Baldwin strikes the right chord

James Baldwin gave a stunning display of pitching as the Chicago White Sox, who lead the Central Division, romped to a 13-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

James Baldwin gave a stunning display of pitching as the Chicago White Sox, who lead the Central Division, romped to a 13-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Baldwin conceded nothing in eight innings in Sunday's match before the rookie Mark Buehrle finished up for the White Sox. Baldwin allowed five hits and two walks with seven strike-outs. The 29-year-old right-hander allowed only two runners to reach third base. "James was superb today," the White Sox manager, Jerry Manuel, said. "Hopefully this type of performance sets the tone for our staff the rest of the way."

Oakland fell three games behind Seattle in the AL West as the Mariners destroyed the New York Yankees 11-1. The Yankees starter, Orlando Hernandez, returned from three weeks on the sidelines and was taken for five runs and eight hits. The man known as "El Duque" expressed his anger recently about the Yankee coaches, so he claimed, questioning his elbow injury. The allegations were denied and Hernandez did nothing to regain their goodwill on Sunday. The right-hander gave up a three-run homer to Edgar Martinez in the first inning and run-scoring hits to Mark McLemore and Al Martin in the fourth.

The slumping Cincinnati Reds have strengthened their squad by signing Brian Hunter from the Colorado Rockies.