Belle, Tribe Ding Tigers For Sweep
American League
Albert Belle hit a grand slam Wednesday as Cleveland beat Detroit 9-3, completing the first season sweep against the Tigers in their history.
Jim Thome homered for the third straight game, Jeff Kent also hit a home run and Orel Hershiser (14-7) won his fourth straight decision for the Indians, who finished 12-0 against the Tigers this year.
Detroit became the seventh team in modern major league history to get swept in a season series. The last time it happened was 1994, when Montreal went 12-0 against San Diego.
The Indians are the fifth A.L. team to sweep an opponent in a season.
Blue Jays 6, Twins 1
Toronto
Pat Hentgen pitched a five-hitter in his fifth straight complete game and won for the 10th time in 11 starts, leading Toronto past Minnesota.
Tomas Perez hit a two-run single in the sixth to snap a 1-1 tie for the Blue Jays, who have won nine of 11.
Hentgen (17-7) struck out three and walked three for his major league-leading ninth complete game. The right-hander improved to 7-1 in eight career starts against the Twins.
Royals 4, Rangers 3, (12)
Kansas City, Mo.
Jose Offerman singled home Johnny Damon with two outs in the 12th to give Kansas City a second-straight extra-inning win over Texas.
In the 12th, Damon hit a one-out single off Kevin Gross (10-8). He was running on the pitch when Offerman lined into right-center, and scored easily.
Athletics 3, Orioles 0
Baltimore
Don Wengert pitched a nine-hitter, his first complete game in the majors, and Oakland ended Mike Mussina’s six-game winning streak by beating Baltimore.
Baltimore lost for the 10th time in 29 games. The defeat, coupled with Chicago’s 2-0 victory over Milwaukee, cut the Orioles’ lead over the White Sox in the wild-card race to a half-game.
Red Sox 7, Angels 4
Anaheim, Calif.
Tom Gordon pitched a five-hitter and John Valentin drove in two runs as Boston defeated California to complete a three-game sweep.
Boston has won 22 of its last 28 games, including five straight, to climb within two games of Baltimore for the wild-card spot.
White Sox 2, Brewers 0
Chicago
Rookie James Baldwin and two relievers combined for a six-hitter to lead Chicago past Milwaukee.
Ray Durham tripled in the game’s first run and scored on Ozzie Guillen’s double for the White Sox, who won their fourth game in the last 14.
Clearing the bases
Kansas City outfielder Michael Tucker will miss three weeks after dislocating a finger with a headfirst slide into first base in the ninth Tuesday night… . California activated left-hander Chuck McElroy from the 15-day disabled list and designated left-hander Kyle Abbott for assignment.