10
Tuesday, September 28, 1993
SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Three-run homer gives White Sox title
Slow start ended in championship season
The Associated Press
CHICAGO AGO The Chicago White Sox, baseball's quiet achievers, used a three-run homer from Bo Jackson last night to clinch the American League West.
Chicago defeated the Seattle Mariners 4,2 giving baseball its first division winner of the season and the White Sox their first division championship since 1983.
Jackson, who made an amazing comeback from hip replacement surgery, hit a three-run home run to snap a scoreless tie in the sixth inning. The homer, his 15th and second in two days, was a towering fly to left field that barely made it into the first row of the left-field bleachers.
It sent the crowd of 42.116 white socks
waving fans into a frenzy and the White Sox to the playoffs. The White Sox open the best-of-7 series against Toronto next Tuesday at home as the Blue Jays clinched the AL Eastst at Milwaukee only a short time after the Sox clinched.
"I thought it was a pop fly and I slammed my bat down," Jackson said. "Then the ball kept drifting and drifting. When the count went 3-0, I looked at the bench and they gave me the swing sign. This is the icing on the cake. Now we have to put the candles on again at Toronto."
The White Sox charged onto the field to celebrate when the final out was made and the fans kept on waving their socks in the seats.
Winner Wilson Alvarez (15-8) and Dave Fleming (11-5) were locked in a scoreless matchup of left-handers when Ellis Burks singled to open the sixth and Craig Grebe beat out a bunt single.
After Frank Thomas and George Bell made outs, Jackson hit the 3-0 pitch high into the sky for what appeared to be a long out, but the ball kept drifting until it made it into the seats. The White Sox added an insurance run in the seventh on Burks' sacrifice fly.
"When Bo hit the homer everyone was jumping up and down," Alvarez said. "I felt like we got it. I knew we were going to win the game."
The win was the seventh straight for Alvarez, who allowed four hits, two runs, walked four, and struck out six in 7% innings.
Kirk McCaskill got out of the jam in the eighth and finished for his second save. The victory was the 10th in the last 13 games for the White Sox.
Ignored by many at the start of the season and inexplicably struggling at the All-Star break, the White Sox finally hit their stride
— winning behind a combination of strong starting pitching, sound defense, and the dangerous bat of Thomas.
Many fans outside Chicago paid little attention to the White Sox much of this season. The hot races were in the other divisions.
For that matter, the fans in Chicago weren't so sure about the White Sox, either. They wondered why the team with the best talent in the division was so inconsistent and unable to pull away. At the mid-season break, Chicago was 45-41 with a one-game lead.
By July 23, the White Sox were in first place for good. Nothing glamorous, no long string of victories. Just steady, productive baseball. Texas and Kansas City made runs here and there, with the Rangers coming as close as two games on Aug. 19. But the White Sox held their ground.
Blue Jays seize AL East title for third year
The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — The Toronto Blue Jays, bursting with high-priced talent and closing the season as baseball's hottest team, last night won the American League East for the third straight year.
Former Milwaukee star Paul Molitor hit a home run in the second inning and Pat Hentgen (19-8) scattered seven hits in 6% innings as the Blue Jays beat the Brewers 2-0 for their 13th victory in 15 games. Toronto will play Chicago in the playoffs starting next Tuesday as the White Sox clinched the AL West title last night with a 4-2 victory against Seattle.
"I feel like I'm very much part of this team," Molitor said. "Early on I had to learn to be myself and not occupied with comparisons with last year or who's shoes I was supposed to fill. This is a first step and
we'll enjoy it, but our goal is to go a little further. We know the White Sox are looming and we know how tough the divisional playoffs will be."
Toronto took a 2-0 lead in the third as Ed Sprague, the hero of Game 2 of the World Series against Atlanta last year, singled, Pat Borders doubled and Devon White hit a sacrifice fly.
The Blue Jays were supposed to have an easy ride on their way to the division title, but ended up hitting a lot of bumps on the way. Entering September, they led the New York Yankees by 1% games, with Baltimore charging on an eight-game winning streak.
Toronto almost let things get away by losing six straight games — Sept. 3-9 — to lowly California and Oakland, but the Yankees and Orioles started bad streaks of their own and could do no better than stay
close for awhile.
Finally, the Blue Jays seized command with a nine-game winning streak. The starting pitching — inconsistent all season — got big efforts from Juan Guzman, Dave Stewart, Hentgen and Todd Stottlemyre. Mike Timlin also came along and was able to set up Duane Ward. Toronto's relief ace.
Manager Cito Gaston remained his usual cool self when many were baffled by the Blue Jays' inconsistency. His influence was most evident the last few weeks as Toronto thrived in the heat of the race while the Yankees and Orioles collapsed.
Toronto lost Dave Winfield, David Wells,
David Cone, Jimmy Key, Kelly Gruber and
Tom Henke from its world championship
team of a year ago.
But the big-spending Blue Jays, with a $46 million payroll, signed free agents Molitor and Stewart, reacquired shortstop Tony
Fernandez after Dick Schofield was injured and got Rickey Henderson from the Athletics in a July trade.
"We had a lot of transition this year," Gaston said. "But I always thought from spring training we'd be a good club."
Molitor, who spent 15 years with the Brewers and played in the 1982 World Series, drew a mixed reaction of cheers and boos from the small crowd of 14,931 in the second inning. He then hit Cal Eldred's first pitch over the left-field fence, his 22nd home run of the season.
Milwaukee had runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth, but Henggen got Robin Yount out on a fly ball. Duane Ward pitched the ninth for his 43rd save.
All four of the Blue Jays' previous AL East titles were clinched at home, the first at Exhibition Stadium, the last three at Sky-Dome.
Royals sneak past Indians in ninth
The Associated Press
Jerry DiPoto hit Gary Gaetti with a pitch on an 0-2 count with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth inning last night, giving the Kansas City Royals a 6-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
DiPoto (4-4) started the ninth and walked Craig Wilson. He eventually scored from second on Mike Macfarlane's two-out single after a fierce collision at the plate that knocked the ball loose from catcher Sandy Alomar.
Alomar was helped from the field and was replaced by Junior Ortiz.
Chris Gwynn was walked intentionally to load the bases, bringing Gaetti up to bat.
The Indians committed three errors in the ninth inning, allowing the Royals to score twice.
Mark Gubicza (5-8) got the victory by getting a double-play grounder in the top of the inning.
Albert Belle boosted his RBI to 125 with a two-run homer, and left Treadway drove in three runs.
Tom Gordon, trying for his fourth straight win, took a 2-1 lead into the sixth but walked Wayne Kirby with one out and then surrendered Belle's 37th home run. After Paul Sorrento walked and Sam Horn singled, Treadway doubled off the wall in right-center field to put the Indians on top 5-2.
Cleveland starter Julian Tavarez shut out the Royals on two hits through three innings before running into trouble in the fourth. Macfarlane led off with a single and advanced to second on Chris Gwynn's infield out. After Gaetti tailed, Bob Hamelin hit an RBI single into right, and Jose Lind singled into center to bring Gaetti home for a 2-0 lead.
Sorrento doubled leading off the Cleveland fifth and eventually scored on Treadwav's sacrifice flv.
The Royals added two runs in the sixth on back-to-back home runs by Gaetti and Hamelin.
Tavarez, who started the year at Class-A Kingston, went 5% innings, giving up eight hits and three runs. He struck out three and walked one.
NOTES: George Brett, playing his last series at home, went 0-for-5 and continued receiving standing ovations in each at bat. ... The Royals also had back-to-back home runs Sept. 3 at Boston when Brian McRae and Brett did it.
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