AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Johnson Finds Motivation in Minnesota

The trips to Minnesota are never easy for Randy Johnson, even when he’s pitching well against the Twins.

Johnson’s father, Bud, died on Christmas Day in 1992 and was buried in Duluth, Minn. Johnson went to the grave site Saturday, and that visit inspired him to a strong performance Sunday in the Seattle Mariners’ 5-2 victory over the Twins in Minneapolis.

Johnson (4-0) struck out 10 without walking a batter in eight innings, giving up two runs on five hits. He leads the majors in ERA (1.21) and strikeouts (49).

In May 1994, Johnson also visited the Duluth grave site and came back to shut out Minnesota with a two-hitter, 12-0.

“I pitched with a lot of emotion and a lot of heart today,” he said. “It’s hard coming to Minnesota since my dad died.”

The Mariners backed Johnson with two double plays. Bobby Ayala pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Minnesota’s Marty Cordova had his string of consecutive games with a home run stopped at five, three short of the major league record. Cordova struck out twice and was hit by a pitch.

Cordova’s streak tied the major league rookie record, joining Detroit’s Rudy York in 1936, Kansas City’s George Alusik in 1962 and Chicago’s Ron Kittle in 1983.

Cleveland 12, Boston 10--Carlos Baerga and Paul Sorrento each homered twice as the Indians rallied against the Red Sox bullpen for the third consecutive game in Boston.

The Indians trailed, 9-6, before tying it in the eighth on Sorrento’s second home run of the game, then won it in the ninth when Baerga led off with a double and scored on Jim Thome’s double.

Mo Vaughn hit his major league-leading 11th home run in the fourth, and Mike Greenwell and Tim Naehring also homered for Boston. Naehring was four for four and had two of Boston’s eight doubles.

Red Sox starter Erik Hanson struck out seven in five innings and left with an 8-4 lead, but he was victimized by Jeff Pierce (0-2) and the rest of the Boston bullpen. Red Sox relievers have blown seven of 10 save opportunities this season.

The Boston bullpen has given up 18 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings in the last three games.

Detroit 2, Toronto 1--The Tigers, held without a hit for five innings by Al Leiter, scored two runs off reliever Danny Cox with the help of three pinch-hitters and beat the Blue Jays in Detroit.

Despite having a no-hitter going, Leiter was pulled in favor of Cox (0-1) after five innings. Leiter had thrown 93 pitches and walked six.

Juan Samuel led off the seventh with a single, stole second and, after a walk to pinch-hitter Franklin Stubbs, moved to third on a fly out by pinch-hitter Bobby Higginson. Detroit’s third pinch-hitter, Lou Whitaker, drove in Samuel with a double and Chad Curtis followed with a sacrifice fly that drove in the tie-breaking run.

Texas 6, Milwaukee 0--Kenny Rogers extended his scoreless streak to 26 innings, a team record for left-handers, as the Rangers beat the Brewers in Arlington, Tex.

Rogers (4-2) pitched the first complete game of the season for the Rangers. He gave up five hits, struck out five and walked three.

Oakland 7, Kansas City 2--Mark McGwire extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a two-run homer, and Andy Tomberlin also homered as the Athletics defeated the Royals for a three-game sweep at Kansas City, Mo.

New York 5, Baltimore 0--Sterling Hitchcock pitched a four-hitter for the first shutout of his career, and the Yankees beat the Orioles in New York. Hitchcock (2-2) struck out a career-high eight and walked one in the Yankees’ first complete game of the season.