AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Red Sox Swept Up by Canseco in Fenway

Jose Canseco blew out his arm in a disastrous relief pitching appearance in Boston last season. He returned to Fenway Park on Friday batting .275 with 11 home runs and 42 runs batted in.

After the Texas Rangers completed their first sweep in Boston in 10 years with a 10-7 victory on Sunday, Canseco left batting .307 with 15 homers and 52 RBIs.

His fourth homer in the three-game series, a three-run shot in the 10th inning, was the difference Sunday.

“When a power hitter gets hot, he’s dangerous,” said Canseco, who went 10 for 13 in the three games with 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored. “You’ve got to love it here. You’ve got to love it if you’re a right-handed power hitter.

“It’s really difficult to pitch to two hitters when you’ve got the three-four hitters that are so darn hot.”

Will Clark, who hits behind Canseco in the cleanup spot, went nine for 15 with eight RBIs in the series.

When Canseco was called out on strikes in the first inning Sunday, it ended a string of 10 consecutive times he had reached base--seven hits, two walks and hit by a pitch.

The Rangers as a team enjoyed a great weekend, too. They collected 45 hits and outscored Boston, 33-13.

The Red Sox rallied from a 6-2 eight-inning deficit to send the game to extra innings, with Wes Chamberlain, acquired from Philadelphia May 31, belting a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth.

Kansas City 3, New York 1--Kevin Appier allowed one run and six hits over 7 2/3 innings as the Royals completed a three-game sweep at New York.

Appier (5-5) has a career record of 5-1 against the Yankees. He is 2-0 in his three starts in New York, having allowed 13 hits and four runs in 22 2/3 innings.

The Royals’ three-game sweep was their first in New York since 1978.

Paul O’Neill, who was two for four, drove in the Yankees’ lone run with a single in the sixth. O’Neill, who is hitting .430, has six hits in his last nine at-bats after breaking an 0-for-14 slump with an eighth-inning single Friday.

Detroit 5, Minnesota 3--The ball continued to fly out of Tiger Stadium but the run production decreased, as six home runs produced only eight runs.

The Tigers and Twins combined for 45 runs and 65 hits in the first two games of the series--including a 21-7 Minnesota victory Saturday.

Toronto 5, Seattle 4--Devon White and Paul Molitor hit homers in the first inning at Seattle to help Dave Stewart beat the Mariners for the 20th time in his career.

Stewart (4-4) improved to 20-6 in his career against the Mariners, including 2-0 this season.

Baltimore 8, Chicago 5--Cal Ripken’s RBI single brought in the go-ahead run in the four-run seventh inning for the Orioles at Baltimore.

Julio Franco had two RBIs for the White Sox and now has a major-league leading 58. Toronto’s Joe Carter has 57.

Cleveland 8, Oakland 1--Albert Belle drove in four runs and Eddie Murray had three RBIs at Oakland, and the Indians, who got 15 hits, extended their winning streak to eight games.