Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 28

D2 THE EDMONTON JOURNAL, Sunday, July 30, 1989 Sports Rangers betting on Baines9 bat P. Baines, 30, had spent all 10 of his major league seasons with the White Sox. He entered the season with a career .286 batting average with 173 homers and 763 runs batted in. Currently, he is batting .321, sixth best in the American League, with 13 homers and 55 runs scored. Manrique is batting .299 with two homers and 30RBIS.

Baines has been used primarily as a DH this season, but the improved condition of his knees has allowed him to play right field in 24 games. "He's running extremely well; he's not limping," said Rangers manager Bobby Valentine. "He's put forth the effort to get his knees better." With the acquisition of Baines, the Rangers are expected to move first baseman Rafael Palmeiro from third to second in their batting order and install Baines as the No. 3 hitter ahead of AL RBI leaders Ruben Sierra and Julio Franco. ARLINGTON, Tex.

(AP) The Texas Rangers got the big bat they were seeking Saturday when they acquired designated hitter-outfielder Harold Baines from the Chicago White Sox for shortstop Scott Fletcher and two top prospects. The Rangers also sent outfielder Sammy Sosa and pitcher Wilson Alvarez to the White Sox. Sosa as playing for Texas' Triple A Oklahoma City farm club, while Alvarez was on the Rangers' Double A Tulsa roster. Along with Baines, Texas received reserve in-fielder Fred Manrique. Baines as expected to be the Rangers designated hitter in Saturday night's game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

"For the past several years we've been trying to acquire a designated hitter Rangers manager Tom Grieve said. "We feel we now have the best designated hitter in baseball." "Those are four guys who've hit third in the major leagues," Valentine said. "That's a pretty good lineup. "Those four are as good as anybody in the major leagues." Fletcher, who signed a three-year, $3.9 milhon contract with the Rangers last spring, greeted the trade with resignation. "If you've been around baseball long enough, nothing is really a total surprise," said Fletcher.

With Ozzie Guillen a fixture as the White Sox' regular shortstop, Fletcher will play second base for Chicago, for whom he played from 1983-85. Fletcher, who turns 31 today, was hitting .239 with no homers and 22 RBIs in 83 games after leading the Rangers in batting in each of the last three seasons. Fletcher missed time with ankle and finger injuries this season and had not fielded as well as in the past Mark Spector Ex-Trap on a tough trail New Ranger Harold Baines Texas needs his power Former Edmonton Trapper Ray Chadwick has recovered from a senous car accident that oc curred when someone drove into the right-hander's vehicle while it was at a stop sign back in Febru ary. Chadwick suffered two broken vertebrae, broke his left arm and two ribs and missed spring training. He worked his way up to the Triple A Vancouver Canadians but at last check was in Double again.

Wilson Alvarez, the 19-year-old Texas Rangers pitcher whom the Toronto Blue Jays battered in his first big-league start last week, is on his way to the Chicago White Sox as part of a three-player trade. Alvarez surrendered, in -i tj'r order, a single, a home run, i home run, a walk and a walk Baseball notebook "Hey, his stock's gone up. I think more of him now than before, said Ranger manager Bobby Val entine. What's happened to Dante Bi chette, the guy who was never supposed to set foot in John Yankees find Key to Jays Yankees 7 Blue Jays 2 Don Mattingly beat Jimmy Key in the match of slumping stars and sagging New York beat Toronto 7-2 in American League action Saturday night. Mattingly ended a drought by getting three hits and driving in three runs, helping Chuck Cary earn his first major-league victory since 1987 as the Yankees defeated Toronto 7-2 Saturday night.

The Yankees broke loose for a season-high 17 hits and won for just the second time in 1 1 games. Mattingly, in a 7-for-43 slump, got two doubles and a sacrifice fly against Key. Mattingly is 17-for-52 with six doubles lifetime against the Toronto ace for a .327 average, his exact major-league mark for seven seasons. Angels 2 White Sox 1 Kirk McCaskill gained his first victory since July I with last-inning relief help from Bryan Harvey as California beat Chicago 2-1. The victory was the Angels 10th straight at home.

The Angels, who improved their AL West lead over Oakland to 2'4 games, also have won 16 of their last 17 at Anaheim Stadium. McCaskill, 10-6, had a shutout going until one out in the ninth when Daryl Boston doubled and Ivan Calderon singled for the White Sox's run. Royals 5 Orioles 0 Luis Aquino shut out Baltimore on three singles and hot-hitting Willie Wilson drove in all the runs as Kansas City fashioned a 5-0 victory to hand the slumping AL East leaders their ninth loss in 10 games. Mariners 14 Athletics 6 Alvin Davis drove in five runs with three hits and Seattle scored eight first-inning runs to rout Oakland 14-6. In other AL action the Detroit Tigers defeated the Minnesota Twins 3-2, the Boston Red Sox shut out the Cleveland Indians 5-0 and the Milwaukee Brewers pounded the Texas Rangers 8-2.

11th straight win Martinez blanks Cards Expos 2 Cardinals 0 Dennis Martinez and the Montreal Expos, both of whom entered the game with some mild concerns Saturday, erased the doubts with a 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals before a crowd of 33,886 at Olympic Stadium. The victory preserved the Expos' 2Vl-game edge over the Chicago Cubs atop the National League's East Division. Bothered for several days by fluid on his knee, Martinez has struggled in recent outings he had a 3-0 record but a 6.75 earned-run average in his previous four starts but he was in command in scattering eight hits against the Cardinals. The result was his second shutout of the season and his 1 1 th straight victory, the longest winning streak by a NL pitcher since Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets won 14 straight in 1985.

"The knee didn't bother me, mainly because I put it out of my mind," said Martinez. Of his winning streak, Martinez added: "I just have to try to continue to do what I'm doing. It's great to see, but we're all in this together; we're all trying to win the title." Martinez, 12-1, struck out five batters and walked four in recording his third complete game. He was helped by Otis Nixon's fine running catch on the warning track in centre field off Terry Pendleton, with one out in the ninth. He ended the game with a flourish, fanning Tony Pena with runners at first and third.

The Expos, who had been fattening their record against non-ontenders recently, had lost the opening game of the key three-game series against the Cardinals, failing to score a run. Their shutout string went to 13 innings against St. Louis before Mike Fitzgerald singled off starter Ken Hill, 6-7, driving in Tim Wal-lach, who preceded him with a one-out double in the fifth inning. The Expos still had only three hits off Hill when they pushed across an insurance run in the seventh. Tim Raines opened the inning with a single and stole second.

Following Hubie Brooks's popout, Wallach lined a single into left field to score Raines. Until the ninth, the Cardinals had only two men in scoring position against Martinez, who was helped by a strange double play in the eighth. Vince Coleman had led off with a single, but was forced at second as Ozzie Smith hit a bouncer to Wallach at third. When Coleman tried to grab the arm of second baseman Damaso Garcia as he made the relay in an attempt to complete the double play, second-base umpire John Kibler ruled Smith automatically out at first. In other NL action, it was Chicago 10, New York Philadelphia 6, Pittsburgh Cincinnati 4, Atlanta 1 Houston 8, San Francisco San Diego 9, Los Angeles 4.

Ducey Park again after making the California Angels out of spring training? The right-handed hitting Bi chette is batting .209 through 110 at-bats here .069 against lefties and has only three homers, 40 total bases and a diminutive .364 slugging percentage. "I think he's still going through that coming- down-from-the-b ig-league thing," said a protective Edmonton man ager Tom Kotch fl man. "But he's I nit tr i't rw -f if 7n 6 it. The only way that will happen YY 4. 1 Ullll 111 U)t LULUU every day, I Bichette guess.

There's no question Bichette will be with the Angels in September, but whether be plays or not will hinge on the next month. California will take more players than last year if it's still in the Boston Red Sox pitcher Mike Smithson fires a hard one to the plate Saturday Smithson threw a two-hit shutout for eight innings before being relieved against Cleveland Kotchman Tired Beavers chew on Trappers i By MARK SPECTOR Journal Staff Writer Beavers 9 Trappers 6 The Portland Beavers trundled into John Ducey Park after a 12-hour travel day, but it was the Edmonton Trappers who looked tired Saturday night in a 9-6 Pacific Coast League loss. It was a brutal travel day for the Beavers. They spent three and a half hours in the Salt Lake City airport on their way to Edmonton from Portland, and the game was 45 minutes late in starting after Portland showed up at the park five minutes before the scheduled start time. "Mentally it's tough for the guys to go through this.

It was a wonderful ending to a long day," said Portland manager Phil Roof, whose team had to produce green cards and work permits at Canadian customs. "I think more than of a 6-5 Trappers lead. Vance Lovelace came on with a man on first and nobody out in the fateful inning, a crippling four-run Beaver seventh in which they collected just two hits. Lovelace now 0-5 with an ERA of over five booted a sacrifice bunt, then didn't get the call at third on a sacrifice attempt by the next Portland batter. On came Gary Buckels, who walked in a run on four pitches then, in order, allowed an RBI-single, a sacrifice fly, a fly ball out and another RBI-single before hitting the showers.

"It wasn't that he didn't throw welL It's just that when you bring someone in in the late innings he's got to be able to field his position. He just didn't do it tonight," said Kotchman of Lovelace, who threw less than four pitches in the loss. anything the guys were mad at our owner Joe Buzas for putting us through this." Ironically, the Trappers enjoyed a rare day off Friday after being swept in a three-game series in Calgary, while travel days like the one Portland had to swallow Saturday arc one of the joys of minor league baseball. But when you're on the other side of those days as the Trappers were in this series' opener, you simply have to seize the advantage and win a ball game. "Well put," said an exasperated Trapper manager Tom Kotchman.

"You've got to give them credit We didn't execute the fundamentals The Trappers now 14-26 in the PCL's second half and 46-63 overall seized nothing Saturday. Unless you count the bullpen, which seized-up when called upon in the seventh inning Vance Lovelace (left) struggles manager Tom Kotchman seethes Sikkens' Ceto! 1 and Cetol 23 American League West pennant race, as is expected come Sept. 1. Who would go up if the call came today? Pitchers Terry Clark and Jack Lazorko; Brown, Bichette and Max Venable in the outfield; second baseman Mark McLemore plus Jim Eppard, Lee Stevens and maybe Jeff Manto for pinch-hitting purposes. San Francisco Giant Kevin Mitchell's home-run per at-bat ratio has improved every month as the season wears on.

In April he hit a dinger in every 16 at-bats, and the ratio has dropped to 10.9 in May, 8.9 in June and 7.6 so far in July. Detroit's 39-year-old righthander Doyle Alexander is doing more than just experimenting with the knucklebalL Last Tuesday in his first win since May 29 roughly 70 per cent of Alexander's pitches were knucklers, and Tiger catcher Mike Heath is using an oversized glove when Alexander is on the hill. Southpaw Colin Charland will be replaced in the Trappers' starting rotation by Kevin Trudeau. Kotchman says it's not because of the 23-year-old's 2-0 record and 5.99 earned-run average, but rather because of the number of innings Charland has thrown from Single A last season, through winter ball and then this year with Edmonton. Trapper right-fielder Mike Brown is eight plate appearances away from being near the top among Pacific Coast League hitters.

Brown has 292 plate appearances eight short of the required 300 but right now his .338 average would tie him in second spot with Colorado Springs Paul ZuveDa. Brown's .559 slugging percentage is the Trappers best by far, and he's the second best RBI man with 50, four back of Lee Stevens, who has 75 more at-bats. Jim McCoDom, the 25-year-old first baseman who hit .344 at Midland in '88 but has been on the shelf all this year because of a shoulder problem, will get some at-bats somewhere in August Viola's 'hurting' DETROIT (AP) Minnesota Twins pitcher Frank Viola says he's frustrated with his performance this season and upset by rumors that he might be traded to the New York Mets a possibility that Twins executive vice-president Andy Mac-Phail characterizes as "less than 50-50." "It hurts," Viola admitted in an interview published Saturday after losing the first game of an American So The Natural Beauty Of Your Exterior Woodwork Isn't Hidden doesn't fade in the sunlight isn't damaged by moisture Exterior wood surfaces treated with varnishes or stains can be the victims of cracking, blistering or peeling caused by rain, sleet and snow. Sikkens' Cetol 1 and Cetol 23 woodfinishing systems have special, scientifically proven water-repellent qualities and "breathing" characteristics that protect your exterior wood-work from the elements. AVAILABLE AT: NORTHTOWN PAINT ALLCOLOUR HOLOWA DA YS PAINTING CEDAR VILLAGE BUILDING WALLCOVERINGS CENTRES PAINTS LTD.

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962-8533 Viola "fvc blocked out a lot of things in my career but I can't block out this. I'm too sensitive. I'm not the guy who can handle this, especially when Tve known some of these guys for eight years." Viola, who led the Twins to a Wrorld Series championship in 1987 and won the Cy Young award last year, signed a S7.9 million contract in April.