BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Top of Blue Jays’ Order Is Tops of League

The Toronto Blue Jays made history Sunday with an offensive display that showed why they won the American League East title.

Joe Carter became the 25th major league player to hit two home runs in one inning, connecting twice against Ben McDonald (13-14) in an eight-run second inning that lifted the Blue Jays over the Baltimore Orioles, 11-6, at Baltimore.

The Blue Jays became the first club since 1893 to have teammates finish 1-2-3 in a league batting race. John Olerud walked in the second inning before leaving with a .363 average; Paul Molitor finished at .332 and Roberto Alomar had three hits and drove in five runs to finish at .326, one point better than Cleveland’s Kenny Lofton.

The last trio to accomplish the feat played for the 1893 Philadelphia Phillies: Billy Hamilton (.380), Sam Thompson (.370) and Ed Delahanty (.368).

Toronto moves on to Chicago for Tuesday’s opener of the American League playoffs against Chicago.

Chris Hoiles hit his 29th homer for the Orioles.

Cal Ripken closed out his 11th consecutive season without missing a game. He has played in 1,897 straight games, second-most in baseball history.

Kansas City 4, Texas 1--George Brett went one for four at Arlington, Tex., in his final game for the Royals.

Kevin Appier (18-8) gave up four hits, struck out 10 and walked one in eight innings and finished with a league-leading 2.56 ERA. Jeff Montgomery finished with a perfect ninth for his 45th save.

Juan Gonzalez of the Rangers was hitless and finished with 46 homers, becoming the first player to win consecutive AL home run titles outright since Boston’s Jim Rice in 1977-78.

Minnesota 7, Seattle 2--Kent Hrbek drove in four runs with two homers, Kirby Puckett homered and Kevin Tapani gave up six hits in 7 1/3 innings to lead the Twins at Minneapolis.

Minnesota’s Brian Harper hit .304, joining Ted Simmons, Thurman Munson, Manny Sanguillen and Smoky Burgess as the only catchers in the last 40 years with three consecutive .300 seasons.

Chicago 4, Cleveland 0--Jason Bere pitched seven shutout innings for a three-game sweep in the final baseball series at Cleveland Stadium.

Charles Nagy (2-6), the Indians’ opening-day pitcher, returned from arthroscopic shoulder surgery for his first start since May 15. He gave up three runs in three innings.

New York 2, Detroit 1--Mike Stanley’s one-out single in the bottom of the ninth at New York scored pinch-runner Spike Owen from second base with the winning run.

Milwaukee 6, Boston 3--Pinch-hitter Dave Nilsson hit a two-run single with the bases loaded in the 14th at Boston to break a 3-3 tie.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cincinnati 7, Houston 4--Hal Morris had four hits, including a homer as the Reds overcame a three-run deficit at Cincinnati.

Morris singled home the go-ahead run in a two-run fourth, then hit a solo homer in the sixth.

St. Louis 2, Philadelphia 0--Phillie reliever Mitch Williams helped the Cardinals score both runs with consecutive wild pitches and two walks in the seventh at St. Louis.

Williams’ first delivery to pinch-hitter Erik Pappas was inside and in the dirt, allowing a run to score. His next pitch was several feet outside and high and sailed to the backstop.

Montreal 3, Pittsburgh 1--Lou Frazier drove in three runs with two singles, and Denis Boucher (3-1) gave up three hits in 6 2/3 innings for the victory at Montreal.

John Wetteland raised his club record to 43 saves in 49 opportunities.

New York 9, Florida 2--Pete Schourek (5-12) pitched eight strong innings at Miami and the Mets ended the season with a six game-winning streak. The game was called in the bottom of the ninth after a 76-minute rain delay.

Despite the Mets’ surge in the final week, they finished 59-103, their worst record since 1965.

Florida (64-98) lost 15 of its final 19. Eddie Murray drove in a run for the Mets to reach 100 RBIs for the sixth time, the first time since 1985.

Chicago 4, San Diego 1--Sammy Sosa hit a two-run homer in the first inning, his 33rd, and Turk Wendell (1-2) pitched seven-plus innings at San Diego to earn his first major league victory.