Indians Survive Scare From Bullpen

The Cleveland Indians were doing everything right until the bullpen doors opened.

Finally, Mike Jackson demonstrated exactly what a closer is supposed to do--shut the door.

Jackson, Cleveland’s apparent closer while Jose Mesa is struggling, retired all five batters he faced for his third save as the Indians defeated the Texas Rangers, 5-4, Tuesday night at Cleveland.

“Everybody knows Jose Mesa’s the guy here,” Jackson said. “I’m not going to sit here and say I’m stepping in.”

Julio Franco hit a three-run homer and Kevin Seitzer had two doubles and played flawless defense in a rare start at third base.

Orel Hershiser (3-0) pitched seven strong innings and won despite giving up Juan Gonzalez’s first homer of the year.

After seven innings, Hershiser told Manager Mike Hargrove he was finished. The Indians went to the bullpen, and that’s when the Rangers started rallying.

Eric Plunk hit Ivan Rodriguez. Then Rusty Greer doubled, and Gonzalez drove in Rodriguez with a sacrifice fly to cut it to 5-3.

Will Clark hit Paul Assenmacher’s only pitch for a single through the left side to score Greer and make it 5-4. But Jackson struck out Dean Palmer and got Warren Newson to ground out before retiring Damon Buford, pinch-hitter Lee Stevens and Mark McLemore in the ninth.

Kansas City 7, Boston 2--Jose Offerman and Jay Bell singled in runs in a three-run fifth inning as the Royals defeated the Red Sox for their 15th victory in their last 19 games at Fenway Park.

Kansas City (15-14), which led, 3-2, before a four-run ninth, moved over .500 for only the second time this season and sent the Red Sox to their season-high fourth consecutive loss.

Jose Rosado (3-0) gave up two runs and five hits in 7 2/3 innings, struck out seven and walked none.

Tom Gordon (1-4) gave up only one hit before the fifth, when Scott Cooper led off with a double and scored on Johnny Damon’s groundout. Offerman and Bell hit run-scoring singles with two outs.

Kansas City broke open the game in the ninth, getting a run-scoring single by Tom Goodwin off Gordon and a two-run single by Bip Roberts off Heath Slocumb, who forced in a run when he hit Bell with a pitch.

New York 7, Minnesota 2--David Wells gave the Yankees’ tired bullpen a much-needed break with a complete game, and Paul O’Neill, Derek Jeter and Mark Whiten homered in the victory at New York.

Jeter homered on Scott Aldred’s first pitch of the evening and Whiten hit a two-run shot in the second inning.

O’Neill, in a one-for-22 slump, hit a three-run drive that made the score 7-1 in the sixth, sending the Twins to their 11th loss in 13 games. The Yankees have hit 10 home runs in three days.

The Yankee relief corps certainly needed the rest--in the past two games, starters Kenny Rogers and Ramiro Mendoza failed to survive the fifth.

In the sixth, Tino Martinez and Cecil Fielder led off with singles, and they were running on a 3-2 pitch that O’Neill hit over the center-field fence.

Toronto 2, Detroit 1--Joe Carter drew a bases-loaded walk from reliever Dan Miceli with two outs in the 10th inning to give the Blue Jays the victory at Toronto.

It was Toronto’s second victory in four games on a bases-loaded walk. Saturday, Carlos Delgado walked with the bases loaded in the ninth inning in a 6-5 victory over Minnesota.

In the 10th, Carlos Garcia reached on a one-out single off Todd Jones (1-2) and Otis Nixon singled. One out later, reliever Mike Myers walked Orlando Merced to load the bases before Miceli walked Carter on five pitches to bring in the winning run.

Seattle 7, Chicago 6--Rich Amaral hit a go-ahead, two-run single in a four-run eighth inning as the Mariners rallied from a three-run deficit to win at Chicago.

Albert Belle hit a two-run homer in the first and Ron Karkovice hit a solo shot leading off the fourth for the White Sox.

With Seattle trailing, 6-3, in the eighth, Tony Castillo (2-3) walked Jay Buhner, Mike Blowers singled and Russ Davis hit a run-scoring double. Alvaro Espinoza’s singled pulled the Mariners within a run, and Amaral then singled to center. Amaral finished four for four.

Seattle is 10-4 on the road, the best road record in the majors.

Mariner starter Dennis Martinez gave up six runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. White Sox starter Wilson Alvarez gave up three runs and eight hits in six innings.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BESTS OF THE DAY

BATTING

Player: Rich Amaral

Team: Seattle

Performance: 4 for 4, 2 RBIs, drove in go-ahead run in eighth

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Mark Whiten

Team: New York

2 for 4, 2 RBIs, double, homer

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Paul O’Neill

Team: New York

Performance: Broke one-for-22 slump with three-run homer

Team’s Result: Win

PITCHING

Player: David Wells

Team: New York

Performance: 9 innings, 8 hits, 2 runs

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Woody Williams

Team: Toronto

Performance: 9 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 7 strikeouts

Team’s Result: Win

*

Player: Jose Rosado

Team: Kansas City

Performance: 7 2/3 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 7 strikeouts

Team’s Result: Win