Canseco Gets 31st Home Run

Jose Canseco, in a one-for-23 slump, hit his 31st home run Thursday night, helping the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2, at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Canseco’s home run was only his second at Tropicana Field since June 5. With 21 road homers, he is tied with George Bell (Toronto, 1987) for the most road home runs at the all-star break. The major league record for road home runs in a season is 32 by Babe Ruth in 1927 and Mark McGwire in 1998.

Canseco’s solo shot came against Brian Rose (4-2) in the third inning. He scored the decisive run on John Flaherty’s sixth-inning single after walking and taking second on a groundout.

Bobby Witt (5-5) won for the second time since May 1, giving up two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. Roberto Hernandez pitched the ninth for his 25th save in 28 opportunities.

Wade Boggs of the Devil Rays had a double to move to within 22 hits of 3,000.

New York 3, Detroit 2--Tino Martinez hit a tiebreaking leadoff home run in the ninth inning and the Yankees won their final game in Tiger Stadium.

Martinez lined a 2-and-2 fastball from C.J. Nitkowski (1-3) into the upper deck in right-center to break a 2-2 tie and make Orlando Hernandez (10-6) a winner.

Hernandez went eight innings to win for the fifth time in his last six decisions. He gave up two runs and seven hits, with two walks and seven strikeouts. He struck out the last four batters he faced, including the side in the eighth.

Mariano Rivera got the last three outs for his 22nd save.

The Tigers, who are moving to a new ballpark next season, were 419-402 at home against New York since Tiger Stadium opened as Navin Field in 1912.

Toronto 11, Baltimore 6--The Blue Jays hit six home runs at Baltimore, including two each by Willis Otanez and Tony Batista, and completed their second three-game sweep of the Orioles in 10 days.

Carlos Delgado and Shannon Stewart also homered for the Blue Jays, who have won 10 in a row against the Orioles and took the season series, 11-1. The Blue Jays hit 21 home runs in the 12 games, including nine in this series.

Harold Baines hit a home run for the Orioles, his 219th as a designated hitter to tie the major league mark set by Don Baylor.

Chicago 6, Kansas City 5--Magglio Ordonez hit a bases-loaded double with one out in the ninth inning, driving in the tying and winning runs at Chicago.

The Royals had taken a 5-4 lead in the top of the inning on Carlos Beltran’s two-run homer, his 12th.

The White Sox loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth and Ordonez, the team’s lone all-star representative, hit a 3-and-1 pitch from Don Wengert into the gap in right-center.

Cleveland 9, Minnesota 2--Charles Nagy won for the eighth time in nine decisions and David Justice had three hits and three RBIs for the Indians at Minneapolis.

Nagy (11-4) beat the Twins for the third time in as many starts this year. He pitched seven innings, giving up nine hits and two runs with four strikeouts and one walk.

Mike Lincoln (3-9) gave up only one hit through the first three innings but couldn’t get through the fourth, when the Indians sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs.

Manny Ramirez drove in his major league-leading 91st run.