Wetteland’s 30th Save No Gimme

Texas closer John Wetteland took the mound to start the top of the ninth inning with a three-run lead Thursday night, and didn’t want to face Boston Red Sox slugger Mo Vaughn.

But five batters later, that’s exactly what happened.

Wetteland ended the game by striking out Vaughn on a full count with runners on first and second for his 30th save, and the Rangers extended their winning streak to five games with a 7-4 victory.

“I went to the mound thinking I can’t let Mo come up as the tying run, but that’s what happened and I had nobody to blame but myself,” said Wetteland, who has 30 or more saves six times in his career.

“I got John where I wanted to get him and that’s half the battle,” Vaughn said. “But John made a good pitch. I need to do better with runners in scoring position.”

One person who did connect was Juan Gonzalez, who hit his 33rd homer, increasing his major league-leading RBI total to 118. Gonzalez’s 429-foot solo homer in the seventh was just the fifth ball hit into the second deck in left field in the five-year history of The Ballpark in Arlington.

Kansas City 8, Minnesota 7--The Royals used Jeff King’s two-run homer in the ninth inning for a come-from-behind victory at Minneapolis.

That gave the Royals their sixth victory in seven games, their first three-game sweep in more than two years and bragging rights in a second-place race that means little outside of the two clubhouses.

The Twins are 11-15 since the All-Star break and have a five-game losing streak.

Jose Offerman extended his hitting streak to 25 games for the Royals with two hits, including a solo homer in the third.

Offerman also tied George Brett for the second-longest hitting streak in club history. Brett had a 30-game streak in 1980.

Seattle at Detroit--The game between the Mariners and Tigers was postponed by rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader today.