AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : McDonald Is the One as His First One-Hitter Lifts Orioles Into First

Being in first place means a lot to the Orioles. How they got there means even more.

Ben McDonald pitched his first career one-hitter and Harold Baines homered and drove in three runs Tuesday night as the Orioles took over the top spot in the American League East by beating the Kansas City Royals, 7-0, at Baltimore.

The victory pushed Baltimore ahead of Toronto and New York, the first time the Orioles have been in first place this season. The Orioles’ seventh victory in their last nine games moved them a season-high 10 games over .500.

Baltimore started the season 5-13 and was 21-30 on May 30. Since that time, the Orioles are 32-13, the best record in the majors during that span.

McDonald has been a key factor in the Orioles’ resurgence. He has gone 14 consecutive starts giving up three earned runs or less, dating back to May 11. The last Oriole to accomplish the feat was Jim Palmer in 1972.

The lone hit off McDonald (7-8) came in the fourth inning, when Gary Gaetti lined a single to left field.

“I’m happy with it,” McDonald said. “Gaetti hit a pretty good pitch. I threw a fastball on the outside part of the plate and he guessed right and took it to left.”

Texas 5, Milwaukee 1--Kevin Brown got just what he needed from teammate Juan Gonzalez.

Gonzalez hit his 26th homer to tie Barry Bonds for the major league lead, a three-run shot to highlight a four-run fifth inning, and Brown pitched a five-hitter as the Rangers beat the Brewers at Arlington.

Brown (7-6) struck out a career-high 10 to send the Brewers to their sixth consecutive loss.

Minnesota 4, Detroit 3--Cecil Fielder hit a 465-foot homer. Shane Mack’s homer didn’t go nearly as far, but it won the game.

Mack’s two-run homer in the eighth inning broke a tie and lifted the Twins over the Tigers at Detroit, completing a three-for-five night for Mack.

Three Twin pitchers held the Tigers to four hits. Jim Deshaies (10-7) gave up two runs on three hits through the first seven innings. Carl Willis pitched a perfect eighth and Rick Aguilera finished up for his 26th save, giving up Fielder’s 25th homer.

Seattle 9, New York 5--Ken Griffey Jr. got revenge, and also got the Mariners back into the game.

Griffey hit a two-run single against nemesis Steve Howe during a six-run rally in the seventh inning and also homered at New York. The Yankees fell one-half game behind first-place Baltimore in the American League East, tied with Toronto.

The last time Griffey faced Howe, two weeks ago in Seattle, he grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in a key spot, making him 0 for seven with two strikeouts lifetime against Howe.

Griffey and Howe began yelling at each other after that at-bat. This time, again with the bases loaded and one out, Griffey got even by bouncing Howe’s first pitch up the middle for a two-run single, getting the Mariners within 5-4.

Cleveland 9, Oakland 5--Carlos Baerga was beginning to feel a little left out.

“We’re winning, and I want to be there,” Baerga said after he hit a grand slam and drove in five runs as the Indians beat the Athletics at Cleveland.

Baerga hasn’t been his usual self this month, particularly since Seattle’s Dave Fleming hit him on the left wrist with a pitch July 9. At one point, Baerga was hitless in 15 consecutive at-bats.

Baerga’s outburst foiled Tony La Russa’s new pitching rotation, a multiple-pitcher system the manager installed in hopes of turning the A’s season around. La Russa is limiting each of his pitchers to about 50 pitches per game.

Chicago 2, Toronto 1--Frank Thomas usually goes deep in the count, but this time he changed his strategy.

Thomas hit Juan Guzman’s first pitch for a two-run homer in the sixth inning to back the four-hit pitching of Alex Fernandez at Chicago as the White Sox stayed two games ahead of Texas in the AL West.

With the White Sox trailing, 1-0, on John Olerud’s 18th homer in the second inning, Joey Cora looped a one-out double to center and Thomas followed with his 22nd homer into the left-field bleachers.