Experience Helps Rookie Against Indians

Oakland’s Willie Adams wasn’t intimidated by the likes of Albert Belle and the Cleveland Indians. In fact, he was relieved to face a team he had already seen.

The rookie earned his first major league victory Saturday as the Athletics homered their way past the Indians, 5-1, at Oakland.

Adams (1-1) pitched six-plus innings, giving up one run on seven hits. He struck out five and walked three.

He faced the Indians in his major league debut June 11, giving up four runs on seven hits in six innings. He did not get a decision in a game Cleveland won, 6-5, in 13 innings.

“It’s always a big pleasure to have seen the batters,” Adams said. “This is the first team I’ve seen a second time. I knew what to expect.”

Jose Herrera hit a pair of solo home runs and Terry Steinbach added a three-run homer as the A’s put a stop to Cleveland’s four-game winning streak.

Detroit 13, New York 7--The Tigers became the first visiting team to win a series at Yankee Stadium in New York in nearly a year, roughing up Jimmy Key in the process.

The Tigers, who beat New York, 5-3, Friday night in the opener of the three-game set, scored nine runs off Key (9-9) in 4 1/3 innings. Key matched his career high for most earned runs given up.

Damion Easley, who homered, and Andujar Cedeno each drove in four runs as Detroit won its fourth in a row and 10th in 12 games.

The last team to win a series at Yankee Stadium was Kansas City, which won a one-game meeting last Aug. 28.

Texas 12, Toronto 1--Dean Palmer hit two homers, drove in five runs and scored three times, leading the Rangers at Toronto.

He followed an intentional walk to Will Clark with a three-run homer that capped a four-run first inning against Juan Guzman (9-8).

Palmer then doubled and scored in the fifth. He hit his 27th homer, a two-run shot off reliever Scott Brown, for a 10-1 lead in the seventh.

Darren Oliver (10-5) got off to a slow start, walking three batters in the first inning, including Jacob Brumfield with the bases loaded. That was the only run Oliver gave up in seven innings, during which he gave up six hits.

Baltimore 13, Chicago 4--Eddie Murray hit the 18th grand slam of his career, highlighting an eight-run burst in the ninth inning as the Orioles beat the White Sox at Chicago.

Murray tied Willie McCovey for second place on the career slam list, trailing only Lou Gehrig’s 23.

Roberto Alomar had three hits, including a three-run homer, for Baltimore. The Orioles took a 5-4 lead in the eighth on consecutive doubles by Jeffrey Hammonds, Cal Ripken Jr. and Rafael Palmeiro.

Ripken had an RBI single in the ninth and Murray hit his 16th home run of the season and 495th of his career. Mike Devereaux capped the inning with his seventh homer.

Boston 3, Milwaukee 2--Jeff Frye hit only his seventh homer in 948 major league at-bats, and Tim Wakefield and the Red Sox sent the Brewers to their sixth consecutive loss at Milwaukee.

Wakefield (10-10) struck out a season-high 10 and gave up eight hits in his fourth complete game of the season.

Cal Eldred (2-2), in his sixth start since returning from tendon replacement surgery on his right elbow, gave up four hits--three to Frye--in seven innings.

Frye, batting .279, has seven hits and five RBIs in the first three games of the series that concludes today. His second homer of the season, a two-run shot in the third, gave Boston a 3-0 lead.

Minnesota 10, Seattle 4--Scott Klingenbeck won his first game this season and Dave Hollins and Matt Walbeck homered as the Twins increased their winning streak to five at Seattle.

Pat Meares led the 18-hit attack with a career-high four hits and drove in two runs as the Twins matched their season-high winning streak.

Klingenbeck (1-1), who was the ERA leader in the Pacific Coast League, worked 5 2/3 innings, at one point retiring nine Mariners in a row.