AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Athletics Good Enough to Beat White Sox

The Oakland Athletics, playing without star right fielder Jose Canseco, proved that they still have the ability beat their primary challenger.

The injury-riddled World Series champions seemed in danger of losing their grip on first place in the American League West when they lost the opener of their four-game series in Chicago to the second-place White Sox Thursday.

But Oakland, which has several other players ailing, left town with a four-game lead.

Mark McGwire, playing with chest pains, hit his 17th home run, and Felix Jose, nursing a sore leg, singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning Sunday as the Athletics won their third in a row, 5-2.

The White Sox had a 2-1 lead before their bullpen faltered. McGwire homered off Donn Pall (0-2) to tie it. After singles by Terry Steinbach and Doug Jennings, Jose, pinch-hitting for Steve Howard, singled to left off Scott Radinsky.

Dave Henderson hit his 10th homer in the ninth inning. The veteran center fielder was eight for 17 in the series, including two doubles and two homers. He drove in six runs.

However, the White Sox impressed Oakland Manager Tony LaRussa, who used to manage them.

“They are a good team and they are proving it every day,” LaRussa said. “We lost with one of our best pitchers (Dave Stewart) Thursday. It was a plus for us to win the last three.

“They’re pitching and catching very well. They advanced runners better than we did. I think they’re going to have a solid year. I just hope it’s not too solid.”

Chicago Manager Jeff Torborg, though, wasn’t after moral victories.

“We played our tails off,” he said. “We just couldn’t bust through. We came back hard after (losing 12-3) last night.”

Toronto 8, New York 1--When his father was a pitching star for the Yankees, Todd Stottlemyre used Yankee Stadium as his playground.

The Toronto right-hander had his heart set on pitching a shutout there Sunday, but he yielded a home run to Matt Nokes with two out in the ninth inning.

“This was my backyard, my fantasyland when Dad pitched here,” Stottlemyre said. “I started thinking about it in the ninth and maybe that did it. But I really enjoyed winning here.”

The Blue Jays, who swept the three-game series, concluded their best trip with a 9-1 record. They needed it to stay 1 1/2 games ahead in the East.

“We seem to have hit our stride,” Manager Cito Gaston said. “Todd wasn’t all that hyper pitching here. I’ve seen him more excited.”

The last-place Yankees, who trail Toronto by 14 1/2 games, have proved firing Manager Bucky Dent wasn’t the answer. They have lost 12 of their last 15.

Fred McGriff, a former Yankee farmhand, hit a three-run home run in the third inning to spark the Blue Jays. McGriff has 12 home runs in 99 at-bats against the Yankees.

Cleveland 12, Milwaukee 4--After hitting two home runs at Cleveland to help rout the Brewers, Cory Snyder had an explanation for the Indians’ sudden offense.

“It’s peer pressure,” he said. “A guy gets a hit and the excitement grows, and you don’t want to be the one to make an out.”

The Indians hit five home runs, including three in a row in the seventh inning, to win their third consecutive game and their sixth in the last eight games.

Boston 6, Baltimore 5--This was the fifth consecutive loss at home for the Orioles, and the streak doesn’t figure to end today. They have to face Boston’s 11-game winner, Roger Clemens.

The Red Sox, staying close to the Blue Jays, got a three-run home run from Carlos Quintana and have won three in a row and 11 of their last 14.

Rob Murphy, who is 0-4 and has a 6.12 earned-run average, struck out Mickey Tettleton, representing the winning run, to end the game.

Minnesota 4, Kansas City 1--The effective pitching of Kevin Tapani and the timely hitting of Brian Harper at Kansas City enabled the Twins to end their nine-game losing streak.

Tapani gave up six hits, including Bo Jackson’s seventh home run, in seven innings to improve his record to 7-4.

Harper singled in two runs with two out in the fourth inning to break the scoreless tie.

George Brett, who injured his left wrist during his last at-bat Saturday night, was out of the Kansas City lineup.

Seattle 6, Texas 3--Randy Johnson is becoming a big success at Seattle. The 6-foot-10 left-hander, a former USC star, survived a shaky start to win his fourth in a row and improve his record to 7-3.

Johnson gave up three hits and a walk in the first inning but yielded only one run. He then gave up only five more hits through eight innings. Johnson began his streak with a no-hitter June 2 against Detroit.

Darnell Coles, batting .194 before the game, had three hits, including his first home run since mid-April, to spark the Mariners.

The Mariners will be without Jay Buhner for eight weeks. He broke a bone in his arm when he was hit by a pitch Saturday night.