Pettitte Leaves the White Sox Feeling Ill

L.A. Times Archives

April 28, 1997 12 AM PT

From Associated Press

Body aches, a high fever and an upset stomach couldn’t slow Andy Pettitte. Neither could the Chicago White Sox.

Pettitte, who had been feeling ill since Thursday, became the season’s first five-game winner and Paul O’Neill drove in four runs Sunday to lead the Yankees to a 7-1 win over the White Sox at New York.

Pettitte (5-0) limited Chicago to only four hits in 7 2/3 innings to become only the second Yankee pitcher to record five wins in April. The left-hander walked two and struck out six.

Just making it to the ballpark was a triumph for Pettitte, who thought he was going to pass out in the middle of Saturday’s game before being sent home with a 102-degree temperature.

However, his fever broke during the night, and after spending nearly 18 hours in bed, he awoke Sunday morning ready to go.

“I came pretty close,” Pettitte said when asked if he gave any thought to skipping his start. “I didn’t want to miss it. I had family here that came a long way to see me pitch.”

O’Neill hit a three-run double in the third off Doug Drabek (1-3) and added a solo homer in the fifth as the Yankees improved to 5-2 against Chicago this season.

Frank Thomas homered for the White Sox, whose 7-16 record is the American League’s worst. Albert Belle had two doubles.

Seattle 2, Toronto 1--Randy Johnson won his 15th consecutive decision and Alex Rodriguez drove in two runs to lead the Mariners over the Blue Jays at Toronto.

Johnson, who hasn’t lost in 23 starts since Aug. 1, 1995, struck out nine in eight innings, giving up one run and six hits.

Johnson (3-0) is two wins shy of the AL record for consecutive decisions won, set by Cleveland’s Johnny Allen (1936-37) and matched by Baltimore’s Dave McNally (1968-69). Carl Hubbell set the major league record of 24 with the New York Giants (1936-37).

“I’m starting to build my endurance back up,” Johnson said. “I felt like I could have pitched the ninth, but I have to be realistic. I can’t exceed my pitch count.”

Norm Charlton pitched the ninth for his seventh save, finishing Seattle’s fifth win in seven games.

Alex Rodriguez, who drove in both Seattle runs, hit his fourth home run of the season off Robert Person (0-1) in the first.

Ken Griffey Jr., who leads the majors with 13 home runs and is tied for lead with 30 RBIs, was hitless in four at-bats.

Kansas City 7, Oakland 1--Tim Belcher came within one out of a shutout, pitching a six-hitter as the Royals defeated the Athletics at Oakland.

Belcher (2-3) gave up only four singles in the first eight innings. Jose Canseco doubled with one out in the ninth and Matt Stairs’ single with two outs spoiled Belcher’s bid for his 18th shutout.

“I don’t think I was dominant in the sense of striking everybody out, but that’s not the focal point of my game now anyway,” Belcher said. “I move the fastball around. As long as I don’t give out any free passes, I’m OK.”

Joe Vitiello had a two-run single for the Royals in the first and Bip Roberts had a run-scoring double in the second. The fourth Kansas City run scored on Shane Halter’s squeeze bunt in the fourth.

Belcher, who had lost his previous three starts, struck out two and walked one. It was his 37th career complete game.

Milwaukee 6, Indians 5--Dave Nilsson singled home the winning run in the ninth inning as the Brewers rallied from a four-run deficit to win at Milwaukee.

Milwaukee, which rallied Saturday against Jose Mesa and scored three in the ninth to win, erased a 5-3 deficit in the eighth when Dave Nilsson and John Jaha singled off Eric Plunk (0-2) and scored on Jeromy Burnitz’ RBI double and Jeff Huson’s double-play grounder.

Mark Loretta singled with one out in the ninth, Jeff Cirillo walked and Nilsson singled to left off Paul Assenmacher. Doug Jones (2-0) pitched the ninth for the victory.

Texas 7, Minnesota 3--Warren Newson broke out of a slump with three hits, including a tiebreaking two-run homer that helped the Rangers complete a three-game sweep at Minneapolis.

Newson, who was hitless in his previous 10 at-bats before Sunday, had a run-scoring double in the second, then connected in the eighth off Dan Naulty (1-1) for his first homer of the season.

“My first couple of games back I was trying to pull everything,” said Newson, who came off the disabled list April 20. “I was trying to go the other way [today], I started seeing it better, and I hit it harder.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BESTS OF THE DAY

BATTING

Player: Bill Haselman

Team: Boston

Performance: 4 for 5, 4 RBIs, home run, 3 doubles

Team’s Result: Win

Player: Eric Davis

Team: Baltimore

Performance: 4 for 5, 2 runs, 3 RBIs

Team’s Result: Loss

Player: Warren Newson