This Date In Royals History--1985 Edition: July 14
The Royals head into the All-Star break on a winning note with a victory in Cleveland.
Bud Black didn’t pitch all that great, but he did well enough (and got enough run support) to snap a personal seven-game losing streak as the Royals beat the Indians 9-5 at Cleveland Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Black pitched six innings, allowing seven hits and two walks while picking up seven strikeouts. He gave up three runs, but picked up his first win since late May. That gave him a 6-10 mark on the season.
“I still have to go out and try to win the next one. But the bottom line is, I got a win. It was a long time coming.”--Black, quoted by the Associated Press, July 15, 1985
The offense gave Black an early lead to work with, scoring three times in the third inning against Indians starter Neal Heaton. Buddy Biancalana led off with a single. Willie Wilson reached on a bunt single. Heaton hit Darryl Motley with a pitch, but then struck out George Brett. Hal McRae singled to drive in two runs, and Frank White followed with a single for a 3-0 lead. Vern Ruhle replaced Heaton and escaped the inning without further damage.
The Indians responded in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Brett Butler singled and Julio Franco homered, pulling Cleveland to within one run at 3-2.
The Royals got one run back in the fourth. With two outs, Wilson singled. He stole second and took third on a throwing error by catcher Chris Bando, then scored on a Motley single.
Cleveland again answered with a run in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Tony Bernazard walked. Singles by Carmelo Castillo and Bando brought him around to score, cutting the Royals‘ lead to 4-3.
That was still the score in the seventh, when the Indians handed the Royals a couple of runs. Reliever Jerry Reed had pitched two perfect innings after taking over for Ruhle, but Wilson started this inning with a single. Motley hit a slow grounder to third. Brook Jacoby fielded it but threw wildly to first. Wilson raced around to score as Castillo corralled the ball in right field, but he also made a bad throw trying to get Motley at third, and Motley was able to score. That gave the Royals a 6-3 cushion.
“The overthrow at first base by their third baseman allowed us to score two insurance runs. That sort of thing hasn’t been happening to me.”--Black, quoted by the Associated Press, July 15, 1985
Those two insurance runs were big as Cleveland once again rallied but could not quite tie the game. Reliever Mike LaCoss escaped a bases-loaded jam after an error and two walks in the seventh, but gave up singles to Pat Tabler and Castillo, with an out between them, to start the eighth. Closer Dan Quisenberry entered the game, but allowed singles to Jerry Willard and Butler. Each one drove in a run, making the score 6-5. But Quisenberry struck out the next two hitters to preserve the lead.
The Royals then put the game away with three runs in the ninth. With one out, Brett singled. With two outs, he stole second. White drew a walk. Steve Balboni singled to score Brett, and both runners moved up on the throw home. Lynn Jones walked to load the bases before John Wathan doubled to drive in two runs.
Quisenberry worked around a harmless single in the ninth, and the Royals had reached the All-Star Break with a 44-42 record. That put them in third place in the AL West, but 7.5 games behind California.
Box score and play-by-play:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE198507140.shtml
1985 baseball news: New York Mets catcher Gary Carter, suffering from a knee injury, relinquished his spot on the NL All-Star team. Carter had an inflamed right knee, which he sustained during Saturday night’s game in Houston. San Diego Padres catcher Terry Kennedy took his place on the All-Star team.
1985 baseball news: In comments on the NBC show “Meet The Press” Sunday morning, commissioner Peter Ueberroth said “there’s a fairly good chance” of a strike during the season, and also said “the sooner the better. Let’s get it over with.”
1985 sports news: The Baltimore Stars captured the USFL championship with a 28-24 win over the Oakland Invaders at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Stars were repeat winners, despite starting the 1985 season with a 1-3-1 mark. This championship game was a classic, as Baltimore took the lead three different times in the first half, only for Oakland to tie it twice and take the lead in the third quarter. Stars running back Kelvin Bryant, the game’s MVP, scored the go-ahead touchdown with 8:15 left in the game, but Oakland, after a muffed kickoff return, drove from their own four-yard line to the Baltimore five-yard line. Baltimore was able to stuff a third-and-two run, and after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Oakland, knocked away a fourth-down pass at the goal line to seal the win. Of course, this was the final game in the original existence of the USFL; after a planned move to a fall schedule was announced, the league would fold before the 1986 season.
Today’s birthdays: Juan Rios (1942), J.C. Gutierrez (1983)