Rangers Rudely Rip Minnesota Rookie
American League
The Texas Rangers gave rookie pitcher Travis Miller a rude welcome to the major leagues, tagging him for seven runs in the first inning Sunday in a 13-2 romp over the Minnesota Twins at Minneapolis.
Rusty Greer and David Valle each hit two-run homers off Miller, called up last week from Triple-A Salt Lake City to make his big league debut.
Kevin Elster drove in five runs with four hits for Texas. Juan Gonzalez hit his 38th home run and Will Clark followed with a homer in the fifth off reliever Jose Parra.
Bobby Witt (13-9) improved to 15-5 lifetime against the Twins. He gave up six hits and one earned run in eight innings, and retired 16 of 18 batters during one span.
Miller, a 23-year lefty who was 8-10 at Triple-A, gave up five hits and walked two in the first inning.
Athletics 6, Yankees 4
New York
On a day the New York Yankees honored Mickey Mantle, Mark McGwire reminded fans of how far the Hall of Famer could hit them, hitting a 446-foot shot that led Oakland past New York.
McGwire, the major leagues home run leader, hit his 44th of the season in the second inning and drove in four runs for the A’s. Oakland snapped a five-game losing streak against New York.
Angels 13, Orioles 0
Baltimore
Randy Velarde’s first career grand slam highlighted a seven-run fourth inning and rookie knuckleballer Dennis Springer pitched a five-hitter as California pounded Baltimore.
The Angels finished their swing through Boston, New York and Baltimore with a 6-4 record, their first winning road trip since Aug. 8-16, 1995. California won two of three from the Orioles, sandwiching two shutouts around a 5-4 loss Saturday.
White Sox 10, Jays 9 (10)
Chicago
Pat Borders singled in the winning run with one out in the 10th inning to help Chicago snap a five-game losing streak by defeating Toronto.
Indians 8, Brewers 5
Cleveland
On his 30th birthday, Albert Belle put the Indians ahead with a two-run single in the seventh inning as Cleveland came back from a four-run deficit to beat Milwaukee.
Tigers 7, Royals 4
Kansas City, Mo.
Todd Van Poppel won for the first time with Detroit, beating Kansas City.
Van Poppel (2-6), claimed off waivers from Oakland on Aug. 6, made his third start for the Tigers.
Clearing the bases
Juan Gonzalez has a 17-game hitting streak for the Rangers… . McGwire’s homer ended a three-game drought in which Oakland, the major-league leader with 208, had not homered.
After raising his batting average to .269 on Aug. 16, Baltimore’s Chris Hoiles has gone into a 2 for 24 funk. … Gerald Williams is 0-for-9 since the Brewers acquired him from the New York Yankees.