Molitor Hits Winner, Barely Misses Cycle
American League
Though Paul Molitor didn’t get the home run he needed in the ninth inning to hit for the cycle Saturday, it didn’t seem to bother him. His game-winning single was a nice substitute.
Molitor capped a 4-for-4 day with a broken-bat RBI single that rallied the host Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
“It was one of those not-very-pretty-but-very-effective swings,” Molitor said.
Molitor admitted that hitting for the cycle was in the back of his mind with two outs and runners at first and second in the ninth.
“It went from the front burner to the back burner,” he said. “It was still there, but the at-bat became more important. You try for a little bit better plate coverage in that situation.”
Shawn Green pulled the Blue Jays even with his 10th home run of the season, a solo shot with one out in the ninth off Chicago closer Roberto Hernandez (2-7).
Sandy Martinez then lined a single off the body of Hernandez and went to second when Hernandez threw wildly to first.
Tomas Perez struck out and Devon White walked before Molitor hit a blooper over the head of shortstop Ozzie Guillen to score Martinez.
Molitor doubled in the first, singled in the third and tripled in the fifth.
Brewers 7, Twins 6 (10)
Milwaukee
Pinch-hitter Dave Nilsson singled home the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning and Milwaukee beat Minnesota for their fourth straight victory.
The Brewers, who blew a 6-2 lead in the ninth, remained 1-1/2 games behind Texas for the wild-card lead. Milwaukee beat Minnesota for the third straight day.
Rangers 10, Royals 3
Kansas City
Bob Tewksbury, in his first start since a rib injury sidelined him July 23, held Kansas City to seven hits through six innings as Texas romped past the Royals.
Every Texas starter had at least one hit. Mickey Tettleton, who homered, Craig Worthington and Benji Gil each had two RBIs.
Indians 6, Tigers 2
Cleveland
Charles Nagy struck out a career-high 12 batters, ending his string of three bad starts, and Eddie Murray stole home as Cleveland beat Detroit.
Cleveland has won seven of its last eight games, improving baseball’s best record to 75-35. The Tigers have lost 11 of 12 games at Jacobs Field since it opened last year.
Orioles 5, Angels 2
Anaheim, Calif.
Kevin Brown won for the first time in 12 weeks, pitching Baltimore past California before a crowd of 61,292.
Athletics 11, Red Sox 4
Oakland
Stan Javier had three RBIs and Oakland used a six-run third inning to defeat Boston, sending the Red Sox to their first back-to-back losses in a month.
Clearing the bases
Six of the seven games between Chicago and Toronto this season have been decided by one run. … Today marks the Cleveland Indians’ 110th straight in first place, the longest string of consecutive days at the top in team history. … The Boston Red Sox hit into four double plays against Oakland after hitting into three on Friday night. … The Kansas City Royals, in the thick of the wild-card race, will play their next eight games against wild-card hopefuls Texas, Milwaukee and New York.