Tigers Hand Orioles 4th Straight Loss

American League

Omar Olivares threw eight shutout innings Monday night and the Detroit Tigers hammered visiting Baltimore 8-3, the Orioles’ fourth straight loss.

Olivares (2-2) allowed four hits in winning for the first time since April 10. The Orioles scored their runs with no outs in the ninth on a two-run homer by Bobby Bonilla and a solo shot by Cal Ripken, both off Mike Walker.

Detroit won for just the eighth time in its last 48 games, but has won three of its last four.

Olivares struck out six and walked two. His eight scoreless innings were the most thrown by a Tigers starter this year.

David Wells (3-6) lost his third straight decision, giving up 10 hits over 5 innings. The Orioles haven’t won since sweeping a three-game home series from the Tigers last week.

The Tigers batted around in the sixth, scoring five times on five hits, three of them doubles, and two walks to take a 7-0 lead.

Indians 5, Athletics 4 Cleveland

Charles Nagy became the American League’s first 10-game winner and Kenny Lofton and Manny Ramirez homered as Cleveland edged Oakland.

Nagy (10-1) earned his seventh consecutive victory and improved his career record against Oakland to 7-2. He allowed four runs on nine hits and one walk over seven innings, striking out seven.

Paul Shuey and Jose Mesa each pitched a scoreless inning with Mesa earning his 22nd save.

Lofton’s two-out, solo homer, his fifth, put Cleveland ahead 4-3 in the fourth. Julio Franco then doubled down the right-field line and scored when left fielder Phil Plantier dropped a pop-up by Carlos Baerga.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3 Toronto

Tino Martinez capped New York’s four-run first inning with a three-run homer and Wade Boggs went 4 for 4 as Toronto lost a season-high fifth straight.

Boggs opened the game with a double to center, advanced to third on Bernie Williams’ single and scored on Paul O’Neill’s double to left.

Martinez followed with his 10th homer of the season to make it 4-0 before an out was recorded.

Jimmy Key (3-6) allowed two runs and scattered four hits over 5-2/3 innings for the win.

White Sox 8, Red Sox 2 Chicago

Kevin Tapani allowed five hits over eight innings for his fourth straight victory and Chicago won for the 19th time in 22 games.

Ron Karkovice homered, Tony Phillips and Robin Ventura each had three hits in the White Sox’s 16-hit attack and Ray Durham and Ventura drove in two runs each as Chicago stayed tied with Cleveland atop the American League Central.

Tapani (7-3) walked two and struck out nine, including Jose Canseco three times.

Durham’s two-out, two-run double, following two singles and a passed ball, gave the White Sox a 5-2 lead in the third off knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (4-6), who was working on just two days’ rest. He went the distance, allowing 16 hits and six earned runs.

Angels 7, Royals 5 (10) Kansas City, Mo.

Chili Davis, making his first start since June 1, had four hits, including a two-run homer in the 10th inning, for California in a win over Kansas City.

Davis, who had been bothered by a tight left hamstring, had three singles. Tim Salmon, who homered earlier, hit a two-out single off Tim Pugh (0-1) and Davis followed with a shot over the right field wall.

J.T. Snow, who had two homers Sunday at Cleveland, followed with a 430-foot shot to right.

Chuck McElroy (1-0), recently acquired in the trade for Lee Smith, got his first A.L. win with two-thirds innings of scoreless relief as the Angels snapped an eight-game losing streak against Kansas City.

Rangers 8, Brewers 3 Arlington, Texas

Darryl Hamilton went 2 for 3 and drove in three runs against his former team as Texas beat Milwaukee for its fourth straight win.

The Rangers stretched their lead over second-place Seattle in the A.L. West to 6 games, the largest in franchise history.

Ivan Rodriguez and Kevin Elster each drove in two runs for the Rangers, while Mark McLemore went 3 for 4, making him 16 for 31 in June.

Clearing the bases

Boston’s Jose Canseco was named American League player of the week for the period ending Sunday. The Sox DH hit .385 with four homers and 11 RBI… . The Twins’ Rick Aguilera is expected to get his long-awaited second start of the season tonight against Seattle. Aguilera, plagued by tendinitis since late in spring training, is back from a rehabilitation stint in Florida.