Cleveland Clinches A.L. Central Title

American League

The Cleveland Indians, of all teams, are champions.

Symbols of ineptitude for four decades, the Indians clinched the first AL Central title - and their first championship of any kind since 1954 - when they beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 Friday night.

Eddie Murray had three hits and drove in two runs for the Indians, who finished off their drive to the title with wins in four straight and 14 of their last 16 games.

They clinched in their 123rd game of the year, the quickest in baseball history, although that mark certainly holds less significance in light of the shortened season and the realignment of the leagues into three divisions. Their 22-1/2-game lead entering the game was the largest for any team in AL history.

They will be postseason participants for the first time since the 1954 Indians were swept by the New York Giants in the World Series.

The game was interrupted very briefly when Baltimore’s Cal Ripken Jr. took the field in the bottom of the first inning, playing in his 2,132nd consecutive game - two past Lou Gehrig’s previous record. The Jacobs Field crowd gave him a standing ovation, then booed good-naturedly when he caught Kenny Lofton’s leadoff line drive.

Brewers 10, Rangers 1

Milwaukee

B.J. Surhoff and Greg Vaughn each hit home runs as Milwaukee defeated Texas in a game between two teams scrapping to stay in the race for the final A.L. wild card spot.

Ricky Bones (9-10) limited the Rangers to six hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked three in his first win since August 24. The Rangers lost for the 10th time in 12 games.

Yankees 8, Red Sox 4

New York

Darryl Strawberry hit a three-run homer and David Cone won for the sixth time in seven games since joining New York, helping the Yankees beat Boston.

Cone (15-7), who was obtained by the Yankees from Toronto on July 28, had a no-hitter until Willie McGee singled to center with two out in the sixth inning.

Blue Jays 9, Tigers 5

Toronto

Rookie Jeff Ware checked Detroit on three hits over 5-1/3 innings and Joe Carter and Paul Molitor homered, powering Toronto past Detroit.

White Sox 7, Athletics 3

Oaklnad, Calif.

Rookie starter Luis Andujar won in his major league debut, and Lyle Mouton broke the game open with a three-run double in the seventh as Chicago beat Oakland.

Angels 9, Twins 3

Anaheim, Calif.

Shortstop Pat Meares committed two errors on the same play with two out in the sixth inning, allowing Chili Davis to score the first of four unearned runs as California beat Minnesota.

Clearing the bases

Prior to Friday night’s game, Detroit traded Juan Samuel to Kansas City for a player to be named later… . Cleveland’s Eddie Murray’s two RBIs gave him 1,808 in his career, four away from matching Frank Robinson for 13th on the career list. Robinson, who once managed the Indians, watched the Cleveland-Baltimore game from the pressbox.