California Continues Slide In A.L. West

American League

Even after the A.L. West-leading California Angels lost their eighth straight game, manager Marcel Lachemann was encouraged.

“We showed signs of coming out of our slump today. We battled them to the end,” Lachemann said after the visiting Angels lost to the Red Sox. “Whoever’s around when we come out of it will pay and they will pay bad.”

The Angels, who hold a 6-1/2-game lead over Seattle, have dropped 11 of their last 12. California’s lead was 10-1/2 games only 16 days ago.

The Red Sox have won 10 of their last 14, and 24 of their last 30.

The Angels were stifled by Zane Smith (7-7), who won in his second start since coming off the disabled list Aug. 26 with a left ribcage injury. He allowed four runs on seven hits in 5-2/3 innings.

“We weren’t as patient with Smith as we should have been,” Lachemann said. “With his sinker ball, he will get through a game in an hour if you let him.”

The Red Sox took a 3-0 lead off Mark Langston (13-4) in the third inning on John Valentin’s RBI double and Mo Vaughn’s two-run double.

Boston manager Kevin Kennedy said the key to victory was holding California scoreless in the first inning.

“It’s important for the pitcher to put up a zero in the first inning; we got a lot of that during our winning streak,” he said.

California has not led in its last 61 innings and has led only once in its last 72.

Yankees 5, Athletics 0

New York

Jack McDowell pitched two-hit ball for eight innings and New York beat Oakland for its fifth straight victory.

McDowell (12-10) struck out nine. Rickey Henderson took a called third strike in the sixth and stood at home plate for a moment before getting into a shouting match with McDowell that was eventually diffused.

ChiSox 10, Blue Jays 4

Chicago

Lance Johnson got four hits, scored four runs and stole three bases as the Chicago White Sox beat Toronto.

Johnson, who tripled twice, had his sixth four-hit game of the season. He has 13 career four-hit games.

The win was the fourth straight for Chicago, while Toronto lost its sixth in a row.

Rangers 4, Royals 1

Arlington, Texas

Roger Pavlik broke his three-game losing streak and Candy Maldonado homered in his second atbat for Texas as the Rangers beat Kansas City to stop a five-game losing skid.

Maldonado, acquired Thursday from Toronto, hit a 3-2 pitch from Kansas City starter Dave Fleming (1-6) into the Rangers’ bullpen leading off the fifth to give Texas a 2-1 lead. It was Maldonado’s eighth homer of the season.

Twins 6, Brewers 5

Minneapolis

Kirby Puckett homered to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning and Minnesota sent Milwaukee to its fifth straight loss.

The Twins extended their season-best winning streak to five. The Brewers, hoping for a wild card spot, lost after overcoming a 5-0 deficit.

Tigers 3, Indians 2

Detroit

Cleveland’s nine-game winning streak ended when John Flaherty’s RBI double in the sixth inning broke a tie and gave Detroit the victory.

The Tigers broke their three-game losing streak against Orel Hershiser, who had won four straight.

Clearing the bases

Seattle manager Lou Piniella ran out of patience with closer Bobby Ayala after he lost command of his forkball and had a 5.55 ERA with 31 baserunners in 14 innings for August. “It’s safe to assume we’ll use Norm Charlton to close games,” Piniella said. Charlton had a 0.99 ERA in August. … Chicago pitcher Dave Righetti got good news when X-rays taken of his left elbow were negative. Righetti was taken out after the second inning Friday night because of soreness in the elbow. He will miss his next start as a preventive measure.