Alomar Helps Defeat Fading Red Sox, 3-1

Just as he has done all season, Roberto Alomar did it all for the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.

Roberto Alomar hit a two-run homer and threw out a runner at third, helping Bartolo Colon and the Indians complete a three-game sweep with a 3-1 win over the fading Boston Red Sox at Cleveland.

Alomar, rarely mentioned as an AL MVP candidate despite having statistics comparable to Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki, homered off Hideo Nomo (11-6), scored twice, walked and made two outstanding defensive plays.

Alomar, whose .340 average is second in the league behind Suzuki’s .351, leads the sensational rookie in several offensive categories and has had another Gold Glove season at second base.

And still, he’s somehow being overlooked.

“I don’t know why,” acting Indian manager Grady Little said. “He does things day in and day out that help us win games. Whether it’s on offense or defense or with something he says to somebody in the clubhouse. He’s a super star.”

Colon (11-10) pitched six innings and was helped by Alomar and Omar Vizquel, who each threw out a runner on consecutive plays in the fourth inning.

Colon, who won for the first time since July 27, had three losses and two no-decisions in August after going 4-0 the previous month. He said he felt his groin pull slightly while warming up.

Cleveland used three relievers to get to the ninth, with Bob Wickman getting three outs for his 26th save.

Oakland 15, Baltimore 0--Eric Chavez hit two homers, including a grand slam, and drove in a career-high eight runs as the Athletics pounded the Orioles to cap a three-game sweep at Baltimore.

Chavez hit a three-run homer in the first inning, a run-scoring grounder in the fifth and his first career grand slam in a six-run eighth. He has 22 home runs this season, including three in the last two games.

The A’s fifth consecutive victory, combined with Boston’s loss to Cleveland, put Oakland six games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL wild-card race.

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Texas 5, Minnesota 1--Rookie Aaron Myette gave up three hits in seven innings as the Rangers defeated the Twins at Minneapolis.

Myette (3-2), a rookie who replaced the injured Kenny Rogers in Texas’ rotation July 28, struck out a career-high eight batters in his best start.

New York 5, Toronto 4--Bernie Williams hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning at New York off Scott Eyre (0-1) as the Yankees opened a six-game lead over second-place Boston in the AL East.

New York trailed 3-0 after five innings, then went ahead with a three-run seventh when Enrique Wilson homered off Bob File, pinch-hitter Chuck Knoblauch had an RBI single and shortstop Felipe Lopez’s throwing error allowed Knoblauch to score.

Seattle 4, Tampa Bay 0--Freddy Garcia (15-5) gave up eight hits in 62/3 innings, and Bret Boone drove in three runs at St. Petersburg, Fla., as the Mariners pitched their ninth shutout.

Seattle (96-38) has not lost in a record 27 consecutive regular-season road series since a 2-1 series loss at Detroit from Aug. 22-24 last year. The previous marks of 26 road series in a row without a loss was set by the 1906-07 Chicago Cubs.

Detroit 3, Chicago 1--Shane Halter homered and scored twice at Detroit as the Tigers stopped a four-game losing streak overall and a 10-game losing streak against the White Sox.