AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Appier Bombs Again as Skid Reaches Four

The Baltimore Orioles had seen Kevin Appier pitch better. Opening day, with 6 2/3 hitless innings, comes to mind.

Worse? Not this season.

Appier, who was the major leagues’ first 11-game winner, lost his fourth in a row Saturday night at Baltimore, giving up six early runs in the Kansas City Royals’ 9-1 loss.

He was 11-2 on June 23, but is now 11-6 and his earned-run average in his last four starts is 9.97.

“I don’t think he’s lost any velocity. I don’t think his stuff is any different, really, other than today he couldn’t throw the slider,” catcher Brent Mayne said. “I don’t know what to attribute it to. It’s just baseball, I guess.”

Appier was saying nothing, having left the clubhouse early.

Seldom-used Leo Gomez homered and matched his career-high with four runs batted in. Harold Baines went four for four, and Cal Ripken and Brady Anderson each had three of Baltimore’s season-high 17 hits.

Appier, who pitched two perfect innings in Tuesday’s All-Star game, gave up eight hits and hit a batter in two-plus innings.

His counterpart, Scott Erickson (6-6), gave up one run and five hits in seven innings and is 2-0 since joining the Orioles in last week’s trade with Minnesota. Baltimore has scored 20 runs in those two games.

Cleveland 7, Oakland 2--Orel Hershiser, his trademark sinker working impeccably, won for the first time in more than a month, and Manny Ramirez homered and drove in three runs for the Indians in a victory at Cleveland.

Alvaro Espinoza also drove in three runs for the Indians, who have won 13 of their last 17 games to improve baseball’s best record to 49-21. Oakland has lost 10 of 13 overall and nine in a row against Cleveland.

Hershiser (6-4) gave up two runs on Terry Steinbach’s second-inning homer, but got 17 of his 21 outs on ground balls, winning for the first time since June 5.

In his previous four starts--a stretch interrupted by a stint on the disabled list because of a sprained back--Hershiser was 0-3 with a 6.55 ERA.

Steve Ontiveros (8-4) yielded six runs, seven hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.

Minnesota 8, New York 5--Kirby Puckett hit a three-run homer and Pedro Munoz had a controversial home run at New York, where the Twins beat the Yankees.

Puckett connected in the first inning off Scott Kamieniecki (0-2), pitching for the Yankees for the first time since injuring his elbow May 5. Kamieniecki gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings.

Munoz was credited with a solo home run in the third inning that tied it, 4-4. First base umpire Rich Garcia called Munoz’s opposite-field drive fair, even though television replays indicated it was foul.

Texas 7, Boston 2--Kevin Gross, near the bottom of the AL pitching statistics in several categories, gave up only five hits in 7 2/3 innings for the Rangers in a victory at Boston.

Rusty Greer, who had two RBIs in his previous 17 games, singled in two runs for the Rangers off Erik Hanson (7-3). Greer went three for four after getting six hits in his previous 52 at-bats.

Gross (4-8) entered the game having allowed 18.2 runners per nine innings, the most in the AL. But only six Red Sox reached base in the first seven innings.

Milwaukee 9, Chicago 5--Fernando Vina tripled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning after a 2 1/2-hour rain delay, and the Brewers won at Milwaukee.

Darryl Hamilton drove in a season-high four runs and Greg Vaughn homered for the second game in a row.

White Sox reliever Rob Dibble, who sparked a brawl and drew a three-game suspension for throwing at Pat Listach on June 29, came on to face Listach in the eighth. Dibble, who is appealing the suspension, walked Listach on five pitches.

The game was halted because of rain in the seventh inning with the score tied, 3-3. Before play resumed, 15 fans had been arrested for running out onto the tarpaulin during the downpour. Fewer than 1,000 fans remained from the crowd of 27,140 by the time play resumed two hours and 27 minutes later.

Vina’s triple off Tim Fortugno (1-3) put the Brewers ahead. Hamilton followed with an RBI single.

Seattle 3, Toronto 0--Mariner starter Randy Johnson struck out 16 Blue Jays and limited them to three hits in a victory at Seattle.