AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Tigers, Tanana Beat Welch, A’s

Lou Whitaker and Rob Deer hit home runs to spoil the return of Bob Welch, overcome the absence of Cecil Fielder and give the Detroit Tigers a 5-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics Saturday night at Detroit.

The home runs also offset the 12th by Mark McGwire, major league home run leader, and enabled veteran left-hander Frank Tanana, who will turn 39 in July, to get his first victory after two defeats.

Fielder, major league home run champion the last two seasons, had played 225 consecutive games. But he hurt his wrist Friday night and will miss at least two games.

Welch, who missed the first month because of a sore right shoulder and sore left knee, was not pleased with his performance. Besides Whitaker’s third home run and Deer’s seventh, Welch gave up only three other hits in six innings.

“I don’t like it any time I lose, but five runs in six innings isn’t good,” Welch said. “I should have kept the game closer. My breaking ball wasn’t good.”

McGwire, off to a great start after hitting .201 last season, is all that kept Tanana from an easy game. The first baseman doubled home two runs in the third. Then, when he homered in the eighth, Tanana was replaced.

Tanana entered the game with an earned-run average of 9.20. In his previous start, he gave up five runs in one inning.

“Tonight was certainly more like it,” Tanana said.

Mike Henneman pitched the ninth and picked up his third save when Carney Lansford ended the game by lining into a double play.

Baltimore 4, Seattle 2--Brady Anderson has a goal: to be the first lead-off man in the major leagues to drive in 100 runs in a season.

His three-run homer in the fifth inning at Baltimore gave him three home runs and 22 runs batted in in 23 games.

Rick Sutcliffe (4-2) gave up a two-run home run to Ken Griffey Jr. and not much more in 7 2/3 innings at Baltimore and pitched the Orioles into first place in the East.

The fourth win in a row put the Orioles at 15-8 and moved them ahead of Toronto (16-9).

Boston 7, Kansas City 6--One sure sign that April is over is that Jack Clark has started to hit.

In April, Clark was seven for 49. In this game at Boston, he was three for four and drove in three runs.

“It takes me a little longer to get going,” Clark said. “I’m the DH and trying to stay loose in the cold is tough.”

Minnesota 7, New York 6--The Twins tied a major league record by hitting four solo homers in the fifth inning at New York, then needed another solo effort to win.

Pinch-hitter Chili Davis, who had not hit a home run this season, broke a 6-6 tie in the eighth when he homered.

Shane Mack, Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek and Randy Bush hit home runs off Scott Sanderson in the fifth.

The home runs gave Bill Krueger, trying for his fifth in a row, a 6-2 lead, but he and the bullpen blew it in the sixth.

Texas 4, Chicago 1--Rafael Palmeiro hit a sacrifice fly to break a 1-1 tie in the 11th inning and Dean Palmer followed with a two-run single for the Rangers in Chicago.

In his major league debut for the Rangers, Roger Pavlik had a no-hitter until Robin Ventura singled with one out in the sixth. But Pavlik also walked six and was gone after six.

Jeff Huson homered in the fourth, but Ventura singled in the tying run in the ninth.

Milwaukee 5, Toronto 4--The Brewers pulled out another victory over the Blue Jays at Milwaukee.

For the third game in a row, the Brewers rallied for a one-run victory.

In this one that further tightened the race in the East, Franklin Stubbs hit a two-out home run in the eighth off Jack Morris (3-2).