DOUBLE TROUBLE: ROYALS CRUSH YANKS ON STRENGTH OF 10 TWO-BAGGERS
K.C. Bangs Out 23 Hits En Route to 18 Runs
KANSAS CITY, Aug. 10 - The Kansas City Royals unleashed a torrent of two-baggers,
banging out 10 doubles as part of a 23-hit attack en route to an 18-7 demolition
of the New York Yankees at Royals Stadium. The 10 doubles easily eclipsed
the previous major league season high of seven, set by three clubs (one of which
was the Royals). The 23 hits ties a season high, established on April 18
by the Chicago White Sox in a victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway
Park. The 18 runs is the top mark of the season for Kansas City; the club
leads the American League in runs scored.
The game was effectively over in the first inning. After the Yankees
failed to score in the top of the opening frame, the Royals hung a six-spot on
the board in the bottom half. New York starter Dock Ellis issued
back-to-back walks to Tom Poquette and Amos Otis, putting runners on first and
second with no outs. George Brett singled Poquette home and chased Otis to
third. A walk to John Mayberry then filled the bases. Hal McRae
followed with a single to left, scoring Otis but Roy White cut down Brett at the
plate for the first out. But Al Cowens drove in Mayberry with a single,
making it 3-0, with McRae advancing to third. Frank White then rolled a
single through the right side, plating McRae with the fourth run of the inning
and moving Cowens to third. That was the end of the line for Ellis who was
credited with 1/3 of an inning pitched even though he failed to retire any of
the seven batters he faced. It was only the eighth time this season that a
big league starter has failed to get out of the first inning. Ron Guidry
replaced Ellis on the mound but immediately surrendered a two-run double to Fred
Patek, giving the Royals a a 6-0 lead, before finally retiring Buck Martinez and
Poquette on ground balls to end the inning.
The Yankees nicked Royals starter Andy Hassler for single runs in the second,
third and fourth innings but Kansas City scored five runs of their own in those
frames and held an 11-3 lead after four. Four more runs paraded home for
the Royals in the fifth and three more scored in the sixth. The Yankees
picked up four consolation runs in the ninth to account for the 18-7 final
tally.
Three Royals--Poquette, Otis and Patek--accumulated two doubles apiece.
The two clubs combined for 13 two-baggers in all, breaking the previous
season-high of 12 set by the Cardinals and Reds at Riverfront Stadium in
Cincinnati on June 13.
8/10/1976, NYA76-KC 76, Royals Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1976 Yankees 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 7 10 0 6 0 1976 Royals 6 1 3 1 4 3 0 0 x 18 23 1 9 3 Yankees AB R H BI AVG Royals AB R H BI AVG Rivers cf 4 1 1 0 .272 Poquette lf 5 4 3 0 .324 White,R lf 4 1 2 2 .280 Otis cf 3 4 2 3 .275 Munson c 4 0 1 1 .304 Brett,G 3b 6 2 4 3 .343 Hendricks c 1 0 1 1 .208 Mayberry 1b 5 2 2 1 .249 Piniella rf 4 1 1 0 .293 McRae dh 5 2 4 3 .396 Chambliss 1b 4 1 1 0 .308 Cowens rf 6 1 3 3 .294 Nettles 3b 2 1 1 0 .261 Rojas 2b 0 0 0 0 .200 Healy dh 3 1 2 2 .237 White,F 2b 5 2 2 2 .240 Randolph 2b 4 0 0 0 .303 Patek ss 5 0 3 3 .257 Stanley,F ss 3 1 0 0 .333 Jones, Ru rf 0 0 0 0 .211 Locklear ph 0 0 0 1 .329 Martinez,B c 4 1 0 0 .201 33 7 10 7 44 18 23 18 Yankees INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Ellis,D L 11-6 0.1 4 6 6 3 0 24 12 3.54 Guidry 3.1 8 5 5 1 1 62 38 4.85 Jackson,G 1.2 8 7 7 1 0 42 25 2.72 Tidrow 2.2 3 0 0 0 0 32 25 3.43 8.0 23 18 18 5 1 160 100 Royals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Hassler W 5-5 8.0 8 5 4 4 5 114 68 4.78 Littell 1.0 2 2 2 1 0 20 12 2.80 9.0 10 7 6 5 5 134 80 NYA: Hendricks inserted at c in the 8th Locklear batted for Stanley,F in the 9th KC : Rojas inserted at 2b in the 9th White,F moved to ss in the 9th Jones, Ru inserted at rf in the 9th E-Martinez,B. 2B-Piniella(14), Chambliss(24), Hendricks(4), Poquette 2(7), Otis 2(40), Brett,G(25), Mayberry(17), McRae(20), Cowens(13), Patek 2(18). 3B-White,R(7). RBI-White,R 2(65), Munson(63), Healy 2(14), Hendricks(7), Locklear(2), Otis 3(70), Brett,G 3(67), Mayberry(69), McRae 3(52), Cowens 3(64), White,F 2(37), Patek 3(45). K-White,R, Munson, Chambliss, Nettles, Healy, Mayberry. BB-Rivers, White,R, Piniella, Nettles 2, Poquette, Otis 2, Mayberry, Martinez,B. SF-Healy, Locklear, Otis. HBP-McRae. HB-Jackson,G. WP-Jackson,G. GWRBI: Brett,G Temperature: 93, Sky: clear, Wind: out to left at 8 MPH. Attendance: 37,086 Game Time: 2:53