Orioles Clinch East Title For Shot At Mariners

American League

The Baltimore Orioles ran away from the competition before spring turned to summer.

Although they struggled mightily near the finish line, the Orioles had enough of a kick left to claim their first A.L. East title in 14 years and a formidable slice of history.

Baltimore clinched the division crown Wednesday night with a 9-3 win at Toronto, becoming only the third A.L. team to remain in first place for the entire season. The first two, the 1927 New York Yankees and 1984 Detroit Tigers, went on to win the World Series.

The Orioles had a 30-13 record and a six-game lead on May 21. A two-game sweep of New York on the road built the margin to 9 on June 4, and a couple of ensuing slumps only teased the Yankees but never really caused the Orioles all that much concern.

The Orioles lead New York by four games, with each team having four games left. Baltimore won its eighth division title, however, because it went 8-4 against the Yankees.

The Orioles, the A.L.’s wild-card team last season, will begin the first round of playoffs on Tuesday at A.L. West champion Seattle. The wild-card Yankees will be home to face A.L. Central champion Cleveland on Tuesday in the opener of their division series.

Yankees 8, Indians 4 Cleveland

Dwight Gooden and New York restored order to the series with Cleveland, beating their first-round playoff opponent as they settled for the wild card after Baltimore clinched the A.L. East.

The decision sets up a best-of-5 series between the Indians and Yankees. Gooden, who could start in the playoff series between these old rivals, improved to 5-0 in his career against the Indians.

Twins 7, White Sox 2 Chicago

Frank Rodriguez took a shutout into the eighth inning, and Matt Lawton and Marty Cardova each drove in two runs as Minnesota beat Chicago.

Red Sox 9, Tigers 2 Detroit

Tim Wakefield allowed four hits in seven-plus innings and Mo Vaughn hit a two-run homer off the right-field roof as Boston beat Detroit.

Rangers 8, Athletics 4 Oakland, Calif.

Darren Oliver pitched eight strong innings and Juan Gonzalez drove in a pair of runs as Texas defeated Oakland.

Brewers 4, Royals 3 (15) Milwaukee Darrin Jackson’s bases-loaded bunt with two outs in the 15th inning brought home the winning run in Milwaukee’s victory over Kansas City.

Avery offered start

Steve Avery, out of Boston’s rotation since Aug. 31, is scheduled to make his 18th start of the season tonight in Detroit, giving him the option to return to the Red Sox for $3.9 million next season.

He might not want to (return) after a disastrous season.

But it appears that decision will be his since his contract contains a clause allowing him to return if he makes 18 starts. He made $4.85 million this season.

Clearing the bases

The 1999 All-Star game will be played at Fenway Park in Boston, its first appearance there in 38 years. … Detroit pitching coach Rick Adair, suspended for three games for arguing with an umpire after a game earlier this month, had his penalty cut to two games,. … The New York Yankees said their 1997 attendance shows that they need a new stadium to attract more fans, even though they drew the third-most in team history (2,580,483) - the only playoff-bound team in the American League that won’t draw at least 3 million fans.