American League Roundup : With Jeffcoat Off to a Fast Start, Rangers Win

Before this year, Mike Jeffcoat had pitched in 109 major league games, but only eight of them were starting assignments.

Jeffcoat is making the most of his opportunity now, pitching a four-hitter for his second consecutive shutout at home as the Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-0, Friday night at Arlington, Tex.

Cecil Espy provided the only run Jeffcoat needed with a home run on the first pitch from Scott Bailes (2-3).

Jeffcoat began his major league career with Cleveland, appearing in 11 games in 1983, 63 in 1984, when he compiled a 2.99 ERA, and nine in 1985, before the Indians dealt him to San Francisco.

“It was an organization I felt I pitched well for, but they thought I was expendable,” said Jeffcoat (3-1). “That definitely gave me more incentive tonight.”

The 29-year-old left-hander walked two and struck out three in his fifth start since he was promoted from triple-A Oklahoma City on May 31. He blanked the Angels on five hits June 12.

Jeffcoat used an assortment of off-speed pitches to hand the Indians their fourth consecutive defeat. Texas has won three in a row.

He yielded a first-inning double and a walk but didn’t allow a runner past first base the rest of the way.

The Indians were impressed by Jeffcoat.

“He wasn’t throwing hard,” Indian Manager Doc Edwards said. “But it doesn’t matter what the radar gun says. He hasn’t changed a bit. He pitched for me (in the minors). He throws strikes.”

Milwaukee 17-4, Chicago 5-6--Dan Pasqua hit two home runs, and Melido Perez struck out a career-high 12 in 7 2/3 innings for his first victory since May 27 as the White Sox beat the Brewers in the second game of a twi-night doubleheader.

In the first game, the Brewers rallied from a 5-0 deficit, using an eight-run third inning and Rob Deer’s 18th and 19th homers for their one-sided win. Deer homered again in the nightcap, giving him four in his last three games and a league-leading 20 for the season.

The White Sox also built a 5-0 lead in the second game as Ivan Calderon hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Bryan Clutterbuck (2-5) and Pasqua hit a two-run shot in the second and a solo homer in the fourth, his fifth and sixth home runs of the season.

That was enough for Perez (4-9), who gave up three runs and five hits in snapping a four-game losing streak. Bobby Thigpen relieved in the eighth after Robin Yount’s two-out homer, his eighth, brought Milwaukee within 5-3.

Thigpen earned his 13th save although he yielded Deer’s ninth-inning homer.

Kansas City 3, New York 0--Mark Gubicza scattered eight singles, and Matt Winters, who spent nine years in New York’s farm system without getting a shot at the majors, singled home the first of two second-inning runs to lead the Royals over the Yankees at Kansas City.

Gubicza (7-5) walked two and struck out five while pitching his second shutout of the season and lowering his ERA to 2.40. He outdueled rookie Dave Eiland (1-1), who allowed eight hits in seven-plus innings. Kansas City’s last run was unearned.

Gubicza allowed only one runner to reach second base and he was erased in a double play as the Royals padded their home record to 26-8, best in the majors.

Jim Eisenreich stretched his hitting streak to 12 games with a leadoff single in the Royals’ second. He moved up on a ground-out and scored on Winters’ single.

Minnesota 10, Boston 0--Gary Gaetti drove in five runs with a pair of home runs as the Twins defeated the Red Sox at Boston.

Frank Viola (5-8) struck out eight and walked two in his first victory since June 3. Randy St. Claire pitched the ninth. It was Minnesota’s fourth consecutive win and Boston’s third consecutive loss.

Staked to a 5-0 lead in the first two innings, Viola beat Boston for the second time this year and the fifth consecutive time in the past two seasons.

Boston starter Joe Price (1-3) lasted just 2 2/3 innings in his fifth start of the season.

Detroit 5, Seattle 4--The Tigers tied the game on a two-out throwing error by Mariner first baseman Darnell Coles, and then Alan Trammell followed with a run-scoring single for the victory at Seattle.

Gary Pettis drew a one-out walk from Mike Schooler (1-2), Seattle’s fourth pitcher, stole second and scored when Coles, who replaced Alvin Davis at first base to start the inning, fielded Lou Whitaker’s grounder but threw the ball past Schooler covering the bag. Whitaker wound up on second and scored on the single by Trammell, who had recently come off the disabled list.

Detroit reliever Mike Henneman (4-1) was the winner despite giving up a home run to Jeffrey Leonard, his 14th, which put Seattle ahead, 4-3, in the eighth inning.

The loss was the Mariners’ fourth straight and eighth in their last 10 games.

Toronto 10, Oakland 8--The Blue Jays had the upper hand in Oakland after the first inning lasted 51 minutes, producing 92 pitches, 21 batters and a 7-6 Toronto lead.

Rookie Junior Felix had two of his four hits in the first inning for the Blue Jays, winners of five straight.

Each starter--Curt Young (2-8) of Oakland and Frank Wills of Toronto--was finished after only two-thirds of an inning.

Neither team scored again until the Blue Jays added two runs in the sixth off Jim Corsi.

Oakland incurred its sixth loss in its last eight games.