AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Murray Moves Within One Hit of 3,000

One more hit. Eddie Murray’s next hit will be the 3,000th of his career.

Murray moved within one hit of becoming the only switch-hitter besides Pete Rose to reach the milestone with a home run and a single as Cleveland handed Minnesota its 14th loss in 15 home games, 10-5, on Thursday night.

Murray got hits in his first two at-bats, including a homer in the first that was his 11th of the season and the 469th of his career. He made outs in his final four trips. According to his teammates, Murray probably cared more about the victory over the worst team in baseball than he did about reaching hit No. 2,999.

“Eddie puts the team first,” Paul Sorrento said. “He puts it above everything. He’s very unselfish, very team-oriented. I think we as a team talk about it more than he does. He’s so laid back.”

As is his custom, Murray, who struck out in the fourth and fifth innings and grounded out in the seventh and ninth, chose not to speak to reporters after the game.

“It’s a culminating kind of thing,” said Dave Winfield, Murray’s teammate and the last player to reach 3,000. “You know it’s going to happen. You don’t know when and you don’t know where, but you can sense the electricity.”

Carlos Baerga had four hits, including a two-run homer, as Cleveland pounded out 16 hits.

Bud Black (4-2) pitched six innings, yielding three runs and eight hits. Scott Erickson (3-6) took the loss.

Boston 7, Detroit 1--Tim Wakefield won his first game in four starts and Mike Macfarlane homered as the Red Sox increased their AL East lead over the Tigers to six games with a victory at Boston.

Macfarlane’s 10th homer, a leadoff shot in the fifth against Mike Moore (5-6), broke a 1-1 tie.

Boston added five runs in the eighth, the big blow being Mike Greenwell’s bases-loaded single that brought home three runs when it eluded right fielder Danny Bautista for an error.

Wakefield (5-1), who pitched his third complete game, struggled through the first four innings, giving up one run and eight hits. He allowed only two runners in the last five innings as Boston won for the third time in four games.

Seattle 5, Oakland 2--Mike Blowers hit a three-run homer with two out in the eighth inning at Seattle as the Mariners rallied to stop the Athletics’ four-game winning streak.

With Oakland ahead, 2-1, pinch-hitter Doug Strange singled off Mark Acre (1-2) to drive in the tying run. Blowers then homered on a 1-0 pitch. Acre hit Joey Cora with a pitch starting the ninth. Two outs later, with Cora at second, Acre intentionally walked Tino Martinez and Strange followed with the tying single.

Chris Bosio (6-1) gave up one earned run and six hits in eight innings. Bobby Ayala finished for his 12th save.

Toronto 5, Baltimore 1--Joe Carter hit two of Toronto’s four home runs and Juan Guzman (2-3) went the distance with a seven-hitter at Toronto as the Blue Jays ended the Orioles’ four-game winning streak.

Sid Fernandez (0-4) gave up three runs and five hits over 3 2/3 innings in his first start since going on the disabled list June 7 because of a strained joint in his left shoulder..