AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : A’s Start Hitting, but Indians Hit Harder, 15-6

The Oakland Athletics appear to be out of their hitting slump. In the last two games they have had 22 hits and 12 runs.

The catch is they haven’t been competitive in either game.

The Cleveland Indians, who were last in both leagues in runs scored, followed their 20-run production Saturday with a 15-6 rout of Bob Welch and the Athletics Sunday at Oakland.

In two lopsided games, the Indians scored 35 runs and pounded out 40 hits. In their previous 19 games, the Indians scored only 54 runs. They were on pace for the fewest runs scored in a season.

Welch took the worst beating of his career. The Athletics allowed him to stick around for 11 runs and 13 hits in 4 2/3 innings. The Cy Young Award winner, who won 27 games last season, gave up four runs in the first inning and it didn’t get better.

Oakland Manager Tony La Russa had seen enough by the fifth inning and was ejected by home plate umpire Tim Welke.

Saturday, Chris James hit two three-run homers and drove in nine runs. In this game, he was only two for five.

He wasn’t needed. Jerry Browne drove in four runs and Albert Belle and Joel Skinner each had three RBIs to make it easy for Greg Swindell to win his first of four decisions while giving three runs and seven hits in seven innings.

In his previous five starts, Swindell was given only nine runs.

Seattle 5, New York 4--Greg Briley hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 16th inning at Seattle to give the Mariners a victory over the Yankees in a game that took 5:31 to play.

After Kevin Maas hit a solo home run in the top of the 16th to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead, the Mariners won it when Omar Vizquel doubled with one out beforee Briley homered.

Detroit 8, Texas 7--In the Tigers’ first 22 games, Rob Deer struck out 33 times. At that rate he would strike out 243 times this season.

The slugging outfielder found a way to avoid striking out in this game at Detroit. He went four for four, including two home runs, and drove in three runs.

Deer, who has driven in 11 runs in the last six games, has eight home runs. He is tied for the major league lead with Dave Henderson and Kevin Mitchell.

The Tigers had to survive a pigeon problem to win it. In the sixth inning, with a man on third, four pigeons settled in front of Tiger shortstop Alan Trammell. Juan Gonzalez hit a grounder into the pigeons. The ball didn’t hit a pigeon, but they flew up in front of Trammell and he missed the ball, a run scoring.

Toronto 3, Kansas City 0--Dave Stieb is no Nolan Ryan, but the Blue Jays’ top pitcher has flirted with no-hitters often. Last September he pitched a no-hitter. Twice previously he was one out away when he lost it.

In this game at Kansas City, Stieb (3-2) had a no-hitter until Bill Pecota singled with two out in the sixth inning.

Stieb gave up two hits in 7 2/3 innings and the bullpen completed the shutout. Stieb, who has 30 shutouts, admitted he was tired.

Boston 9, Chicago 1--Kevin Romine never had a home run anywhere in the majors except at Fenway Park when he came up with the bases loaded in the second inning at Chicago.

Romine, playing center in place of slumping Ellis Burks, hit his first grand slam and just his fifth homer in the majors. It was the first grand slam in the new Comiskey Park.

Matt Young went seven innings to get the victory, Boston’s sixth in seven games. His first win for the Red Sox also ended a four-game losing streak to the White Sox.

Minnesota 5, Milwaukee 2--The Twins took advantage of the wet grass at Milwaukee and the ailing back of relief pitcher Edwin Nunez to pull out the win in the 10th.

When Kirby Puckett of the Twins bunted, Nunez fumbled the ball and aggravated a painful nerve condition. The Twins went on to score three runs. Brian Harper’s two-run single was the big hit.