letting Fletcher reach second.

Minnesota 8, Baltimore 4--Kirby Puckett had three hits, Willie Banks got his first victory since June 2 and the Twins won their fourth consecutive game, beating the Orioles at Minneapolis.

Banks’ victory gave Twin starters victories in four consecutive games, their longest streak since a six-game string from June 26-July 1, 1992.

Banks (6-7) had been 0-5 in his last seven starts. He scattered seven hits in five-plus innings, but left the game in the sixth after giving up consecutive walks. Mike Trombley finished for his second save.

Puckett, Brian Harper and Dave Winfield drove in two runs each as the Twins climbed past Oakland out of last place in the American League West.

Kansas City 12, Detroit 6--Greg Gagne hit the 10,000th home run at Tiger Stadium, and the Royals beat the slumping Tigers at Detroit.

Tiger Stadium became the first ballpark in which 10,000 home runs have been hit. Gagne’s two-run homer in the ninth inning against Mark Leiter was the fourth homer of the game and gave him four runs batted in.

Tony Phillips homered to lead off the Tigers’ first, and Mike Macfarlane and Kevin McReynolds hit solo shots in the Kansas City second.

Chicago 7, Milwaukee 2--Bo Jackson homered and drove in three runs and Jack McDowell became the first 15-game winner in the majors, giving the White Sox a victory over the Brewers at Chicago.

The Brewers lost their seventh consecutive game. Chicago has won 10 of 13.

McDowell (15-6) was shaky throughout, but upped his career-record against Milwaukee to 9-1. He gave up 12 hits, walked one and struck out five in 7 1/3 innings.

Seattle 3, Cleveland 2--Ken Griffey Jr. homered for the third consecutive game and Dave Valle also homered at Cleveland, as the Mariners extended their domination of the Indians.

Omar Vizquel singled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning, giving the Mariners their eighth win in nine meetings with Cleveland. Overall, the Mariners have won three consecutively. Cleveland lost for the third time in its last 14 home games.

Chris Bosio (4-5) gave up two runs and eight hits in six-plus innings for his first win as a starter since April 27. He broke his left collarbone in a first-base collision with Cleveland’s Jeff Treadway in that game and had won only once since, beating the Indians in relief on July 10.