AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : On Any Freeway, Hershiser Wins

Jim Abbott against Orel Hershiser.

It was sort of like the Freeway Series game, only the freeway was Interstate 80/90, between Chicago and Cleveland and Abbott and Hershiser have moved East.

Chicago’s Abbott (2-2) gave up five runs Wednesday night--four of them unearned--in a 6-3 loss at Cleveland.

The White Sox committed a passed ball and three errors, giving them 40 errors in 30 games, most in the major leagues by far. There were two baserunning errors and a mental error that let Kenny Lofton reach second base after he had apparently been picked off first.

“Abby threw fine,” Manager Gene Lamont said. “But we didn’t back him well. We haven’t been playing like we should all season, and tonight we got real sloppy.

“This is not the year to get off to a bad start. I’m not saying we’d be in first place, but in my wildest dreams I never thought we’d be 10 games out on June 1.”

The White Sox are 10 games behind Cleveland, which won its fourth in a row, sending its record to an AL-best 21-9, best start in franchise history.

Hershiser’s role Wednesday was throwing his sinker. He got 13 outs on ground balls and was nearly untouchable through six of his 7 2/3 innings. Two of Chicago’s three runs off him were unearned. Hershiser is 4-1.

Jose Mesa got the last three outs for his 11th save in 11 tries.

Milwaukee 8, Minnesota 1--In his first at-bat since being hit in the head by a Scott Erickson fastball on Monday night, Kevin Seitzer doubled in a run and he added two more hits for the Brewers, who won at home.

Seitzer, who had a black left eye and a welt above his left temple, was unable to get a special batting helmet with a face guard shipped to him from Atlanta in time for the game.

He said he would have the device for Friday’s game because “I don’t need to be no stinking tough dude hero. I’m 33. I want to see my kids grow up. They don’t need to see their dad laying in a hospital bed a vegetable the rest of his life because he was too stubborn to get out of the way of a fastball.”

Seattle 11, New York 9--Randy Johnson touched off a ruckus when he hit Jim Leyritz with a pitch in the sixth inning and the Mariners rallied to leave the Yankees 1-8 on their West Coast trip.

Tino Martinez had two home runs and five runs batted in. His three-run shot off Bob MacDonald (0-1) in the seventh made it 10-9 and helped Seattle to its fourth victory in the five games since Ken Griffey Jr. suffered a broken wrist.

Yankee Manager Buck Showalter was thrown out by plate umpire Tim Tschida after both benches and the bullpens poured onto the field after Leyritz was hit on the left wrist, the ball bouncing up to hit him in the left cheekbone. He remained in the game.

Boston 6, Oakland 5--Reggie Jefferson and John Valentin homered to pace a 14-hit attack for the Red Sox, who completed a three-game sweep in Oakland and have won 11 of their last 14 on the road.

The Athletics have lost four in a row.

Boston’s Erik Hanson (5-0) allowed four runs in five-plus innings but struck out eight.

Toronto 5, Detroit 3--Shawn Green hit a two-run homer in the Blue Jays’ three-run eighth inning at Toronto and Pat Hentgen (4-2) scattered seven hits and struck out seven in his first complete game of the season.

Cecil Fielder homered in the second inning, his 12th in a season in which he has only 23 hits.

Texas 4, Kansas City 2--Ivan Rodriguez, whose two ninth-inning errors led to a loss the night before, hit a bases-loaded double with two out in the eighth that lifted the Rangers at Kansas City and stopped the Royals’ six-game winning streak.