Ripken Will Rest--After He Plays

Cal Ripken won’t get a day off after the Baltimore Orioles clinch the AL East title, even though he’s obviously bothered by a sore back that has hampered his range at third base.

However, Ripken will get a shorter work day.

“Once we clinch this thing he doesn’t need to be playing nine innings. It will be some sort of spring training regimen,� Manager Davey Johnson said.

Ripken played in his 2,467th consecutive game Wednesday in Baltimore’s 8-3 loss to Milwaukee, extending the longest streak in baseball history. He is in a two-for-26 slump.

Johnson said keeping the streak intact will help the Orioles avoid the distraction of the media circus that would ensue if Ripken’s streak ends.

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The Seattle Mariners picked up Randy Johnson’s option, keeping him under contract through the 1998 season.

Johnson has a 17-4 record with a 2.25 earned-run average and leads the AL with 272 strikeouts.

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New York Yankee pitcher David Cone, idled the past month because of tendinitis in his right shoulder, threw for 20 minutes and said he is ready to return. The team will wait to see if there are any complications before deciding when Cone will start. . . . Yankee first baseman Tino Martinez has hit 13 homers with at least two men on base (12 three-run homers, one grand slam). He shares the Yankee record with Babe Ruth (1929) for such homers and needs one to tie Jimmie Foxx’s major league record set in 1932 and matched in 1938.