BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Coming Back, Ryan Goes Five in 4-1 Win

Nolan Ryan, coming off the disabled list for his first start in three weeks, gave up two hits in five innings for the 310th victory of his career as the Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-1, Monday night at Arlington, Tex.

Ryan, 44, threw 74 pitches and gave up only a double to Cal Ripken Jr. and a single to Joe Orsulak. Ryan (8-5) walked two and struck out seven.

Ryan, who went on the disabled list Aug. 1 because of stiffness in his right shoulder, reported no physical problems but was taking no chances with an extended outing. His earned run average dropped to 2.69.

Terry Mathews picked up his first major league save by going the last four innings. Baltimore scored in the seventh on a single by Chito Martinez and a double by Billy Ripken.

Baltimore rookie Mike Mussina (1-3) pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up a solo homer to Ruben Sierra in the fourth inning and a three-run shot by Kevin Reimer in the sixth.

It was the third time this season that Ryan defeated the Orioles, who are 7-3 against Texas.

Before the game, the Orioles activated first baseman Glenn Davis, out since April 25 with a neck injury. Davis had a single in three at-bats.

Oakland 8, Minnesota 7--Terry Steinbach singled home Dave Henderson with two out in the ninth inning, and the Athletics ended a seven-game losing streak by beating the Twins at Minneapolis.

In salvaging the final game of a four-game series, third-place Oakland kept its American League West hopes alive, pulling to within six games of the division-leading Twins.

Joe Klink (9-3) blanked Minnesota for 2 1/3 innings, and Dennis Eckersley pitched the ninth for his 34th save.

The Athletics, who couldn’t hold leads in each of the first three games of the series, built a 6-1 lead on the strength of Jose Canseco’s 35th home run and a three-run shot by Rickey Henderson--but again couldn’t hold it.

Minnesota pulled to within 6-5 against Joe Slusarski in the fourth on Chili Davis’ RBI double and Mike Pagliarulo’s three-run homer. The A’s added a run on Mark McGwire’s RBI single in the fifth, but Minnesota tied it, 7-7, on Kent Hrbek’s two-run homer against Steve Chiltren in the bottom of the inning.

Canseco’s home run gave him the major league lead and was the 200th of his career.

Detroit 3, Chicago 2--Frank Tanana continued his mastery of the White Sox with seven strong innings and the Tigers won at Chicago.

The White Sox, who have lost seven of eight, remained 3 1/2 games behind Minnesota in the AL West. The Tigers moved to within 2 1/2 games of Toronto in the AL East.

Tanana (10-8) has won eight of his past 12 decisions and is 8-1 in his past 11 starts against the White Sox. His 29 career victories against the White Sox are more than he has against any other major league team.

Travis Fryman doubled to start the Detroit second and scored on Pete Incaviglia’s single against Alex Fernandez (6-10). Fryman started the fourth with another double and scored on a double by Dave Bergman, who singled home another run in the sixth.

Robin Ventura hit his 18th homer for Chicago in the fourth.

New York 6, Kansas City 2--Don Mattingly hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the ninth inning, and the Yankees beat the Royals at Kansas City for their fourth victory in five games.

After Mattingly’s hit against Mike Boddicker (10-8) broke a 2-2 tie, the Yankees added two more runs on a throwing error by Kansas City shortstop David Howard.

Greg Cadaret (6-4) allowed two hits in 2 1/3 scoreless innings.

Kirk Gibson hit his 14th home run after a triple by Brian McRae to give the Royals a 2-0 lead in the first, but the Yankees tied it on Randy Velarde’s two-run double in the fourth.

Chicago 3, Montreal 2--Luis Salazar drew a bases-loaded walk from Bill Sampen with two out in the 11th inning at Montreal to give the Cubs their eighth victory in 10 games against the Expos this season.

Paul Assenmacher (7-4) worked two innings for the victory as the Cubs won despite being outhit, 14-7.