Williams Better Than Grand With 8 RBIs

When he was a New York Yankee, Reggie Jackson was known as Mr. October because of his big postseason hits. Now the Yankees, in another pennant drive, may have a Mr. September in Bernie Williams.

Williams drove in eight runs, including a grand slam off the facing of the third deck and a three-run homer as the AL East-leading Yankees completed a three-game sweep by defeating the Tigers, 12-3, Thursday at Detroit.

“It was a great game. We’ll certainly take it,” Williams said. “When these days come, you just have to enjoy them.”

Last season, Williams was batting .294 before Sept. 1, then hit .364 the rest of the way as the Yankees won a wild-card spot.

“I feel the pressure every day,” Williams said. “It just seems to work out well down the stretch.”

Williams’ first homer Thursday came from the right side of the plate. His second and 26th of the season came from the left side.

The Yankees arrived at Tiger Stadium having lost 15 of 24, prompting Manager Joe Torre to call a 25-minute pregame meeting before the series opener. The team responded by scoring 28 runs in three days.

“Bernie Williams is kind of my wild card,” Torre said. “I can bat him anyplace in the lineup, and he’s still going to go up there and just be Bernie Williams.”

In all, the Yankees hit four home runs, including three in the ninth.

David Cone (6-2), making his third start since coming back from an aneurysm in his right shoulder, won for the second time in his return. Rookie Justin Thompson (1-5) took the loss.

Seattle 8, Kansas City 5--Alex Rodriguez set a major league record for shortstops with his 88th extra-base hit of the season and Mark Whiten hit a three-run homer at Kansas City, Mo.

Rodriguez, leading the majors in hitting at .372, broke the extra-base record for shortstops set by Robin Yount during his 1982 MVP season.

Terry Mulholland improved to 4-2 for the Mariners, who ended a three-game losing streak. Chris Haney (9-14) lost his fourth decision in a row, and remained winless in six starts.

Chicago 11, Baltimore 3--Alex Fernandez pitched a three-hitter at Baltimore, helping the White Sox move to within half a game of the Orioles in the wild-card race.

The loss ended the Orioles’ five-game winning streak, dropped them 3 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the AL East and denied Mike Mussina his 20th victory.

Fernandez (14-9) struck out 10 and walked two to improve to 3-0 against Baltimore. The right-hander has five of Chicago’s six complete games.

Mussina (19-10), who was 8-1 in his last nine starts, has a 9.90 earned-run average against the White Sox.

“I didn’t give us a chance,” he said. “Fernandez is one of the best pitchers in the league. We got three runs off him, so that’s a good day. But I’ve got to do better than that.”

Milwaukee 15, Texas 4--Fernando Vina went five for six with two homers and a triple and Ben McDonald won for the first time in two months. McDonald (11-10) had lost his previous seven decisions, but he can always depend on a trip to Arlington to turn his fortunes around. The victory gave McDonald a 6-0 lifetime record at Texas.

Ranger starter Ken Hill (15-9) was battered for eight runs and eight hits over 1 1/2 innings, his shortest outing of the season.

Minnesota 4, Oakland 3--Pat Meares hit a sacrifice fly in the 12th inning to score Roberto Kelly with the winning run at Minneapolis.

Kelly doubled off losing pitcher Mike Mohler (5-3) to lead off the 12th and advanced on a groundout. Oakland center fielder Ernie Young made a sliding catch on Meares’ fly ball, but dropped it when he came up to throw.

Dave Stevens (3-3) got the win in relief.

Minnesota’s Paul Molitor went one for five, leaving him six hits shy of 3,000. Teammate Chuck Knoblauch set a team record by scoring his 128th run of the season.