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Game 4, Monday April 11, 1977 ~
At Kansas City
Royals 6, Yankees 4
Amos Otis hit a two-out, walk-off 3-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to lift Kansas City over the still-winless Yankees.
But again, there’s bad news. Starting LHP Andy Hassler threw 10 pitches and left the game with an apparently serious injury (diagnosis pending). With Dennis Leonard already on the 15-day DL and the staff already worn down after three games in Detroit (including a 17-inning win less than 48 hours before), it was a struggle just getting through this one.
Fortunately, Marty Pattin (3.2 IP), Steve Mingori (3.1 IP) and Mark Littell (2 IP) managed to keep the game close until Otis’ heroic blast.
But with two starting pitchers already on the shelf, the immediate future is uncertain. It’s a good thing we got a 4-0 start.
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Game 5, Wednesday April 13, 1977 ~
At Kansas City
Yankees 5, Royals 2
LHP Ron Guidry wasn’t dominant (8.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) but he got the job done for the Yankees, who were feeling the pressure from George Steinbrenner after their 0-4 start. Greg Shanahan started and took the loss for Kansas City. He allowed all 5 Yankee runs over six innings. Bucky Dent hit a 2-run HR in the fourth to give New York a 3-0 lead.
Al Cowens hit his second HR for the Royals.
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OFF DAY — Thursday April 14, 1977 ~
We learned that LHP Andy Hassler will miss three months with elbow inflammation.
I decided we had to make a move. I traded right-handed catcher Craig Perkins to the Chicago Cubs in return for RHP Steve Renko, who had a solid start for the Cubs his last time out. He’s not an exceptional pitcher in any way (none of our starters are) but he can give us some innings and hopefully our bats will help him out.
Renko is 77-93 with a 3.93 ERA so far in his career.
We also sent reserve infielder David Cripe down to AAA Omaha and called up 19-year-old phenom Clint Hurdle, who can play catcher, third base, first base and left field. He will primarily back up Darrell Porter and George Brett.
Detroit is coming to Kansas City for a weekend series. We swept the Tigers in Detroit, so they’re probably hoping for a bit of payback.
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