AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : White Sox Get More Homers; Tigers More Runs

Wrigley Field in Chicago is famous for bunches of home runs because of the wind blowing toward the fences.

But it was the new Comiskey Park where the long balls were hit Wednesday night.

The White Sox and the Detroit Tigers combined for a park-record nine home runs. The White Sox hit five, but the Tigers prevailed, 12-9.

Cecil Fielder and Rob Deer hit three-run home runs and the Tigers, winning their third in a row, moved to within 1 1/2 games of the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East.

Fielder, who leads the majors with 106 runs batted in, hit his 35th home run, tying him with the Oakland Athletics’ Jose Canseco for the major league lead.

Robin Ventura and Frank Thomas each hit two home runs for the White Sox, but the team’s slump continued. Thomas also had a triple, but the White Sox lost for the ninth time in 11 games and fell 5 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins in the West.

The Tigers scored six runs in four-plus innings against rookie Wilson Alvarez (1-1). In two starts since his no-hitter, Alvarez has given up 13 hits and nine runs in 8 1/3 innings.

Minnesota 9, Seattle 1--Twin right-hander Kevin Tapani started six games in May and lost them all. It was part of the reason the Twins moved into June below .500.

Tapani and the Twins straightened out at the same time. He gave up four hits in eight innings Wednesday night at Minneapolis for his sixth consecutive victory.

The Twins extended their lead in the West to 5 1/2 games.

Since May, Tapani (11-7) is 9-1. His only loss was June 27 to Toronto. He lost, 1-0, and the run was unearned.

Tapani’s job was made easier when the Twins scored six runs in the first inning. The inning was made possible when Mariner center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. misplayed Shane Mack’s liner into a three-run triple.

“The main reason my record is getting better is the way we’re playing,” Tapani said. “We’re playing the whole game now. We’re hitting to all fields, going with the pitch and it’s hard to pitch against us.”

Milwaukee 3, Toronto 0--It didn’t really make much difference who the manager was, the Blue Jays weren’t in this game at Toronto.

Gene Tenace was acting manager in place of Cito Gaston, who was hospitalized because of a back problem.

But the Blue Jays managed only two hits against three pitchers, Rick Dempsey hit a two-run home run and the Brewers won for the 13th time in 17 games.

Dan Plesac, former bullpen ace, made his third start and gave up the two hits in four innings. He had to come out because of lower back pain. Julio Machado (1-2) followed with four hitless innings for his first victory and Edwin Nunez pitched the ninth for the save.

Jimmy Key (12-9) failed for the third time to win his 100th game.

Boston 13-5, Cleveland 5-4--The Red Sox aren’t ready to concede the East. When the rain finally subsided in Boston, the Red Sox made the most of it.

Wade Boggs hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to complete a sweep of a doubleheader that moved the Red Sox to within 4 1/2 games of first place.

In the opener, Joe Hesketh (8-2) won his fourth in a row. Phil Plantier hit a three-run home run to spark the rout.

Hesketh, who had arm trouble and only seven victories since 1988, gave up only two hits in six innings.

In the second game, the Red Sox had to overcome another poor outing by Roger Clemens. Clemens, 9-0 lifetime at Fenway Park against the Indians, gave up four runs and eight hits in seven innings. Boggs’ seventh home run took him off the hook.

Kansas City 7, New York 4--Yankee pitching suits Kirk Gibson. He hit his 15th home run to help the Royals end their three-game losing streak at Kansas City. Gibson’s two-run, 430-foot shot in the first inning was the sixth he has hit against the Yankees.

Gibson, who hit a two-run home run Monday night, is 12 for 38 against the Yankees and has driven in 11 runs.

Bret Saberhagen went seven innings, giving up seven hits and two runs to improve his record to 9-6.

Baltimore 4, Texas 3--Joe Orsulak continued his hot hitting, getting a two-run double in the sixth inning to help the Orioles win at Arlington, Tex.

The key hit extended Orsulak’s hitting streak to 19 games. The longest hitting streak in club history is 22, shared by Eddie Murray and Doug DeCinces.