AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : McDowell Misses No-Hitter, Gets a 4-0 Victory

Jack McDowell didn’t get a no-hitter, but the first shutout of his career wasn’t a bad consolation prize.

McDowell, who pitched 7 1/3 hitless innings, finished with a three-hitter as the Chicago White Sox won their fifth consecutive game by beating the Seattle Mariners, 4-0, Tuesday night at Chicago.

“Everything has to fall the right way,” McDowell said of the near no-hitter. “Chances are someone is going to put the ball in play.”

McDowell (9-3) was five outs from becoming the first White Sox pitcher since Joel Horlen in 1967 to throw a no-hitter in Chicago when Scott Bradley lined a single to right field.

Omar Vizquel followed with a single to left, but McDowell preserved the shutout by getting Harold Reynolds to fly out and striking out Greg Briley.

Robin Ventura and Frank Thomas gave McDowell all the support he needed with back-to-back home runs against Dave Burba (0-1) in the third inning.

Minnesota 8, Toronto 6--Mike Pagliarulo hit a two-run homer in the sixth-inning to put the Twins ahead to stay, and Minnesota improved to 21-2 in June by beating the Blue Jays at Minneapolis.

Jack Morris (10-5) won his seventh consecutive decision and the 10th time in 12 starts despite blowing a 4-0 lead by giving up five runs in the fourth inning.

Todd Stottlemyre (8-3) settled down after a shaky start and appeared headed for his fourth consecutive victory before Gene Larkin singled with one out in the sixth and Pagliarulo hit the next pitch out for a 6-5 lead.

The Twins made it 8-5 in the seventh on Shane Mack’s sacrifice fly and Al Newman’s RBI single.

Toronto’s Greg Myers homered in the eighth, his fourth hit of the game. Kelly Gruber and John Olerud also homered for Toronto.

Chili Davis’ 17th homer gave the Twins a 2-0 lead in the first.

New York 6, Boston 4--Matt Nokes hit a three-run homer and the Yankees scored four runs in the fifth to beat Roger Clemens and the Red Sox at Boston.

Clemens (9-5), who lost his second consecutive decision, was unable to hold a 4-1 lead--although the three runs that came on Nokes’ 11th homer were unearned because of an error by shortstop Luis Rivera.

The Yankees added an insurance run off Clemens in the sixth when Steve Sax singled, stole second and scored on Don Mattingly’s double.

Tim Leary (4-7) settled down after the Red Sox took a 4-1 lead after two innings, giving up nine hits in five innings. John Habyan and Steve Farr blanked Boston the rest of the way.

After Mel Hall singled home a run in the Yankee first, Boston took the lead in the bottom of the inning on Wade Boggs’ run-scoring double and an RBI single by Mike Greenwell. Boggs added a two-run single in the second.

Baltimore 5, Cleveland 3--Sam Horn homered in the fourth inning and hit a two-out, tiebreaking double in the 12th as the Orioles beat the Indians at Cleveland.

It was the third consecutive extra-inning game for the Orioles, who won both games of a doubleheader in extra innings at Kansas City on Sunday. They lost the the first five times they went to extra innings this season.

Mark Williamson (2-2), Baltimore’s fifth pitcher, got the victory with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

The Indians recalled Albert Belle from Colorado Springs less than three weeks after he was demoted for not hustling.

Texas 6, Oakland 1--Juan Gonzalez hit a three-run home run against struggling Dave Stewart and Jose Guzman pitched a seven-hitter as the Rangers downed the Athletics at Oakland.

Stewart (4-4), a 20-game winner the last four seasons, gave up six runs and 10 hits in seven innings en route to his first loss at the Oakland Coliseum this season. He has given up 58 earned runs, the most in the American League.

The defeat dropped Oakland 4 1/2 games behind West-leading Minnesota, the farthest the A’s have been out of first place since the final month of the 1987 season.

Guzman (2-3) struck out six and walked two as he pitched his first complete game since Aug. 7, 1988.

Milwaukee 11, Detroit 3--Darryl Hamilton had a three-run double and Jim Gantner added a two-run single in an eight-run eighth inning that carried the Brewers past the Tigers at Detrot.

Milwaukee’s Bill Wegman (3-3) gave up five hits in six innings and surpassed his 1990 victory total.

Detroit’s Walt Terrell (3-8) gave up six runs and nine hits in 7 2/3 innings. Terrell is 0-6 in his last seven starts against the Brewers.