Thomas’ Homer Lifts White Sox to Victory

In only his second game back in the Chicago White Sox lineup, Frank Thomas had faced just enough pitches to pick up where he was before fracturing his foot.

Thomas hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning Thursday as Chicago defeated the Athletics, 8-3, at Oakland.

“Fortunately enough in the last two days, I’ve seen every pitch that can be thrown. Split-fingers, change-ups, curves,” Thomas said. “The bottom line is you have to feel comfortable up there. You can’t go up there hacking like a madman.”

Thomas has not played since the all-star break because of a stress fracture in his left foot. The homer, his 24th of the season, was his first since July 1.

Oakland first baseman Mark McGwire, who has 38 homers, was out of the lineup for the fifth consecutive game because of back spasms.

New York 6, Texas 5--Joe Girardi drove in four runs and Cecil Fielder made his Yankees’ debut by scoring the the go-ahead run on Darryl Strawberry’s sixth-inning single in a victory over the Rangers at Arlington, Tex.

Juan Gonzalez, who matched a major league record with 15 homers in July, hit his 200th career homer. He had four homers in the three-game series against the Yankees.

Kansas City 9, Boston 4--Mike Macfarlane had three hits and drove in three runs as the Royals defeated Roger Clemens at Kansas City for the first time in nearly five years.

The Royals scored seven runs and had 11 hits in six innings off Clemens (4-11), who lost for the seventh time in his last eight decisions spanning 13 starts.

Clemens entered the game 15-6 with a 1.73 earned-run average against the Royals, and hadn’t lost in Kansas City since Aug. 7, 1991.

Toronto 5, Cleveland 3--John Olerud’s 16th home run broke a tie in the seventh inning and Erik Hanson (10-12) won his second consecutive start for the Blue Jays as they defeated the Indians at Cleveland.

Julio Franco and Brian Giles each had three hits for Cleveland, which dropped two of three games to the Blue Jays. Joe Carter added his 26th homer in the ninth for Toronto.

Seattle 9, Milwaukee 2--Jamie Moyer, making his debut with the Mariners following a trade from Boston, pitched seven strong innings and Alex Rodriguez drove in three runs in a victory over the Brewers at Milwaukee.

Moyer (8-1), acquired in a trade that sent outfielder Darren Bragg to the Red Sox on Tuesday, held the Brewers to four hits in winning his fourth consecutive start.

Boston 4, Minnesota 2--Brady Anderson’s two-run single capped a three-run fifth inning that lifted David Wells and the Orioles to a three-game sweep over the Twins at Minneapolis.

Wells (8-10) gave up four hits and one run in 7 1/3 innings and has won consecutive starts for the first time this year. Alan Mills pitched out of the eighth, and Randy Myers worked a perfect ninth for his 20th save.