AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Nagy Keeps Indians’ Pitching Streak Alive

Charles Nagy pitched a five-hitter for Cleveland’s third consecutive complete game and Albert Belle homered again Saturday as the Indians defeated the Minnesota Twins, 9-1, before the 15th consecutive sellout at Jacobs Field.

Belle has homered in six of the last eight games and has hit safely in 18 of the last 19. His 24th home run, a two-run shot off Eddie Guardado (0-1), put Cleveland ahead to stay, 2-1, in the first inning.

Nagy (7-4) retired 11 in a row from the second through the fifth innings and gave up only two hits, both singles, over the last seven innings. He struck out five and walked one in his second complete game of the season, which followed nine-inning performances by teammates Mark Clark and Jack Morris.

Carlos Baerga had three hits and drove in three runs for the Indians, who have won three in a row and 22 of their last 26 home games. Minnesota has lost five of six overall and seven of its last eight on the road.

Seattle 12, New York 6--Keith Mitchell’s two-run single ignited an eight-run fifth inning at New York and the Mariners ended Jimmy Key’s 11-game winning streak.

Key (12-2), who had not lost since April 9, gave up 10 hits and six runs before departing without retiring a Mariner in the fifth.

Ken Griffey Jr. failed to homer for the seventh consecutive game but went five for six with five singles. Dave Fleming (6-10) gave up nine hits and three runs in seven innings.

Chicago 5, Milwaukee 0--Alex Fernandez (7-7) pitched a four-hitter and matched a career high with 10 strikeouts and Darrin Jackson drove in three runs to lead the White Sox at Chicago.

Jackson hit a two-run homer and drove in a run with a bases-loaded fielder’s choice to help the White Sox win for the 11th time in their last 13 games. Julio Franco, who drove in five runs Friday night, knocked in two with a run-scoring single and an RBI double.

Cal Eldred (9-8) lost for the first time in four starts, giving up nine hits in his fourth consecutive complete game. The Brewers have been shut out in three of their last four games, including back-to-back shutouts by Chicago.

Toronto 7, Kansas City 6--Ed Sprague’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning broke up reliever Rusty Meacham’s club-record streak of 22 1/3 scoreless innings and gave the Blue Jays a victory at Kansas City.

The Blue Jays overcame 10 walks by their pitchers and three errors.

Meacham (0-1) had broken the Royals’ record of scoreless innings by a reliever of 20 1/3 innings set by Dan Quisenberry in 1981. Tony Castillo (3-1) pitched 3 1/3 innings for the win. Darren Hall got the last four outs for his sixth save.

Detroit 6, Texas 1--Mike Moore rebounded from the shortest outing of his major league career with a seven-hitter at Arlington, Tex.

Moore (8-7), who lasted only one-third of an inning on June 26, shut down a Ranger lineup that banged out 18 runs and 23 hits in a doubleheader sweep of the Tigers Friday night.

Moore retired the first 10 Rangers before Jeff Frye got a one-out single in the fourth. Texas got a home run from Jose Canseco in the ninth, but the Rangers disappointed a crowd of 46,668, the largest in club history.

Boston 10, Oakland 2--Tom Brunansky hit his seventh career grand slam and Mo Vaughn hit his 21st home run as the Red Sox ended the Athletics’ eight-game winning streak.

Brunansky, who is batting .308 with four homers and 14 RBIs since he was traded back to Boston by Milwaukee on June 19, hit the first pitch from reliever Billy Taylor with two outs in the fifth for his fourth homer of the season to break open the game.