Mcgwire Powers A’S
American League
Tony La Russa has managed Mark McGwire for the past decade, but he still marvels at the feats of his powerful first baseman.
A day after coming off the disabled list, McGwire hit his 25th and 26th home runs Thursday to lead the Oakland Athletics to a 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers at Oakland.
“He is amazing. How does he do what he just did?” La Russa asked.
McGwire, who had two singles on Wednesday in his first game since badly bruising his left foot on July 17, said he was still not completely comfortable on the field.
“This game isn’t easy,” McGwire said. “I got a couple of hits yesterday and today, but I’ve got a long way to go.”
Yankees 5, Brewers 4
New York
Stymied by Ricky Bones for seven innings, the Yankees rallied for four eighth-inning runs against the Milwaukee bullpen.
David Cone (11-6), making his Yankee Stadium debut for New York, won his second straight decision since being acquired from Toronto on July 28. John Wetteland earned his 19th save despite allowing a leadoff homer to John Jaha in the ninth.
Red Sox 10, Tigers 2
Detroit
Mo Vaughn’s third grand slam of the season powered Tim Wakefield to his 12th victory as Boston spoiled C.J. Nitkowski’s A.L. debut. Nitkowski (0-1), obtained by Detroit in the trade that sent All-Star David Wells to Cincinnati, lasted 1 innings in his first Tiger start.
Blue Jays 8, Orioles 2 (10)
Baltimore
Mike Huff scored the go-ahead run in the 10th after a quirky steal of third and Ed Sprague capped the six-run uprising with a homer in Toronto’s win.
Indians 6, Twins 4
Cleveland
Carlos Baerga homered, drove in two runs and scored twice, and Ken Hill earned his first A.L. win by beating Minnesota. Jim Thome also homered for the Indians, 15-6 since the All-Star break.
Royals 9, White Sox 0
Chicago
Melvin Bunch earned his first major league victory as Kansas City beat Chicago in a game delayed by rain at the start for 2 hours.
Gary Gaetti hit his 21st homer and drove in four runs, helping the Royals salvage one win in the four-game series.
Davis slapped with fine
California DH Chili Davis, who four days ago poked an innocent fan in the face in Milwaukee, was fined $5,000 by the league and ordered to contribute that money to a children’s charity.
Davis became upset Sunday after being heckled at County Stadium. He walked over to the stands, picked out the person he thought had been hounding him and slapped the young man on the side of the face. Witnesses later said the fan Davis poked was not the one who had been booing.
“I’ve got to pay the fine. Five thousand is five thousand,” Davis said before Thursday night’s game against Seattle.
Clearing the bases
Jose Canseco was back in the Boston lineup after missing Wednesday’s game with back spasms… . Oakland placed Danny Tartabull on the 15-day disabled list with a strained muscle in his left rib cage and recalled Ernie Young a day after he had been optioned to the minors… . Texas said that stopper Jeff Russell has gone back to Texas for tests on his sore back, and is probably going to miss the weekend series at California. … Cleveland has been in first place for 86 straight days, their longest consecutive stay at the top since spending 107 straight days in first in 1954.