AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : McDowell Stops Brewers, 8-0

Jack McDowell pitched a seven-hit shutout and Julio Franco had five runs batted in to lead the White Sox to an 8-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago on Friday.

Franco went two for four with a two-run home run, a two-run single and a run-scoring groundout. He has 71 RBIs this season, matching his career high.

McDowell (5-7), who walked one and struck out four in his second consecutive complete game, was aided by Darrin Jackson’s catch to rob Greg Vaughn of a grand slam in the third inning.

A home run would have given the Brewers a 4-1 lead, but the inning ended with the score 1-0. After that, McDowell got stronger.

“I got back into the flow after (Jackson’s catch), that was a big play,” said McDowell, who after starting the season 2-7 is 3-0 with a 2.44 earned run average in his last six starts. “Early on, I wasn’t 100% comfortable.”

Seattle 4, New York 3--Ken Griffey drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning single and Jay Buhner ended the game with a great running catch for the Mariners at New York.

Griffey ripped Steve Howe’s pitch toward second baseman Dave Silvestri, who failed to get in front of the ball. It went into right field, scoring Rich Amaral.

Bobby Ayala (3-1) got the victory despite allowing the Yankees to tie the score in the eighth inning. Xavier Hernandez (3-4) took the loss.

Paul O’Neill, whose average had dipped to a season-low .365, ended an 0-for-16 slump with a pinch-hit single. Seattle starter Randy Johnson struck out 12 in 6 1/3 innings and Dan Wilson drove in two runs for the Mariners.

Cleveland 6, Minnesota 1--Jack Morris pitched a four-hitter for his 251st victory and Eddie Murray hit his 453rd home run, at Cleveland.

Morris (7-5) struck out six, walked none and retired 18 of the last 19 batters he faced in his first complete-game victory since Aug. 1. He improved to 6-1 in 10 starts since he shaved his mustache to change his luck following a May 9 loss at New York.

Murray’s two-run home run in the second inning, his 12th, moved him past Carl Yastrzemski into 19th place on the career list. It was also his 2,900th hit.

Oakland 6, Boston 3--The resurgent Athletics won their eighth consecutive game, thanks to a five-run first inning and eight strong innings from Ron Darling at Boston.

Darling (6-9), who settled down after giving up a two-run homer to Mo Vaughn in the first inning, gave up five hits and retired the last 14 batters he faced. Dave Leiper and Dennis Eckersley pitched the ninth.

Kansas City 4, Toronto 3--Brian McRae hit a two-out RBI single in the 12th inning to give the Royals a victory at Kansas City and hand the Blue Jays their 12th loss in 13 games.

McRae’s single was the third consecutive two-out hit in the 12th off Woody Williams (1-3), who pitched four innings of relief. Jeff Montgomery (2-3) pitched one-third of an inning for the win.

Texas 10-8, Detroit 6-6--Juan Gonzalez hit a grand slam in the eighth inning, capping the Rangers’ rally from a six-run deficit in the first game of a doubleheader at Arlington, Tex.

In the second game, rookie Rusty Greer had a two-run homer and a two-run single that drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning.

Gonzales hit the third grand slam of his career and 12th homer of the season. He has three homers and nine RBIs in his last four games.