White Sox Belt Indians
American League
Darren Lewis had four hits, three runs batted in and scored three runs Thursday night as the Chicago White Sox sent notice that there will be an A.L. Central race by beating the Cleveland Indians 15-10 in Chicago.
Frank Thomas and Robin Ventura also drove in three runs each for the White Sox, who cut Cleveland’s division lead to two games. At this point a year ago, the White Sox trailed the Indians by 23 games.
It was the first of eight meetings between the teams in the 11 days leading to the All-Star break.
Cleveland, which lost for the sixth time in seven games and is 14-16 since May 27, was coming off Wednesday’s 15-inning loss at Boston. Manny Ramirez hit two home runs, giving him 20 this season, and Carlos Baerga and Scott Leius also homered for the Indians. But every shot came after Chicago had built a huge lead.
Despite allowing five runs and eight hits in six innings, Alex Fernandez (7-4) easily outpitched Greg Swindell - who allowed seven runs on six hits in 1-1/3 innings in his first start since Cleveland signed him June 15.
Athletics 18, Angels 2
Anaheim, Calif.
Oakland tied a major league record as seven different players hit homers, and the A’s set a club record with eight homers in a rout of California.
Scott Brosius hit two homers and Mark McGwire hit one as the A’s became the first team to have seven different players homer in one game since the Orioles did it May 17, 1967, against Boston. The A’s also share the record with the Dodgers, who accomplished it on May 25, 1979, against Cincinnati.
Tigers 9, Red Sox 6
Boston
Chad Curtis and Melvin Nieves drove in two runs apiece to send Felipe Lira and Detroit to a victory over Boston. The win was Detroit’s fifth in six games.
Brewers 6, Royals 2
Kansas City, Mo.
John Jaha homered twice and Ben McDonald pitched seven strong innings, leading Milwaukee to a win over Kansas City. Greg Vaughn and Dave Nilsson each added solo shots for Milwaukee, which set a club record by homering for the 16th consecutive game.
Yankees 3, Orioles 2
New York
Left-hander Kenny Rogers held the Orioles to seven singles and one walk over 7-2/3 innings, and catcher Joe Girardi had an RBI single in New York’s win. The Yankees built their advantage in the A.L. East to 5-1/2 games.
Clearing the bases
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, a lifelong White Sox fan, made his first appearance at Comiskey Park since the 1994 strike left him disillusioned about the sport. “All the fans got upset,” he said. “But I’m excited to be back.” Not surprisingly, he predicted a pennant for the home team: “I think a mayor should do that.” … Tony Phillips has reached base 21 times in his last eight games. The White Sox are 16-3 when he scores at least twice. … After committing 64 errors in their first 61 games, the Tigers have made just six in their last 17. … Kansas City’s Johnny Damon stole second in third, giving the Royals a major league-leading 100 this season.