Carter Makes His Return to Toronto in Style

Joe Carter made a triumphant return to Toronto by driving in three runs, helping Mike Mussina record his first win since returning from the disabled list and leading the Baltimore Orioles to a 9-5 victory over the Blue Jays.

Carter received a standing ovation from the crowd at SkyDome, returning to the city where he spent most of the past decade. He was a member of the Blue Jays for the previous seven seasons before signing a free-agent deal with the Orioles during the off-season.

“After the first couple of innings rolled by, I just had to tell myself, don’t run to the wrong dugout,” Carter said. “I appreciate a lot what the fans did. It gets you right in the heart.”

The first two of his three RBIs gave the Orioles the lead for good in the third inning. He erased a 1-0 deficit by ripping a two-run triple off Juan Guzman (3-8), and scored later on a single by Harold Baines. Carter also highlighted a three-run eighth with an RBI single.

Mussina (5-3) gave up two runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He was making his second start since being struck by a line drive hit by Cleveland’s Sandy Alomar on May 14.

“I’m still searching for it,” he said. “You can’t take this much time off and remain as sharp as you want to be.”

Guzman gave up six runs and nine hits in seven innings.

Boston 5, Tampa Bay 1--Reggie Jefferson hit a two-run homer and Troy O’Leary got two hits for the fifth consecutive game, leading the Red Sox at Boston.

Rolando Arrojo (8-4) lost for only the second time in nine starts despite tying a season-high with nine strikeouts. He gave up one run and five hits in seven innings and walked four.

He also committed a throwing error, and left trailing, 2-1. The Red Sox scored three in the eighth off Jim Mecir to secure the victory, their third in a row.

Arrojo was making his first start since learning Saturday that his mother and brother, along with his brother’s wife and two children, had escaped Cuba on a boat.

Arrojo defected in 1996 while on a pre-Olympic tour with the Cuban national team.

Minnesota 8, Chicago 7--Pinch-hitter Todd Walker’s double scored Matt Lawton from first in the ninth inning to help the Twins rally after blowing a five-run lead at Minneapolis.

Lawton singled with one out off Bill Simas (2-1), and Walker, batting for Denny Hocking, lined a double to right and Lawton hustled home barely ahead of the relay throw.

Rick Aguilera (3-3) pitched the ninth for the victory.

The loss was the fifth in seven games for the White Sox, which also got a solo homer from Mike Cameron.

Kansas City 7, Detroit 3--Jeff King had three hits and drove in four runs at Kansas City, leading the Royals over the Tigers.

King had a two-run single in a four-run third inning, and added another two-run single in the fourth as the Royals took a 7-1 lead. He extended his hitting streak to a season-high seven games and has 14 RBIs in his last 14 games.

The Tigers lost their fourth consecutive game and dropped percentage points behind the Royals into last place in the AL Central.

Jose Rosado (2-5) went eight innings for the victory, giving up nine hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

Rosado gave up a solo home run to Joe Randa and a single to Bobby Higginson with one out in the first. But he retired 12 of the next 13 batters, including eight in a row after Higginson’s single.

Kansas City won for the first time since Manager Tony Muser began an eight-game suspension for his role in a brawl with the Angels on June 2. The Royals lost their first two games of the suspension with bench coach Jamie Quirk as the acting manager.

Cleveland at New York--The game between the Indians and Yankees was postponed because of rain.

No makeup date was announced.