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Published Sunday, May 12, 1996, in the Miami Herald.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Kennedy fumes; HR beats Yanks in 9th

From Herald Wire Services

Boston Red Sox Manager Kevin Kennedy has tried tough love and positive reinforcement. But after watching yet another uninspiring performance Saturday, Kennedy had had enough.

``Ridiculous,'' he said after the Red Sox fell to the Blue Jays, 9-8, in 11 innings at the Skydome. ``Major League Baseball, and to see that kind of effort. . . . Maybe players should look in the mirror. If guys want to get mad at me for saying that, so be it.''

Less than 24 hours earlier, the Red Sox had an 11-inning win -- 6-5 over the Jays -- and were talking about mounting a charge. But that victory seemed like weeks ago after they allowed Toronto to come back three times Saturday. And the way Kennedy saw it, the entire team was at fault.

  • The bullpen: Rich Garces allowed a game-tying homer by Alex Gonzalez in the eighth. Brent Knackert walked two in the 11th and closer Heathcliff Slocumb allowed a game-winning single by Sandy Martinez. ``We weren't able to shut the door,'' Kennedy said. ``No excuse.''

  • The starter: Tim Wakefield was unable to make it out of the seventh, after the Red Sox gave him a 7-4 lead. He gave up three runs before being pulled. ``At some point guys have to pick each other up and go seven, eight or nine innings,'' Kennedy said. ``We can't keep going to the bullpen every night.''

  • The offense: The Red Sox had 10 hits, but left 13 men on base, six in the first three innings. Troy O'Leary, whose leadoff homer in the 11th won the game Friday, was 0-for-5 and left 11 on base, including the bases loaded three times.

    Kennedy was asked yet again if he has any options. ``Personnel changes is one solution,'' he said. ``I think we've given guys ample opportunity. We've had meeting after meeting after meeting. We saw results in the short term [Friday]. . . . I'm sick and tired of it.''

  • White Sox 7, Yankees 5
    BAINES WINS IT WITH HR

    CHICAGO -- Harold Baines hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to hand the Yankees their third straight loss.

    Dave Martinez opened the ninth with a single off John Wetteland (0-1). Baines then hit Wetteland's first pitch into the left-field bleachers for his seventh home run of the season.

    Kirk McCaskill (1-2) pitched one inning for the win.

  • Orioles 5, Brewers 3
    RIPKEN HAS WINNING RBI

    MILWAUKEE -- Cal Ripken, who had three hits in his previous 31 at-bats, ripped an RBI single in the 10th inning and Baltimore hung on for the victory.

    After Roberto Alomar and Rafael Palmeiro walked, Ripken singled against Mike Potts (1-2) and B.J. Surhoff added a sacrifice fly for the final margin. Randy Myers pitched the final inning for his eighth save as Arthur Rhodes (4-0) picked up the victory with 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief.

  • Athletics 12, Twins 5
    A'S KEEP POUNDING

    OAKLAND, Calif. -- Terry Steinbach hit a three-run homer and added an RBI double, and Phil Plantier had three run-scoring singles to lead Oakland.

    Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire, and Plantier -- the third through fifth hitters in Oakland's lineup -- each had three hits. McGwire doubled twice and drove in a run and Giambi raised his average to .353 with two singles and a double.

  • Rangers 11, Tigers 7
    GREER HITS SLAM

    ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rusty Greer hit a grand slam in the first inning and had a career-best five RBI to lead Texas. It was the Tigers' 20th loss in 23 games.



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