Roll-over Tigers have Sox thinking pennant

''I don't hear one person talk about the wild card,'' said Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe, who earned his 14th save in yesterday's 7-3 victory over Detroit. ''I think when you settle for the wild card, you sell yourself short.''

Nomar Garciaparra homered to help stop Dave Mlicki's eight-game win streak, and Trot Nixon also homered as the Red Sox won their fifth consecutive game. The victory kept Boston three games behind the AL East-leading Yankees, who beat Cleveland 11-7.

''They're playing with a lot of moxie right now,'' Tigers manager Larry Parrish said of the Red Sox, who remained 4 1/2 games ahead of Oakland in the wild-card race. The Athletics beat Kansas City 12-3.

Bret Saberhagen gave up just two hits to the punchless Tigers yesterday. His teammate, Derek Lowe wants his teammates to think of themseleves as three games behind the Yankees for the AL East title, rather than four-and-a-half games up on the A's for the Wildcard.

Tim Wakefield (6-10) walked one and struck out three in 5 2-3 innings for only his second win in seven starts since May 28. He allowed just four hits, but three were solo homers.

Mlicki (13-11) lasted just four innings, allowing six runs on eight hits and five walks while striking out three.

The last Detroit pitcher to win eight consecutive starts was Doyle Alexander in 1987. The Tigers' record for victories in consecutive starts is 11, set by Earl Whitehill in 1930 and matched by Hal Newhouser in 1947.

Juan Encarnacion homered twice for the Tigers - the first multi-homer game of his career - giving him 18 for the season.

Garciaparra went 9-for-12 in the series, including homers in the last two games, to raise his league-leading batting average to .360. The Red Sox have won 20 of 25 games.

Detroit, which has lost four straight, made it 2-0 when Dean Palmer and Encarnacion hit solo homers in the second inning. But Boston took a 4-2 lead with four consecutive singles to lead off the bottom half, including a two-run base hit by Wilton Veras.

Encarnacion hit his second homer in the fourth to make it 4-3. But Boston answered again in the bottom half when Jason Varitek doubled and scored on Garciaparra's 25th homer of the season.

Nixon added his 15th homer, a solo shot in the seventh to make it 7-3.

Oakland 12, Kansas City 3:

Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada both homered and drove in three runs Sunday as the Oakland Athletics defeated the Kansas City Royals 12-3.

Gil Heredia (13-7) allowed three runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings. He struck out five.

Kansas City starter Mac Suzuki lasted five innings, allowing three runs and five hits.

Tejada doubled to lead the sixth against Chris Fussell (0-5) and took third on Eric Chavez's groundout.

In the seventh, Jason Giambi had an RBI double, Olmedo Saenz's single drove in a run and Fussell left after hitting Tejada to load the bases.

Chavez greeted Scott Service with a two-run single, Macfarlane hit a sacrifice fly and Randy Velarde singled home a run.

AP PHOTO

09-20-99