AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Twins Need All the Runs They Get to Win

The Twins took a page from the Cleveland book Saturday night, getting home runs from Pedro Munoz and Marty Cordova in a five-run second inning.

Then again, it’s only a page. With Minnesota, no lead is safe.

“I thought we threw the ball pretty well,” Manager Tom Kelly said after his Twins won, 6-5, at Minneapolis. “Then I looked up at the scoreboard and they had five runs. It’s a real tribute to the Indians and what they can do with the bats, to think that giving up five runs is a real successful night.”

Rich Becker added a two-run double to the home runs as Minnesota ended a five-game losing streak and ended Cleveland’s five-game winning streak.

“It was nice to score five,” Cordova said. “We can’t change what’s happened so far this season, but this is a step in the right direction. I got about seven pitches I should have hit out of the park today. At least I got one.”

One night after getting his 3,000th hit, Eddie Murray got his 3,001st, 3,002nd and 3,003rd, the last his 470th home run, coming in the eighth inning for the game’s final run.

New York 3, Milwaukee 1--Paul O’Neill singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the 12th inning as the Yankees won at Milwaukee.

O’Neill’s single came off Mike Fetters, who had relieved Al Reyes (0-1). Danny Tartabull followed with a run-scoring double, but O’Neill was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

Luis Polonia led off the 12th with a single to right and one out later stole second. Bernie Williams hit a long fly to the warning track in right center that allowed Polonia to move to third. Fetters came on in relief and intentionally walked Wade Boggs to get to O’Neill.

Chicago 11, Kansas City 5--After averaging a run an inning for a week, after scoring 17 runs on Thursday, then being shut out Friday, the White Sox returned to their habit in Kansas City, getting a home run from Frank Thomas and coasting to a victory.

Brian Keyser (2-2) gave up 11 hits in 8 1/3 innings, just missing his first major league complete game when the Royals rallied for three runs in the ninth. He got plenty of help from Chicago’s five double plays, and the White Sox got plenty of help from Kansas City’s four errors and pitchers who surrendered seven walks.

Baltimore 6, Toronto 2--Curtis Goodwin went three for five and hit his first major league home run for the Orioles, who won at Toronto.

Goodwin, who raised his average to .370, has two or more hits in six of his last seven games and 16 multihit games since being called up June 2 from triple-A Rochester.

With the score tied, 1-1, in the fifth inning, Goodwin hit an opposite-field, two-run homer off Al Leiter (5-3). It was only his sixth professional home run and first since May 22, 1994, when he was in double A.

Detroit 11, Boston 2--Cecil Fielder hit two home runs and drove in six runs for the Tigers, who won at Boston.

Chris Gomez was four for five and Bob Higginson hit his 10th home run for second-place Detroit, which trimmed Boston’s lead in the AL East to four games. Felipe Lira (5-4) outpitched possible all-star Erik Hanson (7-2) and John Doherty went 3 2/3 innings for his first save.

Seattle 2, Texas 0--Tim Belcher scattered six hits over eight innings, Bobby Ayala pitched the ninth for his 13th save and Tino Martinez hit a home run for the Mariners at home.

Martinez hit a 3-and-2 pitch by Roger Pavlik 413 feet over the center field fence leading off the fourth inning for his 14th homer. It was one of five Seattle hits off Pavlik (4-4) in 6 2/3 innings. He started with two days’ rest after lasting only two-thirds of an inning in a 20-4 loss to the Angels.

The Mariners made it 2-0 in the eighth on Mike Blowers’ RBI single off Roger McDowell.