Gooden Has That Old Look, Beats Detroit

Dwight Gooden’s comeback continued Sunday at Detroit, and according to New York Yankee Manager Joe Torre, Gooden may be all the way back.

“Now you can see that look,” Torre said after Gooden pitched four-hit ball for eight innings, helping the first-place Yankees avert a three-game sweep by the struggling Tigers with a 3-2 victory. “Today he knew exactly what we needed. We needed him not only to win, but to go out and pitch at least six or seven innings.”

After opening the season with three consecutive losses, Gooden (5-4) has won five of his last six decisions. He walked none and struck out six. He had command of all his pitches, particularly a nasty curveball.

“I felt good with it,” Gooden said of his curve. “Once I was getting it over it was a pitch I really had confidence in.”

Gooden used the curve for several strikeouts, including a whiff of Cecil Fielder in the seventh.

“When he makes that pitch, he’ll get me and everybody else out most of the time,” Fielder said.

John Wetteland relieved to start the ninth and gave up a home run to Bobby Higginson before getting his 14th save.

“I faced him when he was almost unhittable,” Tiger Manager Buddy Bell said of Gooden. “And now his command is almost where it was then.”

Texas 8, Toronto 6--Juan Gonzalez hit a three-run homer, highlighting a five-run third inning that sent the Rangers over the Blue Jays at Arlington, Texas.

Bobby Witt (6-4) survived 5 2/3 shaky innings, and passed last year’s combined five victories for Florida and Texas. He left with a 6-5 lead after giving up five hits and walking five.

Milwaukee 11, Boston 8--John Jaha tripled with the bases loaded to break a 10th-inning tie and lead the Brewers to the victory at Boston.

Pat Listach, who went three for four, walked to lead off the 10th and stole second. He took third when Kevin Seitzer grounded to second, and scored two batters later when Jaha lined a pitch over the center fielder’s head.

Seattle 3, Kansas City 2--Rookie third baseman Andy Sheets, whose ninth-inning error put the Mariner lead in jeopardy, caught Sal Fasano’s line drive and stepped on the bag for a game-ending double play, giving Seattle the victory at Kansas City, Mo.

Sheets, recalled from the minors Saturday a day after third baseman Russ Davis broke his leg, began the ninth by throwing away Craig Paquette’s grounder.

Keith Lockhart followed with a triple that cut the Mariners’ lead to a run. After Joe Randa grounded out to a drawn-in Sheets, Fasano hit a line drive down the line.

Sheets caught the ball to his right and took two steps to double off Lockhart.

Chicago 12, Baltimore 9--Danny Tartabull homered and doubled in an eight-run fourth inning as the White Sox won at Baltimore.

Mussina and Chicago starter Wilson Alvarez both came in with five-game winning streaks, but neither made it out of the fourth inning. Mussina (8-3) yielded 11 hits and a career-high tying nine runs, and Alvarez gave up nine hits and six earned runs.

Down 6-2, the White Sox got nine hits in their biggest inning of the season. Harold Baines opened the fourth with a single and Tartabull followed with his seventh home run. Noberto Martin singled and Tony Phillips hit a two-out double before Dave Martinez singled in two runs on an 0-2 pitch.

Frank Thomas then singled and Robin Ventura chased Mussina with a run-scoring double. Baines greeted Arthur Rhodes with a two-run single and Tartabull doubled in a run to make it 10-6.

Minnesota 5, Oakland 3--Scott Stahoviak homered as the Twins defeated the Athletics at Minneapolis.

Frank Rodriguez (5-6) won his second consecutive start, giving up eight hits.

Mark McGwire got Oakland off to a fast start with a two-run homer in the first. His 475-foot blast was the longest ball ever hit to left field in the Metrodome.