AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Tigers Tie ’41 Yankees’ Home Run Record

The Detroit Tigers tied a 53-year-old major league record by homering for the 25th consecutive game in a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday at Detroit.

“Maybe after the season is over, we will look at this record as an accomplishment, but I didn’t even know it existed until four or five days ago,” said Mickey Tettleton, who tied the record with a shot into the upper deck in right leading off the second inning.

Detroit has hit 102 home runs, the most in the majors. The 1941 New York Yankees, whose record they matched, hit 151.

Greg Gohr (2-0) got the victory, pitching into the eighth inning in the second start of his career. The Tigers scored single runs in the first three innings.

Toronto, meanwhile, finished 1-5 on its six-game trip. After nine consecutive years of winning records on the road, the Blue Jays are 9-23 this season.

Cleveland 6, Boston 5--Jack Morris earned his 250th victory as the Indians won their ninth in a row overall and 18th in a row at Cleveland’s Jacobs Field.

It’s the best home streak in baseball since Boston set a major league record by winning 24 in a row at Fenway Park in 1988.

“To win 18 in a row anyplace is very significant,” Morris said. “All of us are aware of that. Nobody wants to do bad right now. That’s what happens when you win.”

Morris (6-4) improved to 5-0 over his last eight starts since he shaved his mustache to change his luck. He gave up 11 hits in seven innings.

The Indians improved to 40-25, best in the American League. They have come from behind to win 17 times this year.

Boston lost for the 11th consecutive time, its worst skid since 1932. The Red Sox are two games under .500 only one month after they were 13 games over.

Kansas City 12, Seattle 9--Quinn Mack, rookie center fielder for the Mariners, let Greg Gagne’s liner glance off his glove in the seventh inning, a play that was ruled a three-run, inside-the-park homer and gave the Royals a victory at Kansas City.

Ken Griffey Jr. was the designated hitter in this game instead of the center fielder, but Manager Lou Piniella planned to put Griffey in center for the eighth and ninth innings.

“I had him warming up in the bullpen,” Piniella said. “I wanted to get Mack one more at-bat. We were going to lose our DH.”

Mack, in his fourth game since being called up from triple-A Calgary, started in on the ball, then turned the wrong way and fell as the ball hit his glove and rolled to the wall in center.

“The ball should have been caught,” Piniella said.

Minnesota 10, Baltimore 4--Pat Meares had gone 498 at-bats without a home run before connecting for the first two of his career to lead the Twins at Baltimore.

“I don’t ever swing for home runs,” Meares said. “I just happened to get a couple of balls to hit.”

Meares’ two-run homer highlighted a six-run third inning that gave Pat Mahomes (7-2) his sixth victory in 11 starts.

In the eighth, Meares hit a solo homer against reliever Mark Williamson for a 7-4 lead. Kent Hrbek followed with his fourth homer of the season in the ninth, against Tom Bolton.

Oakland 5, Texas 0--Steve Ontiveros (3-2) pitched six shutout innings before leaving because of tightness in his right groin and Ruben Sierra homered as the Athletics completed a four-game sweep at Arlington, Tex.

Billy Taylor and Dave Leiper finished the four-hit shutout for the A’s, who have won a season-high six in a row and seven of eight.

Milwaukee 10, New York 7--In humid, 96-degree weather at New York, the Brewers collected 17 hits. Greg Vaughn homered twice, Matt Mieske hit a two-run homer and Kevin Seitzer drove in three runs.

Jody Reed reached base six times with three walks, two singles and a double. He is now seven for his last 13 and is batting .378 when leading off.