AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Morris Wins 19th to Set Club Record

Jack Morris became Toronto’s first 19-game winner ever as the Blue Jays defeated the Texas Rangers, 4-2, Saturday at Arlington, Tex., increasing their lead in the American League East to four games.

Morris gave up one earned run and six hits in seven innings to win for the fifth time in six starts and improve to 19-5. He had been tied with Dave Stieb, who had 18 victories in 1990, for the team record.

“He certainly wasn’t feeling that well tonight, but he has a tenacity about him,” Blue Jay Manager Cito Gaston said. “He has been our best pitcher in the month of August, when we’ve been hurting for pitching. Jack has answered the call and risen to the occasion. Without Jack, surely we wouldn’t be in first place.”

Duane Ward pitched the eighth inning and Tom Henke the ninth for his 28th save.

Dan Smith, the Rangers’ No. 1 draft choice in 1990, gave up all four runs in 5 1/3 innings and took the loss in his major league debut.

The Blue Jays got to Smith early, scoring one run in the first inning and three more in the second. Devon White led off the game with a single, stole second, was sacrificed to third and scored on Joe Carter’s sacrifice fly. In the second, he added a three-run double.

New York 11, Kansas City 9--The Yankees won their sixth in a row despite George Brett going four for five at New York to draw within 18 hits of 3,000 in his career.

“All I know is I’m four hits closer to 3,000 and we lost the game,” said Brett, who ended an 0-for-15 slump with a first-inning single.

Randy Velarde’s three-run, seventh-inning homer put the Yankees ahead to stay. Don Mattingly opened the inning with a single off loser Mike Magnante, the fifth Royal pitcher, before Mel Hall beat out an infield hit and Velarde lined his seventh homer into the left-field seats. That gave New York a 10-8 lead after Kansas City had gone ahead, 8-7.

Mattingly also had a four-hit game. The veteran first baseman has raised his average 30 points the last 61 games, to .292.

Oakland 5, Seattle 4--The game at Oakland included 12 pitchers, but Mike Moore emerged to win for the first time in five starts.

The Mariners, meanwhile, continued to submerge, losing their 10th in a row and for the 13th consecutive time at Oakland.

Moore (14-11) gave up eight hits and two runs, one earned, in 5 2/3 innings. He was followed by five relievers, including Dennis Eckersley, who pitched the ninth for his 45th save.

Many in the crowd of 30,159 were long gone by the time Eckersley struck out Shane Turner with the tying run at second base to end the game.

“If you left that game, you’d have to be an idiot not to stay around for Eck,” Oakland Manager Tony La Russa said. “Right now, Eck being out there in the ninth inning is as good as it gets in baseball.”

Besides the numerous pitching changes, the teams left 24 men on base. The A’s left the bases loaded three times, twice with less than two outs.

Detroit 9, Boston 5--The Tigers took advantage of Roger Clemens’ unusual control problems at Boston.

Clemens, who had won eight of his previous nine decisions and had a 2.17 ERA in that stretch, walked five and gave up six hits and five runs in six-plus innings. He did strike out six to raise his league-leading total to 198. Seattle’s Randy Johnson is second with 188.

Walt Terrell gave up 10 hits in six innings but won his first game in two months. His last win as a starter came July 20 at Seattle.

Milwaukee 5, Baltimore 0--Jaime Navarro pitched his third shutout and ended his three-game losing streak with the victory at Baltimore.

The victory was the Navarro’s first since Aug. 21 and his first on the road since July 27. He was in command while improving to 15-11, equaling the career-high for victories set last season.

Navarro did not permit more than one man to reach base in any inning. The only runner to reach second was Chris Hoiles, who doubled with two out in the seventh.

The Brewers staked Navarro to a four-run lead in the first inning.

Cleveland 5, Chicago 3--Glenallen Hill’s tiebreaking single in a two-run eighth inning at Chicago gave the Indians their third consecutive victory and the White Sox their third consecutive loss.