Path: utzoo!telly!ddsw1!mcdchg!rutgers!texbell!wuarchive!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!looking!clarinews From: clarinews@clarinet.com (STEPHEN C. RUTKOWSKI, UPI Sports Writer) Newsgroups: clari.sports.baseball,biz.clarinet.sample Subject: American League Roundup Keywords: baseball, men's professional Message-ID: Date: 22 Sep 89 07:28:14 GMT Followup-To: biz.clarinet.sample Lines: 77 Approved: clarinews@clarinet.com ACategory: sports Slugword: bba-alrup Priority: regular Format: summary ANPA: Wc: 825; Id: s0432; Sel: ns--s; Adate: 9-22-330aed; Ver: sked Codes: ysbpmxx. The Thursday night performances of the Oakland Athletics and California Angels may have decided the American League West winner. The first-place A's received all the necessary ingredients such as good pitching, timely hitting and superb defense to nip the Minnesota Twins 2-1. The second-place California Angels went 17 innings with the Cleveland Indians in an effort to keep pace with Oakland, but finally fell 5-4. The A's victory increased their lead in the division to 3 1-2 games over California and pushed the Kansas City Royals five games back. The Angels have only nine games remaining to try to catch the A's, who have 10 games left. ``That's as good as the A's can play,'' said Oakland Manager Tony LaRussa after Bob Welch and two relievers combined on a six-hitter and Mark McGwire homered and scored both runs. Oakland, which has won four straight, is looking for a return trip to the World Series where they lost last year to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. California is looking for its first division title since 1986. Welch, 17-8, became the fourth member of Oakland's staff to win 17 or more games -- Mike Moore (18-10), Storm Davis (18-7) and Dave Stewart (19-9) are the others. Relief ace Dennis Eckersley pitched the ninth for his 31st save. ``Talking to players on the other clubs, they don't like to face this pitching staff,'' McGwire said. ``It makes you feel good to be on this team.'' Though Jose Canseco has not supplied the punch like last year, McGwire has. The first baseman blasted his 29th home run of the year in the fifth to give the A's a 2-0 lead. The homer, the first ever at the Metrodome, was measured at 450 feet. ``The Metrodome hasn't been the greatest of places,'' said McGwire, who credited an improved lighting system this year. ``When I came in here the first time I saw a little difference. Confidence is with you knowing you're seeing the ball a little bit better.'' At Cleveland, Brook Jacoby's sacrifice fly in the 17th inning scored Tommy Hinzo to end the longest game in the AL this season. The 5-hour, 26-minute marathon snapped California's five-game winning streak and ended Cleveland's six-game losing streak. The victory by the Indians was only their third in 18 extra-inning games this season. Pete O'Brien led off the 17th with a triple to right off loser Rich Monteleone, 2-2, the sixth California pitcher. Hinzo ran for O'Brien and Jacoby, batting with the infield and outfield drawn in, hit a sacrifice fly to right. Despite the costly loss, the Angels are not ready to concede the division. ``We had our chances,'' California first baseman Wally Joyner said. ``We just couldn't get that extra hit. We're not going to fold up shop. We're not out of it, we're not going to be out of it.'' The Angels got the leadoff batter to second in the extra frames three times, but could not get him home. California had rallied for three runs in the ninth to tie the score 4-4. Elsewhere in the American League, Milwaukee beat New York 14-1 in the first game of a double-header and New York took the second game 5-4 in 10 innings and Seattle downed Texas 8-3. In the NL, it was: San Diego 11, Cincinnati 7; Chicago 9, Philadelphia 1;Atlanta 3, Houston 0; Montreal 6, Pittsburgh 5; New York 6, St. Louis 1 and San Francisco 4, Los Angeles 3. _B_r_e_w_e_r_s_ _1_4_-_4_,_ _Y_a_n_k_e_e_s_ _1_-_5 At New York, Don Mattingly clubbed a two-run homer with none out in the 10th inning to rally New York in the nightcap. Rob Deer had given the Brewers a 4-3 lead with a homer in the top of the inning. In the opener, Joey Meyer knocked in four runs and Charlie O'Brien had three RBI to power Milwaukee to the rout. The game included a sixth-inning brawl that resulted in the ejection of Brewers starter and winner Mark Knudson, along with Yankee DH Luis Polonia and outfielder Mel Hall. Milwaukee could have moved to within 5 1-2 games of AL East-leading Toronto with a sweep. _M_a_r_i_n_e_r_s_ _8_,_ _R_a_n_g_e_r_s_ _3 At Arlington, Texas, Scott Bradley's bases-loaded single highlighted a five-run Seattle fourth. The decision broke a four-game Texas winning streak, its longest in two months. Seattle did not have a hit off starter Jamie Moyer through three innings, then drove Moyer, 4-8, from the mound by putting seven runners on in the fourth. Rookie Randy Johnson, 7-8, was the winner.