Angels Fall 4 Back In A.L. West Race

Justin Thompson pitched a five-hitter and Bobby Higginson homered as the Detroit Tigers defeated visiting Anaheim 6-1 Friday night, giving the Angels their fourth consecutive defeat.

The Angels, who fell four games behind Seattle in the A.L. West, have lost seven of nine and fell to 0-5 at Tiger Stadium this season.

Thompson (13-10) struck out five and walked two in his fourth complete game. He pitched the Tigers to their third win in a row.

Chris Turner, who had two of the Angels’ hits, ruined the left-hander’s bid for his second shutout when he hit a leadoff triple in the eighth inning and scored on Luis Alicea’s sacrifice fly.

Orioles 13, Yankees 9

New York

Baltimore didn’t just pound the Yankees, it sent Andy Pettitte to a hospital and battered Hideki Irabu in the longest nine-inning game in major league history, sending New York to its eighth loss in nine games.

The game lasted 4 hours, 22 minutes - one minute more than it took the Orioles and Yankees to play on April 30, 1996.

Baltimore, 6-0 against the Yankees this season after going 4-14 last year, opened an 8-1/2-game lead over New York, its largest lead in the A.L. East since June 22.

Cal Ripken hit a scary, two-out liner in the first that bruised Pettitte’s left thumb, face and lip, cut his nose and sent him to the dugout with blood on his face.

Indians 11, White Sox 1

Cleveland

Sandy Alomar drove in four runs, and Charles Nagy shut down Albert Belle and Chicago for Cleveland.

The A.L. Central-leading Indians quickly made Belle’s second return to Cleveland a non-factor, chasing Jason Bere in the first inning and taking a 7-0 lead in the second.

Brewers 7, Red Sox 1

Boston

Cal Eldred got his first win in five weeks and Milwaukee scored six runs in the first two innings to beat Boston, the seventh straight loss for the Red Sox.

The Brewers remained 3-1/2 games behind Cleveland in the A.L. Central.

Blue Jays 5, Rangers 1

Toronto

Woody Williams pitched 6-1/3 strong innings and Toronto snapped a season-high seven-game losing streak with a victory over Texas.

Athletics 9, Royals 6

Kansas City, Mo.

Brian Lesher, breaking out of a 1-for-33 skid, had three hits and three RBIs as Oakland beat Kansas City to snap a seven-game road losing streak.

Clearing the bases

Second baseman Fernando Vina has agreed to a two-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers with a club option for the year 2000. … New York Yankees catcher Joe Girardi missed Friday night’s game against Baltimore because of a fractured left middle finger that manager Joe Torre called “ugly.”

After only 12 batters, every Milwaukee Brewer in the starting lineup had reached base in Friday’s game. … Sandy Alomar’s 72 RBIs are the most by a Cleveland catcher since Johnny Romano had 81 in 1962.