Nightmare for Bonilla: He Strands 8

Designated hitter Bobby Bonilla of the Baltimore Orioles couldn’t exactly remember how many runners he left on base Saturday. A whole lot, he knew that. “It felt like 35 guys,” he said.

The number was eight.

Three times Bonilla went to the plate with two outs, the Orioles only one Bonilla hit away from coming back against the Oakland Athletics. He popped out once, grounded out the second time, and then, as the potential tying run, Bonilla took a third strike, the last out in the Orioles’ 6-3 loss at Baltimore.

Three times those particularly dissatisfied among the 47,353 at Camden Yards targeted Bonilla for some verbal wrath, the resounding boos following him all the way into the dugout. What Bonilla is going through now qualifies as the working definition of a slump, his average down to .231 and fans reminding him of this before and after most every at-bat.

“Actually, I’m feeling pretty good up there,” Bonilla said. “But I’ve got to get the two-out hits. You’ve got to get those in order to win.”

Hobbled by a sprained ankle, Bonilla is one for 11 in his past three games, and is hitting .207 with runners in scoring position.

Oakland first baseman Mark McGwire hit a 423-foot, two-run homer off David Wells (3-4) in the fourth inning, and Pedro Munoz crushed a 463-foot, three-run shot to center. Mike Bordick also homered for Oakland. A’s starter Doug Johns (4-5) has nine career victories, and now three have come against the Orioles.

New York 5, Seattle 4--Ramiro Mendoza won his major league debut and reliever John Wetteland struck out Ken Griffey Jr. with a runner on second base for the final out as the Yankees won at Seattle.

A sellout crowd of 57,173 saw the Mariners nearly overcome an early 5-0 deficit. But Griffey, who hit three home runs Friday night, struck out swinging to end Seattle’s last chance.

Cleveland 7, Detroit 6--Pinch-hitter Omar Vizquel doubled in two runs in a three-run seventh inning as the Indians handed the Tigers their 10th consecutive loss and 30th in 34 games at Detroit.

Carlos Baerga and Kenny Lofton homered for the Indians, who have won three in a row and 11 of 13.

Minnesota 6, Toronto 4--Scott Stahoviak doubled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning at Toronto as the Twins handed the Blue Jays their eighth loss in 11 games.

Roberto Kelly, who went three for five, led off the 10th with a double off Tony Castillo (2-1) and Stahoviak’s double made it 5-4. Two outs later, Rich Becker’s infield single scored Stahoviak.

Chicago 9, Milwaukee 7--Harold Baines drove in four runs and teamed with Robin Ventura to hit consecutive homers as the White Sox hung on to beat the Brewers at Chicago for their seventh consecutive win.

Texas 2, Kansas City 1--Rick Helling, called up from the minors to replace the injured Kevin Gross, pitched three-hit ball for eight innings at Kansas City as the Rangers ended the Royals’ five-game winning streak.

Helling (1-1) struck out five, walked three and retired 19 of his last 21 batters. He made the start after Gross was put on the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day because of a torn ligament in his back.