National League

Although Cleveland and Florida have been outhit, they lead their respective League Championship Series:American LeagueTeam .. .. ..Avg. .. ..2B .. ..3B .. ..HR .. ..RBIsO's.. .. .. .249 .. .. .8 .. ...0 .. ...7 .. ....19Cle... .. . .216 .. .. .7 .. ...0 .. ...4 .. .. .14National LeagueFla... .. . .177 .. .. .8 .. ...0 .. ...1 .. .. .13Atl... .. . .242 .. .. .5 .. ...2 .. ...6 .. .. .17Pub Date: 10/14/97

Who's hot The Pirates lead the National League in turning double plays with 94. Who's not The Marlins have lost 10 of their past 14 games. Line of the day David Dellucci, Rangers LF AB R H RBI HR 4 3 3 5 2

Baseball AMERICAN LEAGUE Devil Rays 2, Orioles 0 Blue Jays 6, Twins 3 Tigers 10, Rangers 6 Mariners 6, Athletics 2 NATIONAL LEAGUE Mets 10, Nationals 5 Cardinals 4, Phillies 2 Giants 6, Braves 4 Reds 6, Pirates 5 Diamondbacks 12, Rockies 5 Pgs 6-9F

Cardinals@Nationals 7 p.m. [MASN] Heading into Thursday night's games, the Cardinals had the best record in the National League, and the Nationals had the worst. One would think that makes this a mismatch, but you know the old saying: They don't play games on paper; they play them on TV.

BASEBALL American League * Cleveland Indians -- Agreed to terms with Sandy Alomar Jr. (catcher) and Jeff Manto (infielder) on one-year contracts.* Texas Rangers -- Named Marc Sullivan advance scout and Larry Himes scouting consultant.National League * San Diego Padres -- Agreed to a two-year contract extension through 1993 with Yuma, their spring training site.

Everyone knows that success and failure in baseball come in cycles -- for players, for managers, for teams, even for leagues.The cycle that has the American League riding high right now has so many facets and such powerful momentum, the National League has to wonder if their junior partners will defy gravity and never come back down."

LOS ANGELES -- When it became apparent this week that baseball's owners finally were ready to take a tangible step toward interleague play, an old debate took on a new dimension.The prospect of American League teams meeting National League teams during the regular season has refocused attention on the designated-hitter rule, which is certain to complicate the transition to the proposed new interleague format.The interleague format that was approved by baseball's executive council Tuesday night and will be presented at today's joint ownership meeting calls for the designated hitter to be used only in American League parks, as it is in the preseason and the World Series, but some baseball purists worry that mixing the rules during the regular season will damage the integrity of a century of statistics and create potential roster problems for teams in both of the major leagues.

BASEBALL American League * AL -- Suspended Skeeter Barnes, Detroit outfielder, for three games for charging the mound during a game against Seattle on July 22.National League * LOS ANGELES DODGERS -- Released Juan Samuel, second baseman. Recalled Eric Young, second baseman, from Albuquerque of the Pacific Coast League.BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association * NEW JERSEY NETS -- Signed Dan O'Sullivan, center, to a one-year contract.* PHILADELPHIA 76ERS -- Named Mike Abdenour trainer.* SAN ANTONIO SPURS -- Signed Vinny Del Negro, guard, to a multiyear contract.