Saturday, 23-year-old California Angels rookie Willie Fraser shut out the Kansas City Royals.
Sunday, 42-year-old Don Sutton–with mop-up help from Greg Minton
–decided it was his turn to fire blanks. The result was a 12-0 Angel victory and the Royals` 10th shutout defeat of the season. And it`s only June 15.
”This is unbelievable,” said Kansas City manager Billy Gardner, whose team scored one run in the three-game series. ”I didn`t think there was any way we could get shut out twice in a row here.”
”You don`t come into Royals Stadium and have them score only one run,”
Angels manager Gene Mauch said. ”It just doesn`t happen. At least I have not seen it.”
He has now. It was the third time in `87 the Royals have been shut out in back-to-back games.
Brian Downing, ruining Bob Shirley`s Royals debut, greeted the lefty with his 15th homer of the year and his 155th as an Angel, enabling the ex-White Sox to pass Bobby Grich as the club`s all-time homer leader. Dick Schofield belted a ninth-inning grand slam, also off Shirley, just picked up Friday after his release by the Yankees.
The Orioles hauled their orange jerseys out of mothballs and ended their 10-game losing streak. Wearing the orange for the first time in three seasons, the Orioles got home runs from Ray Knight, Cal Ripken and Jim Dwyer and snapped Toronto`s 11-game winning streak.
Dwyer hit a three-run homer off the right-field foul pole in the eighth after Toronto had pulled within 5-4 in the seventh.
”I just got behind him and had to throw a strike,” said Toronto reliever Tom Henke. ”He hit it 309 feet–an out in most parks. But he hit it at the right place, at the right time.”
Baltimore coach Elrod Hendricks suggested using the orange jerseys, and General Manager Hank Peters agreed, adding: ”We`ll try anything.”
Dave Schmidt (7-1) won in only his seventh start in his last 197 big-league appearances. It was his first victory as a starter since October, 1985. Luis DeLeon got the final out for his first AL save.
MARINERS 4, INDIANS 3
DATELINE: SEATTLE
Jim Presley hit a leadoff home run in the 10th off Rich Yett, the fourth Cleveland pitcher, and the Mariners ended their four-game losing streak.
The Mariners trailed 3-1 entering the eighth, but Dave Valle hit a two-out, two-run homer off reliever Scott Bailes.
TIGERS 2, RED SOX 1 DATELINE: DETROIT
Jack Morris won his eighth straight game–longest streak in the AL this year. He struck out four of the last six batters, retiring the side in order in the eighth and ninth.
”The ninth inning was the time for it,” Morris said. ”If I`ve got anything left, I`m going to go out there and let it go at the end.”
Morris beat Bruce Hurst, who has not won in Tiger Stadium since April 26, 1980, a span of six straight losses.
Alan Trammell extended his hitting streak to 19 games, tying this season`s major-league high by St. Louis` Terry Pendleton.
BREWERS 6, YANKEES 4
DATELINE: NEW YORK
With the Yankees ahead 4-3 after a four-run eighth against Milwaukee starter Teddy Higuera and two relievers, Dave Righetti allowed a game-tying, solo home run by Sveum with one out in the ninth. Then, after a single by Glenn Braggs, Bill Schroeder, who went 4-for-4, hit a two-run homer to win it. Righetti yielded two home runs in an inning for the first time in his six-year career. ”I screwed up everything for everybody,” said Righetti, whose earned-run average ballooned to 4.78.
RANGERS 5, A`S 1 DATELINE: ARLINGTON, TEX.
Charlie Hough pitched a three-hitter and Pete O`Brien clubbed his ninth homer in the last 15 games, a two-run shot in the first inning, as Texas halted Oakland`s five-game winning streak.
The second-place A`s trail AL West leader Minnesota by two games.
Oakland starter Eric Plunk lost despite striking out a career-high 11 in six innings. It eclipsed his 10 strikeouts recorded exactly a year ago in Oakland against Texas.
