Yankees Finally Help Cone Get a Win

Once again, David Cone found himself locked up in a low-scoring game.

“I couldn’t believe I was out there and it was 1-1 in the seventh again,” Cone said.

But this time, the New York Yankees provided Cone with some late runs for a 6-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

Cone pitched four-hit ball over seven innings as the Yankees beat the Tigers for the 10th consecutive time.

Cone (9-4) struck out 10 in winning for only the second time in his last six starts. He walked three and recorded his fifth 10-strikeout game of the season.

“David Cone has been terrific, and I’m glad we finally got him a win,” Manager Joe Torre said.

Paul O’Neill drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.

O’Neill’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly came off Mike Myers, who relieved starter Felipe Lira (5-6) with one out in the seventh. Myers walked Tino Martinez to load the bases for O’Neill, whose fly to left field scored Derek Jeter to break the 1-1 tie.

“He really battled his butt off,” Tiger Manager Buddy Bell said of Lira. “I actually thought that’s the best stuff he’s had. He was aggressive, he pitched inside. Even though Cone was great, we still had a chance to win.”

Mariano Rivera came on with two runners on in the ninth and struck out the only two batters he faced for his league-leading 29th save.

Chicago 11, Kansas City 7--The Royals tied a club record at Kansas City with their 11th consecutive loss.

The streak, longest in the American League this season, matches the 11-game streak the Royals endured from June 27-July 8, 1986.

Tony Muser is 0-3 after being hired Wednesday to replace Bob Boone.

Tim Belcher (8-8) had his shortest outing of the season as the White Sox won their sixth in a row. He lasted only 4 1/3 innings and gave up 10 hits and eight runs.

After Frank Thomas’ three-run homer gave the White Sox a 3-0 lead in the first, the Royals rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the fourth with the help of home runs by Jon Nunnally, Jeff King and Chili Davis.

But Thomas, who was 3 for 5 to raise his league-leading average to .376, singled to start a four-run fifth that gave Chicago an 8-5 lead.

Danny Darwin (4-6) went six innings, yielding nine hits and six runs with five strikeouts and no walks. Darwin has not given up a walk in 21 1/3 innings.

Cleveland 7, Minnesota 2--Jim Thome knows a long home run when he hits it and so do his teammates. Against the Twins, they all saw one of his longest.

“That’s right up there,” Thome said after hitting a 455-foot shot into the Metrodome’s right-field upper deck in the ninth inning.

“It was 3-and-1 so I was looking for a pitch to drive,” Thome added about the blast--his 25th of the season--off reliever Todd Ritchie. “It was a fastball. He supplied the power, that’s for sure.”

Twin Manager Tom Kelly but was in awe of Thome’s blast.

“You needed a telescopic lens to track that one,” he said.

Thome also had two of Cleveland’s season-high seven doubles to help Orel Hershiser win for the first time in three weeks.

Hershiser (8-5) pitched six innings, yielding seven hits. He struck out five and was helped by two double plays in the first five innings.

David Justice, 6 for 8 since coming off the disabled list Thursday, hit his 18th homer leading off the second against Bob Tewksbury (4-8). He added a double in the sixth and had an RBI single in a three-run seventh.

Sandy Alomar, whose 30-game hitting streak ended Thursday night, had an RBI double that gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning.

Milwaukee 3, Baltimore 2--David Nilsson and Jose Valentin homered on successive pitches at Baltimore to help the Brewers hand the Orioles their season-high fifth consecutive loss.

Milwaukee has won four in a row after a five-game skid.

The Oriole loss, combined with the Yankees’ 6-2 win over Detroit, cut Baltimore’s lead in the AL East to 4 1/2 games--the closest the Yankees have been since May 18.

Baltimore has lost nine of 14 and is 10-13 since winning three straight from Atlanta last month. The Orioles have scored only three runs in the first two games of the three-game series.

Nilsson’s eighth homer of the season made the score 2-0 against Scott Erickson in the sixth, and Valentin followed with a shot that carried over the wall in center.

Baltimore closed to 3-2 in the seventh when Valentin booted Cal Ripken’s grounder to short with runners at the corners and B.J. Surhoff followed with an RBI single.

But Ron Villone held the Orioles scoreless in the eighth and Doug Jones pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.

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BESTS OF THE DAY / BATTING

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Player Team Performance Team’s Result Jim Thome Cleveland 3 for 5, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, 25th homer Win David Justice Cleveland 3 for 5, 2 RBIs, home run Win Frank Thomas Chicago 3 for 5, 3 RBIs, home run Win

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BESTS OF THE DAY / PITCHING

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Player Team Performance Roger Clemens Toronto 8 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 16 strikeouts John Burkett Texas 8 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 7 strikeouts David Cone New York 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 10 strikeouts

Player Team’s Result Roger Clemens Win John Burkett Win David Cone Win

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