Minors (Triple A)
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 232
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Game 34, Wednesday May 18, 1977 ~
At Chicago
White Sox 14, Royals 1
WP: Francisco Berrios (3-3); LP: Paul Splittorff (3-3)
I had two fears about this game. One, that the two days off would blunt the momentum the Royals had picked up during a 4-game sweep of Texas and two, that the so-far underachieving White Sox were about to wake up like a dormant volcano.
This game was a perfect storm of both scenarios.
LHP Paul Splittorff brought nothing to the mound and got his everloving butt kicked all over Comiskey Park. The Sox put up crooked numbers in each of the first four innings and never looked back. Splittorff needed 74 pitches to record 7 outs. His line: 2.1 IP, 7 R, 7 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, 0 K. Marty Pattin came on in relief and gave up two homers.
Late in the game I brought in beleagured reliever Mark Littell to try and lower his 12.44 ERA in garbage time. You know, try to get the tiniest silver lining from the debacle. In one inning, Littell allowed 4 runs (all earned) on 4 hits and 1 walk. He gave up two homers — including a 440-foot shot to somebody named Larry Foster, whose contact rating (on the 1-100 scale) is a robust 13 and whose POW rating is 58.
On the 1-20 scale I prefer, Foster’s CON rating is 2. How bad is Littell going if even that bat couldn’t miss him?
***
Game 35, Thursday May 19, 1977 ~
At Chicago
Royals 7, White Sox 2
WP: Jim Colborn (4-1); LP: Ken Brett (1-6)
LHP Ken Brett brought nothing to the mound and got his everloving butt kicked all over Comiskey Park. He did get his younger brother George Brett out twice, though.
The Royals jumped all over Ken Brett with 4 runs on 6 hits in the first inning. Jim Colborn flirted with a complete-game shutout, but ended up settling for just the CG after the Sox scratched a pair of meaningless runs across the plate in the ninth.
We went 1-1 in Chicago. I’ll take it, but that 14-1 loss still stings.
***
Game 36, Friday May 20, 1977 ~
At Kansas City
Indians 12, Royals 2
WP: Jim Bibby (6-3); LP: Steve Renko (2-2)
The Cleveland Indians teams of the late 70s weren’t great, or even very good, but they’ve got a lineup packed with pesky contact hitters. If a pitcher doesn’t have his stuff, these Indians can get to it like a school of killer piranha, and that’s what happened here.
The Tribe also had their best pitcher on the mound. Jim Bibby limited KC to just 4 measly hits while the Indians banged out 15 hits and drew 7 walks.
***
Game 37, Saturday May 21, 1977 ~
At Kansas City
Royals 6, Indians 1
WP: Dennis Leonard (1-3); LP: Rick Waits (3-4)
Hal McRae came out of a mini slump with a 2-for-4 performance, including a bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the third to give KC a 3-0 lead.
Dennis Leonard, who won 20 games in real life in 1977, gets his first 1977-SIM win in the third week of May. Hard luck and two stints on the DL have held Leonard back, but he needs to emerge as the ace so the rest of the rotation will fall in line. Leonard allowed only 4 hits over eight innings.
Sunday afternoon’s rubber game will pit Paul Splittorff against former teammate, former Royals ace Al Fitzmorris.
***
Game 38, Sunday May 22, 1977 ~
At Kansas City
Indians 5, Royals 4
WP: Al Fitzmorris (3-3); LP: Larry Gura (0-3); Sv: Jim Kern (3)
Relief pitcher Larry Gura couldn’t get the third out in the top of the seventh inning. With two outs, nobody on, and the game tied 1-1, Gura yielded 2 hits, 2 walks and 4 runs.
The Royals rallied for 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh to close within 5-4, but then the Indians brought in fireballing closer Jim Kern and that was that.
One bright spot: Mark Littell relieved Gura in the top of the seventh and looked like his old self for the rest of the game. He did allow 2 hits, but with 0 runs, 0 walks and 4 strikeouts, he shaved his ERA down to 10.06. It’s nice to have him back.
Then again, it could have been a cruel tease. We will see.
The Royals get another two days off, and then will play the Orioles in a weird Wednesday doubleheader in Baltimore. We’ll get both of the horns against the O’s — they’ll start Jim Palmer (5-2, 1.69) in the first game and Mike Flanagan (6-0, 0.78) in the second. Yikes.
CURRENT RECORD: 20-18 (4th place, 4.5 games behind Texas)
REAL LIFE RECORD: 18-20 (5th place, 6.5 games behind Minnesota)
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