This Date In Royals History--1984 Edition: May 22
An example of "That's what speed do" in a wild win over Chicago for the Royals.
Down 3-0 before they came to the plate the first time, the Royals rallied for five runs in the first and held on for an 8-7 win over Chicago on Tuesday night at Royals Stadium.
Royals starter Danny Jackson walked Scott Fletcher to start the game. That was followed by singles from Carlton Fisk, Tom Paciorek, and Greg Luzinski, the last one driving in a run. Jackson then got groundouts from Ron Kittle and Harold Baines, but each one scored a run and the White Sox ended the inning with a three-run cushion.
Chicago also had the reigning Cy Young winner, LaMarr Hoyt, on the mound. But Hoyt hit Willie Wilson with a pitch to start the first. Pat Sheridan singled and George Brett walked to load the bases. Hal McRae hit a sacrifice fly to get the Royals on the board, and Dane Iorg doubled to drive in two runs and tie the game at 3-3. With two outs, Steve Balboni doubled to drive in Iorg and John Wathan singled to score Balboni.
The White Sox picked up an unearned run in the third as Kittle singled with one out. With two outs, Dave Stegman hit a fly ball to right that should have ended the inning, but Sheridan misplayed it. That allowed Kittle to score while Stegman reached third, but Jackson was able to escape with a Vance Law flyout.
The Royals got that run back right away, as Iorg led off the bottom of the third with his first home run, off reliever Salome Barojas, who had replaced Hoyt in the second.
“Iorg is a professional hitter. He gave us a big lift. He knocks in the two runs to keep us in the game and then when they closed the gap, he hits the ball out of the park. He’s not a home-run hitter, but he is a hitter.”--Royals manager Dick Howser, quoted by United Press International, May 23, 1984
Jackson made it through five innings before turning the game over to reliever Joe Beckwith, who promptly surrendered the lead when Law singled and Julio Cruz homered.
The game remained tied into the bottom of the seventh. Barojas got the first two outs of the inning, but Sheridan singled and Brett doubled, bringing in the go-ahead run.
The Royals called on Dan Quisenberry to protect the lead, and he breezed through the eighth, then struck out the first two hitters in the ninth. But Luzinski singled, and Kittle singled to move pinch-runner Rudy Law to second. Baines hit a fly ball to deep right-center.
“I look back and I see this sizzling orb going into a gap–and there’s nobody there to catch it. Then there’s a flash, and Willie’s there. I had forgotten what world-class speed can do for a ballclub.”--Quisenberry, quoted by the Associated Press, May 23, 1984
Indeed, Wilson ranged far to his left to haul in the drive and end the game.
“With an average center fielder, we lose the ball game because both runs would have scored. That was a great play. No, I hadn’t forgotten what world-class speed can do for a team.”--Howser, quoted by the Associated Press, May 23, 1984
“Some balls you can get to, and some you can’t. I saw it well right off and I got a good jump. Anyway, my defense has always been better than my offense. But it felt pretty good to help us win a game.”--Wilson, quoted by the Associated Press, May 23, 1984
The Royals improved to 15-23 with the win. They were in sixth place in the AL West, 5.5 games behind California.
Today’s birthdays: George Spriggs (1937), Bob Schaefer (1944), Jim Colborn (1946), Al Levine (1968), John Bale (1974), Sam Gaviglio (1990)