AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Orioles Take Heed, and Victory Helps Them Do It

In a season of firsts for rookie Manager Phil Regan, he held his first closed-door meeting Saturday in Baltimore.

The Orioles had lost three in a row and six of their last 10, and they were holding down last place in the American League East, so it seemed like a good idea at the time.

There was nothing original. Relax, Regan said. Have some fun. It’s a game.

It’s easier to relax and have fun when you win the game, which the Orioles did, 6-1, over Cleveland, stopping the Indians’ five-game winning streak.

Mike Mussina was the chief jokester, holding Cleveland to three hits. He threw 100 pitches as he got the league’s first complete game, beating Toronto’s David Cone for that honor by an hour.

“You want to extend yourself a little more than the last time to build some endurance,” said Mussina (2-1). “I had 90 the last time out. Stopping at 89 with a five-run lead wouldn’t have been very smart.”

Brady Anderson hit his third home run of the season, and Rafael Palmeiro delivered a two-run single during a four-run fifth inning for the Orioles.

“We’ve lost a couple of tough games and every time you lose a couple of tough games, you start to press,” Regan said.

Boston 6, New York 4--Rookie Vaughn Eshelman (3-0), who had an 18-19 record in his last two unspectacular minor league seasons at the double-A level before being drafted in December by the Red Sox, pitched 5 2/3 hitless innings, giving him 18 innings before allowing his first major league run. Mo Vaughn homered for the Red Sox, who won in Boston.

New York has seen enough of the Vaughn and Vaughn Show. Eshelman beat them in Yankee Stadium on May 2 with the help of a grand slam by Vaughn.

Toronto 10, Milwaukee 0--Cone’s three-hitter at Milwaukee brought his 20th shutout and ended a three-game Blue Jay losing streak.

Cone (2-2) struck out two and got home run support from John Olerud. Toronto also took advantage of 13 walks--seven in three-plus innings by Brewer starter Angel Miranda (1-1)--and had three RBIs from Devon White.

Texas 5, Detroit 3--Roger Pavlik allowed six hits in 6 1/3 innings, and Dean Palmer keyed a four-run fifth inning with a two-run single as the Rangers snapped a five-game home losing streak.

Pavlik (1-1) retired 11 batters in a row from the third through the seventh until the Tigers loaded the bases with one out. Relievers Terry Burrows and Roger McDowell got Texas out of that jam.

Oakland 13, Minnesota 5--Ruben Sierra, Rickey Henderson, Stan Javier and Mark McGwire homered for the Athletics, who had 16 hits off four pitchers at Minnesota.

McGwire had a homer and three RBIs, Javier got three hits and two RBIs and Terry Steinbach added two doubles and three RBIs for the A’s in support of Mark Acre (1-0), who earned the victory in relief of starter Ron Darling.

Seattle 6, Chicago 5--Ken Griffey Jr. homered at Seattle, where the Mariners beat Alex Fernandez (2-1), who had a 7-1 record against them. The Mariners provided Tim Davis (2-0) with enough support to win. He gave up three runs in five innings.

Griffey, batting .192 against Fernandez, homered in the third inning, a 409-foot solo shot to right field, for a 3-0 Seattle lead.