Gooden Earns Spot in Lineup

After a couple of weeks of bragging, Dwight Gooden proved he does indeed belong in the majors’ most dangerous lineup.

Gooden hit the eighth homer of his career, most by any active pitcher, and Richie Sexson hit a tie-breaking solo shot in the ninth inning Friday night as the Cleveland Indians beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-6.

Kenny Lofton and Manny Ramirez also homered as the Indians showed off their might against their intrastate rival. Cleveland came into the game with a .301 team average, best in the majors.

Lofton opened the game with a homer for the fourth time this season and Ramirez returned from a three-game suspension for charging the mound by hitting a two-run homer in the fifth.

Gooden’s second-inning swing provided a smidgen of history on a steamy, 90-degree evening in front of a crowd of 42,928 fans, many of whom wore Indian jerseys and jumped to their feet when the pitcher’s drive cleared the wall.

The Indians’ bench erupted in admiration as well.

“That was the most excited we’ve been all year, probably,” Sexson said. “You have to understand, Doc’s been walking around for the last two weeks with bats over his shoulder, talking about his power. He’s been trying to hit home runs in batting practice for the last two weeks.

“We said, ‘No way, you can’t go deep.’ ”

Gooden, whose lifetime average is .196, pulled a high 2-1 fastball to left-center for a 3-0 lead in the second. It was Gooden’s first homer since 1993, when he surpassed Tom Seaver and set the New York Mets’ record for homers by a pitcher.

For one night, he was as good as a designated hitter.

Cincinnati starter Steve Parris showed his disgust at giving up only the third homer by a pitcher in interleague play by yanking off his red-and-black cap and muttering to himself.

“I didn’t have my best stuff tonight and when you’re pitching against a good-hitting team like that, you’d better have your best stuff,” he said. “I didn’t, and it showed.”

Gooden circled the bases with his head down, hiding his glee.

“Whether it’s your first or your eighth, it’s like a dream come true,” he said. “You want to round the bases as quickly as possible.”