Saunders Gets Close to a Gem

You couldn’t blame Tony Saunders for kicking the mound in frustration.

Saunders came within four outs of a no-hitter Thursday in pitching the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a 1-0 victory over the sinking Baltimore Orioles at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Saunders (2-2) didn’t give up a hit until Mike Bordick’s soft liner to center with two out in the eighth, a ball that landed about 10 feet in front of Randy Winn. As the ball landed on the turf, Saunders displayed a little emotion.

“My first thought? Catch it. Afterward I thought, well, I made a run at it,” Saunders said. “That’s the closest I’ve been in professional ball. I tried, but it didn’t happen. There’s always next time out.”

Saunders, a 24-year-old left-hander who has only two complete games in 57 starts, walked seven--matching his career high--and struck out five.

“I mean, to be honest, I really didn’t know I didn’t give up any hits because I had so many guys on base,” Saunders said. “It’s a big thrill because I went out there early and struggled and was able to push through it.”

Saunders said it wasn’t until after the sixth inning that he became aware of the no-hit bid.

“I came back in here [the clubhouse] to get a drink and happened to look at the TV and they said something about it,” he said. “Then in the seventh inning, the place went nuts with every strike.”

After Bordick’s hit, Jim Mecir relieved and struck out pinch-hitter Harold Baines. Roberto Hernandez pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save in six chances, completing the first one-hitter in Devil Ray history.

“It was a fastball, kind of up and in,” Bordick said of the pitch he sent into center field. “I just wanted to put the bat on the ball. I think it broke my bat and it just blooped out there.”

The Orioles are only 3-12 despite baseball’s second-highest payroll and are off to their second-worst start, ahead of only the 1988 Orioles, who began 0-21. Baltimore headed home after the game for a 12-game home stand, with the future of Manager Ray Miller in doubt.

Among the names being rumored as possible replacements are former Colorado Rockies manager Don Baylor and Oriole coaches Eddie Murray and Sam Perlozzo. Miller was brief after the game, even when asked if returning to Camden Yards would help the team.

“I would certainly hope so,” he said.

Detroit 1, Boston 0--Justin Thompson and Todd Jones combined on a two-hitter, and Brad Ausmus hit an eighth-inning home run at Detroit.

Thompson (2-2) took a one-hitter into the ninth, giving up only Damon Buford’s leadoff single in the fifth. Donnie Sadler singled starting the ninth, and Jones got Reggie Jefferson to hit into a double play before retiring Jose Offerman on a grounder for his second save of the season and 100th of his career.

Loser Mark Portugal (2-1) pitched a three-hitter, striking out three and walking none in his first complete game of the season and 16th of his career, but he was victimized by a Red Sox offense that scored only three runs in the three-game series.

Portugal retired 19 consecutive batters before Ausmus connected with two out in the eighth for his second home run of the season, a drive into the lower deck in right field.

“Both of us were on top of our games,” Portugal said. “When you look at the final score, and you look at the time of the game, it’s obvious both of us were throwing strikes, both keeping hitters off balance.

The game took only 1 hour 49 minutes on a chilly, damp, foggy day.

Thompson, who beat the New York Yankees in his previous start, didn’t give up a hit until Buford’s infield single. He retired 11 consecutive batters starting in the fifth, striking out the side in the eighth.

“Everything was working for me,” Thompson said. “I was getting ahead of hitters. Once you get ahead, you can do almost anything you want.”

Texas 6, Minnesota 4--Aaron Sele boosted the Rangers’ struggling rotation with 5 2/3 solid innings and Rafael Palmeiro and Lee Stevens homered at Minneapolis.

The Rangers won for only the second time in six games despite losing all-star catcher Ivan Rodriguez in the first inning. Rodriguez suffered a slight concussion in a home-plate collision with Matt Lawton.

Lawton, who doubled in his only at-bat and is hitting .522 in the last six games, left the game because of an injured right shoulder.

The Rangers’ starting pitchers had given up 20 runs in 21 1/3 innings over the previous five games, and their 7.70 earned-run average was third-worst among American League starters.

Sele (3-1) gave up one run and seven hits before leaving with two on and two out in the sixth. The Twins got only one runner past first base through the first five innings.

Roberto Kelly and Rusty Greer had two-run doubles for Texas in the eighth inning. John Wetteland got the final out for his fifth save.

Eric Milton (0-1) gave up four runs and three hits in seven-plus innings.

Oakland 4, Cleveland 1--Tom Candiotti baffled the Indians with a frustrating assortment of knuckleballs and off-speed curves at Cleveland.

Candiotti (2-2) gave up one unearned run on three hits over seven innings to a team with the best batting average in the majors at .340. He walked three and struck out four in becoming the first Oakland starter to go seven innings this season.

Seattle at Chicago, ppd.--The game between the Mariners and the White Sox was postponed by rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader Aug. 30.