This Date In Royals History--1984 Edition: July 13
A bad Friday the 13th for the Royals, who are swept by New York in a doubleheader.
It was definitely a Friday the 13th for the Royals, who were swept by the Yankees in a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium by scores of 7-1 and 8-1.
In the first game, which was the makeup contest for a game postponed by rain on April 23, Ron Guidry held the Royals to five hits over eight innings. In the second game, Marty Bystrom held KC to five hits over seven innings.
The first game was tied at 1-1 until the Yankees scored four in the sixth and two more in the seventh. New York scored first, plating a run in the second as Brian Dayett and Bob Meacham both singled with one out. Bud Black’s wild pitch allowed Dayett to score.
Kansas City tied the game up right away, though. Butch Davis led off the third with his second home run of the season for a 1-1 score.
Black and Guidry both settled in after that. The next hit in the game for either team came when Ken Griffey started the bottom of the sixth with a single. Dave Winfield drew a walk, and the next three batters all singled. Don Baylor, Roy Smalley, and Dayett each picked up an RBI with their hit, with Dayett moving up to second on his when left fielder Davis kicked the ball. Joe Beckwith replaced Black and got an unconventional double play to turn the inning around. Meacham flied out to right, with the runners tagging up and trying to advance. The throw to third was in time to get Dayett, but Smalley scored for a 5-1 lead.
Omar Moreno led off the seventh with a home run. With one out, Griffey singled and Winfield walked. With two outs, Smalley singled for the seventh and final run.
The second game was not as competitive, as the Yankees built a 5-0 lead over the first five innings. New York scored one run in the third off Royals starter Bret Saberhagen, as singles by Willie Randolph, Don Mattingly, and Winfield produced a run. Steve Kemp led off the fourth with a single and scored on Mike Pagliarulo’s first major-league home run, pushing the New York lead to 3-0.
Another two-run home run gave the Yankees a five-run lead. In the fifth, Mattingly singled with one out and took second on a wild pitch. With two outs, Oscar Gamble homered.
The Royals finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth. George Brett led off with a single. Jorge Orta hit a grounder to second. Randolph went to second for the forceout, but Meacham’s relay throw was wild, and Orta was able to reach second. Darryl Motley singled, and the Royals trailed, 5-1.
Just like the first game, though, the Royals gave up several runs in the late innings. After Mike Jones pitched two scoreless innings, Dan Quisenberry took over for the eighth. Since he hadn’t pitched in a week, he was understandably a bit rusty. Kemp led off with a single, with Dayett running for him. Pagliarulo grounded out, with Dayett reaching second. Meacham singled to score Dayett. With two outs, Randolph doubled for another run and Wynegar singled for the last run.
The two losses dropped the Royals to 39-46 on the season. They were in fifth place in the AL West, although they only lost a half-game in the standings. They were 4.5 games behind Minnesota and California, who were tied for first.
Box score and play-by-play (first game): https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA198407131.shtml
Box score and play-by-play (second game): https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA198407132.shtml
Today’s birthdays: Jerry Terrell (1946), Pat Rapp (1967)