Espinoza Shows How to Make Homer Count

On the day Albert Belle tied the Cleveland career record for home runs and Kenny Lofton got five hits for the first time in the majors, Alvaro Espinoza had the biggest blow of all.

Espinoza hit a home run with one out in the 11th inning Saturday, lifting the Indians over the Minnesota Twins, 6-5, at Cleveland.

“That was the biggest home run of my life. It felt good,” said Espinoza, who victimized Dave Stevens (1-2).

Belle hit his 226th home run, tying him with Earl Averill for the most by an Indian player. Belle has 32 homers this season.

Paul Shuey (3-2) pitched one inning for the victory.

New York 4, Milwaukee 2--Relievers Mariano Rivera and John Wetteland combined for four scoreless innings at Milwaukee as the Yankees stopped a three-game losing streak.

Rivera (4-1) took over in the sixth inning and struck out five Brewers in 2 2/3 innings. He walked two in the seventh, then fanned Jeff Cirillo to end the threat.

Wetteland pitched 1 1/3 innings to earn his major league-leading 34th save.

Detroit 5, Toronto 4--Reliever Mike Timlin threw a wild pitch in the 10th inning at Toronto, allowing the Tigers to score the go-ahead run.

Charlie O’Brien had four runs-batted-in for Toronto. He hit a two-run homer early and had a two-run double in the ninth inning that made it 4-4.

Toronto’s Huck Flener, making his second start in the majors, held the Tigers hitless until Cecil Fielder blooped a single to start the seventh.

Texas 8, Oakland 4--Athletics’ reliever Todd Van Poppel threw a wild pitch and committed an error on a play that led to two runs, and the Rangers scored six runs in the sixth inning at Arlington, Texas.

Oakland’s Mark McGwire increased his major league lead with his 34th homer and Geronimo Berroa added his 24th.

The A’s have hit a major league-leading 156 homers, keeping them on pace to break the record of 240 set by the New York Yankees in 1961. They homered in their 16th consecutive game, extending their team record.

Texas rallied from a 4-1 deficit against starter Dave Telgheder and Van Poppel, an Arlington native who earned his first major league save against the Rangers on Thursday night.

Boston 2, Baltimore 0--Tim Wakefield blanked the Orioles for 8 1/3 innings and Kevin Mitchell homered to lead the Red Sox over the Orioles at Boston.

Wakefield (7-9) gave up six hits. He was relieved after issuing his first walk, to Rafael Palmeiro with one out in the ninth inning.

The Orioles, who were missing Roberto Alomar (sprained finger) and Brady Anderson (possible appendicitis), got only two runners past first base.

Kansas City 7, Chicago 5--Craig Paquette hit a three-run homer at Chicago as the Royals won their fourth game in a row.

Paquette, six for 14 with eight RBIs in three games, put the Royals ahead, 6-4, in the fifth inning with his 12th home run. He also doubled and scored as the White Sox lost their fourth consecutive game.

Doug Linton (4-5) struck out eight batters in five innings and gave up five runs. Jeff Montgomery finished for his 21st save.

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All-Time Indian Home Run Leaders

Albert Belle, with his 32nd home run of the season, moved into a tie for first place on the Cleveland Indians’ home run list: *--*

Player Yrs HR Earl Averill 11 226 Albert Belle 8 226 Hal Trosky 9 216 Larry Doby 10 215 Andre Thornton 10 214 Al Rosen 10 192 Rocky Colavito 8 190 Ken Keltner 12 163 Joe Carter 6 151 Woodie Held 7 130

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