Byline: Associated Press
BOSTON - Bret Saberhagen continued his comeback with a second consecutive victory and Mo Vaughn homered on Monday to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 6-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Oakland lost its fourth consecutive game and has yet to win a game on the road this season. Boston has not yet lost at home, having swept the Seattle Mariners in three games over the weekend.
Saberhagen (2-0) sat out all of 1996 after surgery on his right shoulder and spent most of last season in rehabilitation. In all, he went more than two years between his last win for Colorado on Sept. 26, 1995, and his next, on April 5 against Seattle.
The two-time Cy Young winner, struck out six and walked two.
Indians 6, Mariners 5
At Cleveland
Ken Griffey Jr. homered twice and became the second-youngest player with 300 homers, but Seattle's bullpen wasted another lead as Cleveland beat the Mariners.
Griffey, who had the 31st multihomer game of his career, hit two-run shots in the first against Dave Burba (2-1) and the seventh against Jose Mesa.
Griffey's first homer and a solo shot in the sixth by David Segui gave the Mariners a 3-0 lead. But the Indians scored six in the sixth, taking a 6-3 lead on Brian Giles' three-run homer off Bobby Ayala.
Ken Cloude (1-1) allowed four straight hits to start the inning, and Ayala failed to preserve a 3-3 tie. Seattle's bullpen blew two saves against Boston last weekend and the Mariners fired pitching coach Nardi Contreras on Monday, replacing him with Stan Williams.
Griffey's historic homer, estimated at 391 feet, was his sixth of the season and third in two days. Griffey is 28 years, 143 days old. Jimmie Foxx was 27 years, 328 days when he hit his 300th.
Devil Rays 13, Twins 12
At St. Petersburg, Fla.
Robert Smith homered in the 14th inning and Esteban Yan closed the game with five perfect innings as Tampa Bay overcame a six-run deficit to beat Minnesota.
At 7-4, Tampa Bay is off to the best start by an expansion team. The 1977 Toronto Blue Jays, 1969 Kansas City Royals and 1962 Houston Colt .45s began 6-5.
Smith, 4-for-7 in the game, connected off Mike Trombley (0-1) to end the longest game in the Devil Rays' young history at 4 hours, 54 minutes. Yan (2-0), Tampa Bay's seventh pitcher, was the winner.
Quinton McCracken drove in four runs and had three of Tampa Bay's 19 hits.
Royals 11, Blue Jays 1
At Kansas City, Mo.
Glendon Rusch got his first win at Kauffman Stadium and rookie Larry Sutton, Shane Mack and Mike Sweeney all homered off Pat Hentgen, leading Kansas City to victory over Toronto.
Rusch (1-2), who entered the game with a 12.54 ERA, allowed seven hits in eight innings. He struck out six and walked one in the longest outing by a Royals pitcher this season.
The left-hander was 0-7 in 15 previous starts at home.
Hentgen (1-1) allowed six hits and eight runs in three innings.
Mack went 3-for-4 with four RBI.
Rangers 10, Tigers 1
At Arlington, Texas
Lee Stevens hit three home runs and Bobby Witt got his 100th career victory with Texas as the Rangers defeated Detroit.
Stevens hit solo homers in the second and fifth, before connecting on a two-run shot in the seventh for his first three-homer game. Attempting to become the 13th player to homer four times in a game, he walked in the eighth.
Juan Gonzalez added a two-run homer for the Rangers, who have won four of five.
Witt (1-0) gave up six hits over 6 2/3 innings in getting his 125th career victory.
CAPTION(S):
Photo
Seattle's Ken Griffey Jr. watches his first of two home runs Monday at Cleveland. His second of the game was the 300th of his career. By Mark Duncan / Associated Press.
