Despite the 8-3 loss to Atlanta, there was a bright spot for the Orioles Sunday. Veteran Scott McGregor, trying to bounce back from his 1987 disaster
(2-7, 6.64 ERA), started for Baltimore and shut out the Braves on three hits over five innings, striking out three. . . . John Habyan, however, wasn`t quite as successful: The Braves shelled him for eight hits and seven runs in just 1 1/3 innings.
BOSTON RED SOX
DATELINE: WINTER HAVEN, FLA.
In 1979, a 15-year-old baseball star for the Midland High School (Ohio)
Cardinals bumped into John McNamara, then the Reds` manager, at the neighborhood 7-Eleven store. The kid lived a mile and a half from McNamara, and their homes were separated only by the Royal Oaks Country Club. The kid asked McNamara how he thought the Reds would do. McNamara gave him a courteous answer. And that is how Red Sox outfielder Todd Benzinger first met the man who`s now his big-league manager. . . . Roger Clemens, who struck out nine Royals in four innings Tuesday, fanned eight in going six innings for the first time Sunday. However, he was tagged for seven hits and three runs in Boston`s 8-5 loss.
CALIFORNIA ANGELS
DATELINE: PALM SPRINGS, CALIF.
Manager Gene Mauch, laying off for a few days while recuperating from a mild case of bronchitis, commented on his treatment: ”I`m full of
antibiotics. Contrary to popular belief, it is antibiotics that I`m full of.” . . . Devon White drove in three runs with two triples and a single, and Chili Davis homered and singled in a 15-0 rout of Cleveland. Mike Witt pitched the first five innings and allowed just two hits and no walks and struck out five. CLEVELAND INDIANS
DATELINE: PALM SPRINGS, CALIF.
It was another long afternoon for Cleveland pitchers. Starter Tom Candiotti (11 hits and 9 runs in 4 1/3 innings) was the most rudely treated by the Angels, and Jack O`Conner and Chris Codiroli were also roughed up, each allowing three runs in one inning.
DATELINE: TUCSON
Julio Franco will be moved from shortstop to second base at his own request, thereby settling a training-camp battle between second baseman Tommy Hinzo and shortstop Jay Bell. Franco`s position was to be determined by who had the better camp, Bell or Hinzo. Hinzo has hit .158, while Bell has batted .222 while not making an error in 12 games. ”I made the decision,” Franco said. ”I`ve been thinking about it all spring. But if Jay Bell can`t do the job, they`re in trouble, because I`m not moving back.” Well, there`s always Cory Snyder.
DETROIT TIGERS
DATELINE: LAKELAND, FLA.
After Sunday`s 5-4 loss to St. Louis, the Tigers cut seven players, leaving 29 roster players and two nonroster invitees still in camp. Optioned to Triple-A Toledo were pitcher Dave Cooper and infielder Doug Strange. Assigned outright to Toledo were pitchers Stan Clarke, Balvino Galvez and Shawn Holman. Optioned to Double-A Glens Falls was pitcher Richard Carter. And, lest we forget: Nonroster lefty Tim Lollar, the onetime Padre and White Sox, was returned to the club`s minor-league complex for reassignment.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
DATELINE: WINTER HAVEN, FLA.
Kansas City`s left-field battle has been a slow draw. Bo Jackson started out 7 for 28 with 12 strikeouts and 3 errors, while Gary Thurman was 9 for 42 with 10 strikeouts and 2 errors. Thurman added an 0-for-5 afternoon Sunday in the Royals` 8-5 victory over Boston. . . . Reserve infielder Brad Wellman, the former Giant and Dodger, keyed a four-run ninth Sunday with a tiebreaking triple. Danny Tartabull drove in three runs with a single and two doubles. Floyd Bannister allowed three hits and two runs in his five innings.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS
DATELINE: YUMA, ARIZ.
Glenn Braggs` grand slam off reliever Lance McCullers highlighted a five- run eighth inning that rallied the Brew Crew past San Diego 9-6. Lefty Dan Plesac pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing just one hit, and got credit for the victory. Chicagoan Jim Aducci contributed a two-run double.
MINNESOTA TWINS
DATELINE: KISSIMMEE, FLA.
Make it 14 consecutive scoreless innings for right-hander Charlie Lea this spring. The former Expo allowed just two hits in five innings Sunday against Houston. Another reclamation project, lefty reliever Tippy Martinez, turned in three scoreless innings in the Twins` 2-1 defeat.
NEW YORK YANKEES
DATELINE: FT. LAUDERDALE, FLA.
It was probably just a matter of time before Neil Allen would get hurt again. The right-hander suffered a strained rib-cage muscle while pitching in the seventh inning of Sunday`s 5-3 victory over Montreal. It wasn`t immediately known how long he`d be sidelined. . . . Rookie left-hander Al Leiter, in his fourth start, gave up his first two runs of the spring but limited Montreal to six hits over six innings to get the victory. He has allowed just those two runs in 16 innings.
OAKLAND A`S
DATELINE: PHOENIX
Dave Stewart went six innings, and gave up both San Francisco runs, in Oakland`s 3-2 victory Sunday. Rookie Walt Weiss delivered the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Weiss is the 24-year-old who refuses to be intimidated by the ”pressure” of being the starting shortstop on a club that is expected to challenge for a pennant. ”Pressure is what you put on yourself,” he said. ”It doesn`t come from anything around you. It`s how you handle a certain situation. I just take the attitude that every day I`m going to go out and do the best I can do. That`s good enough for me. And that should be good enough for everyone else.” . . . After the game, the A`s released veteran reliever Gary Lavelle. Meanwhile, second baseman Glenn Hubbard underwent successful surgery to repair his cheekbone, broken last Tuesday by a pitch from Cub rookie Jeff Hirsch. Hubbard will be out at least three weeks.
SEATTLE MARINERS
DATELINE: MESA, ARIZ.
Steve Trout was talking about his troubled stay last year with the Yankees. ”I don`t think people will ever let me forget about what happened in New York,” said the South Holland native, who`s trying to forget, too. He was 0-4 with a 6.60 ERA and gave up 51 hits, 37 walks and 9 wild pitches in just 46 1/3 innings. ”I just didn`t pitch well and it was really difficult. I put a lot of pressure on myself in New York. So the move to Seattle was good for me mentally. I won`t have the distractions in Seattle. I`ll be able to concentrate a lot more than I did in New York. I like the move. I`m a low-pressure type of person anyway. New York just wasn`t the right place for me.”
TEXAS RANGERS
DATELINE: PORT CHARLOTTE, FLA.
Charlie Hough, pitching in his first ”A” game since he was charged with nine balks in four innings March 7 against Toronto, allowed only four hits in six innings in the Rangers` 2-1 victory over the White Sox. And guess what? He wasn`t charged with a single balk. . . . Mitch Williams was up to his old tricks. The lefty reliever needed 25 pitches to get through a scoreless ninth inning. He walked two Sox but struck out the side.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
DATELINE: DUNEDIN, FLA.
He said he was facing a 30-day suspension if he didn`t play, so George Bell did indeed appear as the Blue Jays` designated hitter in Sunday`s 9-1 victory over Pittsburgh. ”A solution is coming,” Bell said, refusing to expand but indicating he remains unhappy with his new role as DH. He had an RBI single in four at-bats Sunday. This was the first time manager Jimy Williams could use the DH in his lineup since Bell refused the role Thursday against Boston. Williams suspended Bell for a day and fined him $1,000. Sunday, Williams had no hesitation using Bell as DH. ”It`s a 24-man roster, it`s a team roster and a team does not revolve around one person, whether they`re from the Dominican Republic (like Bell), the United States or Canada,” he said. ”Every individual has to pull his load. He has a job to do.” Catcher Ernie Whitt also urged Bell to respond to the call: ”He has a beef and he has a right to make his feelings known, but we`re here as a team.” By the way, Silvestre Campusano, the 21-year-old Dominican who the Jays are hoping can make the grade in center so they can switch Lloyd Moseby to left to replace Bell, had a solo home and a two-run triple.
