This Date In Royals History--1985 Edition: August 22

A four-run sixth inning is the difference as the Royals win in Chicago.

The Royals scored four runs in the sixth inning, the difference in their 7-3 win over the White Sox at Comiskey Park on Thursday night in Chicago.

Kansas City came to bat facing a 3-2 deficit after five innings. With one out, Frank White drew a walk from Chicago starter Joel Davis. Steve Balboni followed with his 26th home run of the year, giving the Royals a 4-3 lead. Balboni entered the game with a career average of .100 against the White Sox, with just one home run.

“I’ve never hit well in this ballpark or in Boston and they are two of the best hitting parks in the league. I’m just glad when I can get out of this park. The last time we were here I worried about it, and it really messed me up, so I decided not to worry about it and just go up there swinging.”--Balboni, quoted by the Associated Press, August 23, 1985

After John Wathan walked, reliever Dan Spillner took over. But Buddy Biancalana reached on catcher’s interference, and Willie Wilson—back in the lineup after missing a game when he was hit in the neck by a Carlton Fisk throw on a stolen base attempt two nights previous—tripled to score two more runs.

“I was a little sore before the game but not that sore that I couldn’t play.”--Wilson, quoted by the Associated Press, August 23, 1985

That was Wilson’s second triple of the game, bringing his season total to 18. Wilson led off the game with a triple and scored when shortstop Scott Fletcher booted Lonnie Smith’s grounder.

Chicago could not muster much offense against Royals starter Danny Jackson. The young left-hander pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and striking out eight, although he did walk four.

“Jackson was good, you can’t pitch much better than that. It was nice to have Willie back in the lineup, and Steve Balboni did what he’s done all year for us, score from first base.”--Royals manager Dick Howser, quoted by the Associated Press, August 23, 1985

All three White Sox runs were unearned, and all three of those runs came in the second. With one out, Smith dropped Ron Kittle’s fly ball to open the door on a big inning. Singles by Greg Walker and Luis Salazar tied the score. Julio Cruz grounded out, but Walker scored on the play. Reid Nichols doubled to score Salazar and give Chicago a 3-1 lead.

But the Royals answered immediately with a run in the third. Smith made up for his error with a leadoff single. Singles by George Brett and Hal McRae brought him around to bring the Royals within 3-2.

After the big sixth inning, the Royals added an insurance run in the ninth. Biancalana led off with a single, and Wilson added to his big game with a single. Lynn Jones hit what should have been a double play grounder, but second baseman Cruz made a bad throw to first. Biancalana raced home with an unearned run and the Royals had a 7-3 lead.

The Royals improved to 66-52 with the win, the first time since the end of the 1982 season they had been 14 games over .500. They remained in second place in the AL West, just 1.5 games behind California.

Box score and play-by-play:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA198508220.shtml

1985 baseball news: A day after former Athletics owner Charlie Finley made headlines by asserting that the team had a deal with Denver billionaire Marvin Davis and would be playing in Colorado in 1986, current A’s leadership forcefully denied the report. Team president Roy Eisenhardt told the Associated Press, “It is untrue. It is untrue today, it was untrue yesterday, and it will be untrue tomorrow. And it probably will be untrue forever.” Finley claimed that the Bay Area could not support two teams, even though he was, you know, the person who moved the A’s there in the first place.

Today’s birthdays: Hipolito Pichardo (1969), Dusty Wathan (1973), Chris Stratton (1990), Hunter Dozier (1991)