AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Like Old Times for Hershiser--in Cleveland

It’s not enough that the Cleveland Indians are leading the major leagues in hitting. They’re also getting plenty of pitching, and from guys who have turned back the clock.

Or calendar.

Take Dennis Martinez. The Montreal Expos wouldn’t, but at 40 he is 5-0 for the Indians and had a shutout Saturday afternoon.

Take Orel Hershiser. The Dodgers wouldn’t, but, at 36, he is 5-1, the most recent victory coming Monday night over the Detroit Tigers, 8-0, at Cleveland.

It was Hershiser’s first complete game this season and first shutout in two years. He struck out 10, his first time in double figures in strikeouts since 1989.

“The last four or five outings, there hasn’t been much difference [from ‘88],” Hershiser said. “Maybe a mile or two an hour on the fastball, but the movement is almost completely back, and the breaking ball is almost completely back.”

Hershiser won the National League Cy Young Award in 1988 while with the Dodgers, who let him go to free agency after last season.

He underwent shoulder surgery in 1990, and although he has pitched steadily ever since, he said his shoulder has improved progressively.

“Now the shoulder is doing more naturally what I want it to do,” he said.

And so is the ball.

“I don’t worry about them swatting the baseball tonight, because the story of this game was Orel Hershiser,” Detroit Manager Sparky Anderson said. “I have no idea what kind of stuff he had. I wasn’t up there facing him, and I’m glad I wasn’t.”

The Indians, winners of eight of their last nine games, backed Hershiser with three home runs--two by Kenny Lofton, leading off the third and fourth innings, and the third by Eddie Murray, with a man aboard.

Kansas City 4, Texas 1--Kevin Appier won his seventh game, tops in the American League, and the streaking Royals won for the 10th time in 11 games.

Appier (7-2) survived a 33-pitch first inning at Arlington, Tex., that included three walks, then settled down to dominate a patchwork Ranger lineup that included Mickey Tettleton catching and Rusty Greer in center field, both for the first time this season.

Appier gave up four hits in 7 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking four, in his 10th start, tops in the majors. He was facing the Rangers and Bob Tewksbury (4-2) for the second time in six days. Last Wednesday, Texas handed Appier his second defeat of the season and Kansas City its only loss in the last 11 games, 4-2.

Wally Joyner’s two-out, two-run single off Tewksbury in the third inning staked Appier to a 2-1 lead, and he allowed only two baserunners from the second through the seventh innings.

In the eighth, Mark McLemore hit a one-out single and Ivan Rodriguez drew a walk, but reliever Jeff Montgomery came on to get the final five outs for his eighth save.

Speedy Tom Goodwin sparked the Kansas City offense, going three for four with a run batted in and a run scored.

Chicago 3, Toronto 2--Lance Johnson had three hits, including a two-run triple, to lead the White Sox, who got 7 2/3 strong innings from pitcher Jim Abbott (3-2) in a victory at Chicago.

Abbott gave up five hits and struck out only one. He got help from Roberto Hernandez, who pitched the ninth inning for his ninth save.

Juan Guzman (0-2), who came off the 15-day disabled list Sunday, pitched into the fifth inning for Toronto, allowing three runs on five hits.

Johnson’s two-run triple in the fifth inning gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead, which became 3-1 when Tim Raines singled Johnson home.

In the seventh inning, Raines singled and stole second base to set an American League record with 33 consecutive steals.

Oakland 11, New York 5--Mike Bordick’s two-run double ignited a four-run second inning for the Athletics at New York, where Ron Darling (2-2) allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings to run his career record there to 3-0.

After Bordick’s double in the second, Ricky Henderson walked, and both scored on Geronimo Berroa’s triple. A sacrifice fly by Scott Brosius in the third made it 5-1 against Yankee starter Sterling Hitchcock (2-4).

After a walk to Bordick and a single by Henderson to open the fourth, Ruben Sierra singled off reliever Scott Bankhead to drive in both runners and give Oakland a 7-2 lead.