The fans came to see Bo. Instead, they almost saw another Bobo.
Bo Jackson got the biggest cheers Monday night as the Comiskey Park crowd of 37,187 celebrated his return to the major leagues. In a game that many thought he would never play, Jackson went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly."I'm not 100 percent, but I am back," he said after the White Sox won 5-1 over the Royals, the team that released him in spring training because of a hip hurt in the NFL playoffs.
Roberto Hernandez did not get any ovations. At least, not at first.
But Hernandez, making his major league debut, quickly drew a lot of attention. He held Kansas City hitless for six innings, and allowed only one hit in seven innings.
Bobo Holloman is the only pitcher since 1900 to pitch a no-hitter in his first big-league start. Three weeks ago, White Sox rookie Wilson Alvarez pitched a no-hitter in Baltimore in his second major league game.
Hernandez, like Jackson, once was told he would never play baseball again. Hernandez was diagnosed as having blood clots in his pitching arm earlier this season, and underwent surgery to transfer veins from his inner thigh to his right forearm.
Jackson, known for his long home runs and many strikeouts while with Kansas City, did not come close to either in his first game with Chicago.
Batting sixth as Chicago's designated hitter, he hit the ball squarely all four times and ran hard without any apparent problems.
In his first at-bat, Jackson hit a one-hopper back to pitcher Luis Aquino (6-3) in the second inning. Jackson again grounded out in the fourth and flied out in the sixth. In the eighth, with the bases loaded and one out, he ran the count to 3-1 before hitting a line drive to center field that scored a run.
Frank Thomas hit his 30th home run and Dan Pasqua also connected, both in the fourth inning. It was Pasqua's 14th homer this season and the 100th of his career.
Hernandez, given an early lead, breezed until Bill Pecota led off the seventh with a double. Pecota later scored on a groundout and Hernandez left after the inning, having struck out four and walked two.
Tigers 12, Mariners 5
Cecil Fielder hit his 37th home run, leading Bill Gullickson and Detroit at the Kingdome.
Fielder's three-run shot in the fifth inning made it 6-2 and broke a tie with Jose Canseco for most homers in the majors.
Lou Whitaker hit his 21st home run and Tony Phillips got his 16th for the Tigers. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 19th for Seattle and Tino Martinez had his second.
Gullickson (17-7) is tied with Scott Erickson and Tom Glavine for most victories in the majors. He gave up four runs in 6 2-3 innings and improved to 4-0 against the Mariners this season. Paul Gibson finished for his eighth save.
Twins 9, Indians 3
Scott Erickson, showing his early-season form, pitched seven shutout innings before Minnesota broke it open at the Metrodome.
Kirby Puckett's RBI double in the bottom of the seventh broke a scoreless tie and keyed a four-run inning. Shane Mack's second grand slam of the season capped a five-run eighth.
Erickson (17-6) gave up six hits and struck out seven. Since his return from the disabled list July 15, he had been 4-3 with a 7.49 ERA and averaging only 41/2 innings per start.
Cleveland scored three times in the eighth against Steve Bedrosian. Rick Aguilera closed for his 37th save.
Blue Jays 5, Orioles 4
Joe Carter began the bottom of the 12th inning with a triple off right fielder Chito Martinez's glove and Cory Snyder followed with a game-winning single.
Toronto rallied from an early 4-0 deficit, tied the game in the eighth on Kelly Gruber's solo homer and blew two more scoring chances before winning for the seventh time in nine tries.
Snyder, sent to the minors on Aug. 9 and recalled on Sunday, singled down the left-field line in his first at-bat back in the majors.
Mike Timlin (10-6) pitched one inning for the victory. Gregg Olson (3-5) stranded a runner at third base with one out in the 10th, but gave up the two hits in the 12th.
Rangers 7, Yankees 2
Oil Can Boyd finally won for the Rangers, helping Texas beat New York for the 14th straight time at home.
Boyd (1-4) pitched five shutout innings in his seventh start since being traded from the Expos on July 21. He won despite rain delays totaling almost 21/2 hours.
Ruben Sierra hit his 19th home run off Tim Leary (4-10), who took over in the second inning after rain forced starter Wade Taylor to leave. Steve Sax hit a two-run homer off reliever Mike Jeffcoat.
Angels 7, Brewers 6
Junior Felix drove in a career-high five runs with two doubles and two singles and Jim Abbott won his sixth straight decision as California stopped its seven-game road losing streak.
Abbott (15-8) gave up three runs on 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings. Bryan Harvey pitched the ninth and got his 34th save despite a solo homer by B.J. Surhoff, who had four hits.
Luis Polonia also had four hits for the Angels. Don August (9-7) took the loss.
National League
Expos 4, Braves 3
The Braves don't think there's any cause for concern just yet.
Atlanta lost its third straight game Monday as Andres Galarraga hit a two-run homer and Bill Sampen pitched six strong innings for Montreal to beat the Braves and Tom Glavine.
The Braves had to wait several hours to see if they would lose first place in the NL West. But the Dodgers obliged by losing to the Cardinals 7-4 in 11 innings on the West Coast, so Atlanta and Los Angeles remained tied for first.
Sampen (7-4), pitching because Dennis Martinez has a lower back strain, gave up four hits in only his fifth start of the year and his first since April 28. Mel Rojas pitched two innings and Barry Jones struggled to get the last three outs.
The Braves rallied in the top of the ninth against Jones as Otis Nixon hit a two-run triple and Jeff Treadway singled him home. But Terry Pendleton hit into a double play to end the game.
Cardinals 7, Dodgers 4
Relief ace Lee Smith blew a lead in the ninth before the Cardinals came back to win as Rich Gedman doubled home the go-ahead run in a three-run 11th.
Reliever Jay Howell (5-5) walked Jose Oquendo to start the 11th and gave up Gedman's RBI double. Todd Zeile and Rod Brewer added run-scoring singles.
Willie Fraser (3-0) pitched two innings for the victory.
The Dodgers tied it at 4-4 with two out in the bottom of the ninth on Lenny Harris' run-scoring single off Smith. The NL leader with 37 saves, blew an opportunity for only the sixth time this season.
Pirates 9, Giants 8
Lloyd McClendon's run-scoring pinch single off Dave Righetti with two out in the ninth inning lifted Pittsburgh over San Francisco at Candlestick Park.
Jay Bell, Andy Van Slyke and Orlando Merced each had three hits and an RBI, and Barry Bonds had two hits and an RBI for the first-place Pirates, who won for the sixth time in seven games.
Stan Belinda (4-4) pitched 2 1-3 innings to earn the victory. Rosario Rodriguez retired Will Clark, who had four hits, for the final out to earn his second save.
Phillies 8, Reds 5
Dale Murphy went 4-for-4, including a two-run homer, as Philadephia beat visiting Cincinnati and Tom Browning for its third straight victory.
Terry Mulholland (13-11) was the winner despite allowing five runs on eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. Joe Boever pitched 2 1-3 innings and Mitch Williams finished for his 25th save.
Astros 3, Mets 0
Rookies Ryan Bowen, Rob Mallicoat and Al Osuna combined on a six-hitter to lead visiting Houston past New York.
Bowen (4-2) allowed five singles and four walks in 6 1-3 innings before Mallicoat came on to stop a rally in the seventh. Osuna got his 10th save with two innings of one-hit relief as the Astros snapped the Mets' three-game winning streak.
Frank Viola fell to 12-13 and third baseman Howard Johnson made two costly errors, giving him 29 for the season.
Cubs 10, Padres 8
Ryne Sandberg hit his second career grand slam to cap a six-run eighth inning as Chicago won in San Diego.
With the Cubs leading 6-5, Mark Grace was issued an intentional walk and Sandberg greeted reliever Jim Lewis with his 22nd homer.
Winner Chuck McElroy (6-2) pitched 1 1-3 before leaving in the eighth with a leg injury. Jose Melendez (6-5) took the loss.