AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Orioles’ Big Guy Is Helping in Big Move

The Baltimore Orioles are making an impressive effort to assure a three-team battle for the pennant in the American League East.

They might have just the man to lead them in 6-foot-7 right-hander Ben McDonald.

At a time when big pitchers are the vogue, McDonald is the newest sensation.

McDonald, in his third major league start, turned in his third sharp performance Tuesday night at Baltimore in a 6-4 victory over Toronto.

McDonald went seven innings, giving up seven hits, but only two of the runs were earned. The loss dropped the Blue Jays into a tie with Boston for first place. The Orioles are four games behind.

Cal Ripken hit a three-run home run in the first inning and gave the Orioles the lead for good.

It was not all that long ago that there was a place for 5-6 Bobby Shantz and 5-8 Elroy Face. Those days are long gone. Scouts are looking for pitchers 6-4 or taller.

Bill Utterback of the Pittsburgh Press reported that there more than 20 pitchers 6-4 in the majors this season who are showing winning form. Collectively they were posting a percentage of better than .700. That was before McDonald.

In his second start last Friday McDonald beat the Kansas City Royals. He drew lavish praise from George Brett, a foremost authority on pitchers.

“That’s the best stuff I’ve seen all year,” Brett said after facing the big youngster. “I hope that was exceptional stuff for him and not so-so stuff. If that was an average night for him, a lot of hitters in this league are in trouble. He’s already proven he’s good by shutting out the White Sox. They’re a good hitting team.”

The Orioles have the best record in the league since the All-Star break. They finished July with a 17-11 record.

Boston 7, Chicago 2--Manager Joe Morgan tried just about everything to get his hitters out of a slump. For the most part nothing worked and the Red Sox fell out of first place in the East.

At last, he seems to have found a solution. He moved Wade Boggs, often derided for lack of run-producing despite a high average, to the No. 3 spot in the order.

In the last three games Boggs has delivered one key hit after another. The Red Sox have won three in a row and Boggs is eight for 14. He has driven in six runs and scored three.

He was three for five with an RBI in this game at Boston.

Tom Brunansky and Tony Pena, came out of prolonged slumps in a four-run second inning that put the Red Sox in command.

Brunansky was zero for 34 before he got the first of three singles, while Pena was one for 23 before he singled.

Dana Kiecker (4-1) allowed only one baserunner until one was out in the sixth, then was chased without retiring another batter.

Seattle 7, Oakland 2--Bill Swift blanked the Athletics for eight innings at Oakland to win his third start in a row.

Despite the defeat the A’s remained three games ahead of Chicago in the West.

Mike Moore (9-10), the former Mariner, is 0-2 with an ERA of 8.41 in four starts against Seattle. He didn’t make it through the fifth inning.

Kansas City 8, Cleveland 4--The Royals lost the hot-hitting Brett for a few days, but welcomed back another hitter, Danny Tartabull, at Cleveland.

Tartabull, just off the disabled list, hit two of the Royals’ five doubles and drove in three runs to help young Kevin Appier improve his record to 6-4.

Brett suffered a bruised collarbone in a collision at first base in Monday’s game. He was knocked flat by the Indians’ Mitch Webster while catching a toss from pitcher Jeff Montgomery. Webster was out, but Brett was hurt.

New York 10, Detroit 4--Mark Leiter, whose brother Al was a prize prospect for the Yankees a few years ago, won his first major league start in this game at New York. Leiter, 27, gave up eight hits in 7 1/3 innings in just his third major league game.

Hot-hitting Roberto Kelly drove in two runs and scored two runs. Kelly also was the hitting star Sunday when the Yankees swept a doubleheader.