Angels Remain Atop Standings
American League
The California Angels are winning as a team - a team that no one expected to be leading the A.L. West.
Sunday, they got hitting from the bottom of the order and timely pitching to hold off the Chicago White Sox 8-6, completing a sweep of the three-game series in Chicago.
Gary DiSarcina, Damion Easley and Jim Edmonds homered for California, while Angels starter Mike Bielecki (2-0) gave up one run on five singles in 6 innings.
Rangers 6, Brewers 0
Arlington, Texas
Kenny Rogers extended his scoreless streak to 26 innings, a team record for left-handers, as Texas beat Milwaukee.
Rogers pitched the first complete game of the season for the Rangers. He gave up five hits, struck out five and walked three in winning his fourth straight decision.
Tigers 2, Blue Jays 1
Detroit
Detroit, held without a hit for five innings by Al Leiter, scored two runs off reliever Danny Cox to beat Toronto.
Despite having a no-hitter going, Leiter was pulled in favor of Cox after five innings. Leiter had thrown 93 pitches and walked six.
Yankees 5, Orioles 0
New York
Sterling Hitchcock pitched a four-hitter for the first shutout of his career as New York beat Baltimore.
Hitchcock struck out a career-high eight and walked one in the Yankees’ first complete game of the season.
Athletics 7, Royals 2
Kansas City, Mo.
Mark McGwire extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a two-run homer, and Andy Tomberlin also homered as Oakland defeated Kansas City for a three-game sweep.
Mike Aldrete and Scott Brosius each doubled twice and had three hits. Oakland outscored the Royals 28-6 in the series, the Athletics’ first three-game sweep in Kansas City since September 1987.
Indians 12, Red Sox 10
Boston
Carlos Baerga and Paul Sorrento each homered twice, helping Cleveland rally against Boston’s bullpen for the third consecutive game.
The Indians trailed 9-6 before tying it in the eighth on Sorrento’s second home run of the game, then won it in the ninth when Baerga led off with a double and scored on Jim Thome’s double.
Brewers struggle at gate
The man who runs baseball has problems in his own back yard.
Bud Selig, the de facto commissioner of baseball, has watched his Milwaukee Brewers play well early in the season. But he has been among the few to watch.
And the timing of low attendance figures at County Stadium - the Brewers have drawn 149,261 in 12 home games, an average of 12,438 - comes when Selig is trying to convince local politicians that a new stadium is needed.
There are rumors the Brewers could move to Charlotte, N.C., if a facility with a strong revenue source is not built.
A.L. West on the rise?
All four A.L. West teams won on Sunday. Only once before had Texas, California, Oakland and Seattle won on the same day since the league was split into three divisions - that first time was Saturday.
Clearing the bases
Minnesota misses retired first baseman Kent Hrbek. Six Twins have played first base and five have batted cleanup… Baltimore is disenchanted with third baseman Leo Gomez and has reportedly talked to Texas about trading for Dean Palmer… . Cleveland’s search for a closer continues. The Indians could have righthander John Hudek, who had 16 saves and a 2.97 ERA for Houston last season. But any team that takes Hudek must also accept left-hander Greg Swindell, 30, whose contract calls for $8.4 million for the next two years.