Eshelman Etches Rookie Masterpiece

American League

Rookie Vaughn Eshelman held New York hitless for 5 innings before finally allowing a run, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees 6-4 Saturday at Fenway Park.

Eshelman (3-0) ran his career scoreless streak to 18 innings before Jim Leyritz snapped it with a three-run homer. Eshelman was lifted, but still got the win. Eshelman’s shutout streak is the second-longest by a Red Sox rookie at the start of his career. Dave Ferris opened with 22 straight scoreless innings in 1945, an A.L. record.

Orioles 6, Indians 1

Baltimore

Mike Mussina pitched the first complete game in the American League this season, limiting Cleveland to three hits.

Mussina (2-1) walked none, struck out five and faced only 28 batters.

Blue Jays 10, Brewers 0

Milwaukee

David Cone pitched a three-hitter in Toronto’s win. Cone (2-2) struck out two and walked three in his 20th career shutout.

Cone’s complete game was the third in the majors this season.

Rangers 5, Tigers 3

Arlington, Texas

Roger Pavlik allowed six hits in 6 innings and Dean Palmer keyed a four-run fifth inning with a two-run single as Texas snapped a five-game home losing streak. Pavlik (1-1) brought a 6.11 ERA into his fourth start of 1995, but he gave the one of their strongest outings of an early season marked by ineffective starting pitching. < Royals 4, Angels 2

Kansas City, Mo.

Gary Gaetti broke an 0-for-24 streak with a two-run homer on the first pitch from reliever Troy Percival with two outs in the ninth inning to lift Kansas City.

Athletics 13, Twins 5

Minneapolis

Ruben Sierra, Rickey Henderson, Stan Javier and Mark McGwire homered, powering Oakland past Minnesota.

Payback time

Boston is one of the rare teams that hasn’t been hurt badly by the strike. Attendance is slightly ahead of last year’s pace, and the club actually is giving back to its fans instead of providing lip service like some organizations. Jose Canseco has been seen standing on the street outside Fenway Park signing autographs before games. And Monday, on an off day, fans will be allowed to walk onto the field at Fenway Park and touch the Green Monster, or go meet players and coaches for autographs and photos at a club across the street from the ballpark.

Carter’s corner

A huge mural is painted on the side of a building near Toronto’s SkyDome commemorating Joe Carter’s game-winning home run off ex-Phillies reliever Mitch Williams in the 1993 World Series, with notation: “Oct. 23, 1993, 11:39 p.m.”

Upon his first return to Toronto since his infamous gopher ball, “Wild Thing,” now pitching for California, remarked: “I don’t think I got a mural in Philadelphia.”

Williams received a standing ovation from Blue Jays fans when he came in to pitch for the first time. He allowed a game-tying pinch single to Lance Parrish, was promptly removed, and got another standing O.

Gil’s early edge

Heading into the season, the players getting big hype as American League rookie-of-the-year favorites were Toronto’s Shawn Green and the White Sox’s Ray Durham. But the early leader seems to be Texas shortstop Benji Gil, who homered in three consecutive games last weekend and was hitting .326 as of Thursday while playing stellar defense. Gil hit .123 in 22 games in 1993, when an injury to Manny Lee forced him into the big-leagues at 20.