Williams Leads Tribe Hr Derby

Two of the newest Indians helped Cleveland make club history Friday night.

Matt Williams hit three home runs, David Justice homered twice and the Indians hit a team-record eight in all, including three in one inning, as Cleveland rocked the Milwaukee Brewers 11-4.

Williams, who had only homered once this season, took extra batting practice before the game.

“That was a good night,” said Williams, who came over in an off-season trade with San Francisco.

The Brewers also homered three times as the teams combined to match a major-league record for home runs in a nine-inning night game. Toronto and Baltimore were the last teams to hit 11 in a night game on Sept. 14, 1987.

And they were just one shy of the record of 12 homers set by Detroit and Chicago on May 28, 1995.

Scott Karl (0-4) gave up nine hits - four homers - and six runs in 5-1/3 innings.

“I didn’t think I made that many mistakes,” said Karl. “It’s a little disheartening when you think you make good pitches and they crush ‘em. And they crush your mistakes as well.”

Williams, Manny Ramirez and Chad Curtis all homered in the fourth inning to give the Indians a 4-0 lead. The Brewers countered with back-to-back shots in the bottom of the inning by John Jaha and Jeromy Burnitz as the clubs tied a major-league record for five home runs in one inning.

Orioles 2, Red Sox 0

Baltimore

Scott Erickson pitched eight innings of three-hit ball to outduel Boston’s Tom Gordon.

Erickson (3-1) learned late Thursday that he would replace scheduled starter Jimmy Key, who had a stiff neck. The right-hander walked one, struck out two and allowed only two runners past second base.

White Sox 9, Yankees 3

New York

Frank Thomas and Albert Belle homered for the first time as teammates to help Chicago record its first two-game winning streak of the season.

Thomas drove in four runs with his second straight four-hit game. He had gone 74 at-bats this year without a homer and 95 overall.

Angels 8, Tigers 3

Anaheim, Calif.

Rookie Jason Dickson improved his record to 4-0 and Eddie Murray and Tim Salmon each hit two-run homers as Anaheim reached the .500 mark and sent Detroit to its third straight loss.

Murray’s two-out shot in the seventh gave him 1,905 career RBIs, breaking a tie with Willie Mays and moving him into seventh place on the all-time list.

Royals 10, Athletics 3

Oakland, Calif.

Chili Davis hit his seventh career grand slam and Kevin Appier pitched seven strong innings for Kansas City.

Appier (3-0) struck out seven - including Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco twice each - and allowed two runs on five hits. He did not give up a walk.

Rangers 6, Twins 3

Minneapolis

Will Clark’s two-run homer capped a five-run third inning for Texas.

Clark, who came off the disabled list last week, has hit safely in all six of his starts since he was activated on April 18 after missing 13 games with an injured wrist. He’s hitting .391 in that stretch.

Ivan Rodriguez added a two-run double in the third as the Rangers won for the fourth time in five games. Minnesota has lost three straight.

Clearing the bases

The New York Yankees will not begin to negotiate with Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu until major league baseball approves the trade of his rights from San Diego, owner George Steinbrenner said… . Melvin Nieves has struck out a major league-leading 29 times, including eight of his last 12 plate appearances… . Cal Ripken played in his 2,400th career game and today will tie Mickey Mantle for 57th place on the all-time list.