American League Roundup : On This Night, Rangers Are Biggest Hit of All

It is generally agreed that in major league baseball this is the Year of the Rabbit. There is so much rabbit in the ball that singles hitters are becoming sluggers.

There was a little extra rabbit in the baseballs used in the American League Friday night, except for the game at Toronto, where the Angels and the Blue Jays scored only four runs.

In the other six games, there were exactly 100 runs scored. There were 133 hits and 25 of them were home runs.

The honor of scoring the most runs went to the Texas Rangers, struggling along in last place in the West. The Rangers scored early and often at Kansas City, beating the Royals, leaders of the West, 16-5. The Rangers trail the Royals by eight games.

While the Rangers were pounding Mark Gubicza and three successors for 15 hits, Bo Jackson was the only Royal enjoying the knuckleball of Charlie Hough (5-1). Jackson hit two home runs and a double.

Pete O’Brien and Larry Parrish led the Ranger attack. O’Brien was 3 for 3, including his 10th home run. He scored five runs and drove in four. Parrish was also 3 for 3, including his 11th home run. He scored only two runs, but he drove in five. His 33 RBIs in May is a Ranger record.

Hough improved his lifetime record against the Royals to 12-6. He gave up seven hits in seven innings, departing with a 16-4 lead.

Detroit 15, Minnesota 7--The Twins matched the Tigers in home runs at Detroit, but they didn’t get much else. Except for the four home runs, including the first two of the season for Mark Salas, the Twins had only three singles as the sizzling Tigers won for the 13th time in the last 15 games.

Walt Terrell (4-5) actually held the Twins to one run, Kent Hrbek’s home run, until the eighth when Salas hit a two-run smash.

By the time Salas started hitting homers, the Tigers had the victory wrapped up. They had 16 hits, including a grand slam by Tom Brookens and a three-run homer by Matt Nokes.

Oakland 13, New York 5--The oddity in this slugging bee at New York, in which the A’s bombarded three Yankee pitchers for 16 hits, was that their hottest hitter, Mark McGwire, didn’t have a hit.

But the top three hitters in the Oakland lineup made up for McGwire. Tony Phillips had three hits. No. 2 hitter Alfredo Griffin also had three, including a home run and drove in four runs. Jose Canseco had two hits, including a two-run home run in the first inning that started the A’s off to a big night.

It was 9-0 before the Yankees came to bat in the fifth, and they never made much of a dent in the big lead.

“I always do well here at Yankee Stadium,” said Canseco after hitting his sixth home run and first on the road this season. “I always do well against the Yankees, because it’s exciting to play the Yankees.”

Curt Young (6-3) went only five innings, but gained the victory because of his mates’ heavy hitting.

Seattle 7, Baltimore 3--Cal Ripken Jr. continued the Orioles’ home run binge with his 14th homer, but the big blow at Baltimore was Mike Kingery’s pinch three-run home run in the seventh that broke the game open.

Mark Langston (6-4) struck out 10 Orioles to increase his league leading total to 89 strikeouts. It was the fifth time the hard-throwing left-hander has struck out at least 10 this season.

But Ripken’s clout increased the Orioles’ record home-run total for May to 57. They have two more days in which to extend the mark. All of last season, the St. Louis Cardinals hit only 58.

The victory was only the 18th for the Mariners in 56 games at Baltimore.

Chicago 8, Boston 6--Maybe this is the season that Wade Boggs develops into a power hitter. In his 47th game, Boggs hit his career-high ninth home run in this game at Chicago.

But the White Sox’s deluxe pinch-hitter Jerry Hairston, hit a three-run home run in the seventh to give the White Sox the victory. It was Hairston’s 82nd pinch-hit for the Sox.

The blast saddled Bob Stanley (2-7) with his fifth consecutive defeat. He gave up seven runs and 10 hits in seven innings.

Cleveland 9, Milwaukee 6--Pat Tabler, who hits doubles as often as Mark McGwire hits home runs, had two more at Cleveland and drove in three runs to spark the Indians. Tabler has 17 doubles, tops in the majors.

It was his single in the seventh, though, that broke a 6-6 tie and handed Ted Higuera (4-5) his fifth loss in a row.

Scott Bailes (2-0) pitched three scoreless innings of relief as the Indians ended a four-game losing streak.