SERIES #46. THREE GAMES, WON ONE, LOST TWO. CHICAGO AT KANSAS CITY.
The White Sox dropped two of three against the Kansas City Royals, winning the opener, 3-1; then dropping a 8-7 heartbreaker and finally, getting shutout, 2-0 by Steve Busby. Meanwhile, Oakland was taking two out of three from Minnesota and are now a full two games ahead of Chicago in the standings.
Game one: A sloppy, error filled game turned out to be the only victory in a 3-1 win for Chicago. Stan Bahnsen(14-7) went six innings for the win, limiting the Royals to just four hits, but the defense behind him was very shaky; Mike Andrews committed 2, two base errors in this one. Cy Acosta pitched three innings of solid relief. Rick Reichardt had a pair of hits and a run batted in; Tony Muser had a pinch hit triple in the seventh, but was stranded on the basepaths.
Game two: White Sox fans will likely remember the sour taste this game left in their mouths for a long time. Wilbur Wood squared off against Monty Montgomery and at the end of the first half inning of play, Chicago led 7-0. The team sent eight men to the plate and mixed in among the batted balls were: back to back homeruns by Dick Allen, who stroked a three run blast his (40th) of the season and Rick Reichardt’s (8th). Rich Morales also stroked a two run, triple.
However, Chicago didn’t get to enjoy the fruits of their labors for long, as Wood was tagged for four runs in the home half of the first. He pitched a total of six innings, allowing a fifth run in the fifth inning, when Lou Pinella doubled in John Mayberry. Vincente Romo(4-6) did okay in the seventh and eighth, but his tank ran dry when the White Sox tried to squeeze him for all he was worth by pitching the ninth. Pinella and Ed Kirkpatrick both singled. Romo was able to get the next two batters, but pinch hitter, Joe Keough hit a two out, two run double, to tie the game at 7 apiece. Terry Forster came in to try and send it to extras, but Steve Hovley singled in Keough with the 8-7, game winner.
Game three: Maybe the White Sox were still woozy from the last game, but they again forgot that you have to score more runs than the other team in order to win a baseball game. In fact, scoring ANY runs is a crackerjack idea! Despite outhitting K.C., eight to five, Chicago left nine runners stranded, as Busby posted a 2-0 shutout. Tom Bradley(15-8) took the loss and this time, doubles were his kryptonite. Four, two baggers in all, two in the third and two in the fifth, accounted for all of Kansas City’s runs.
Not wanting to drop any further back, the White Sox are off on Sept 14th, then head to Anaheim, to play three games against the California Angels, while Oakland hopes to feast on the last place Texas Rangers.
American League Standings(September 13, 1972)
Oakland/138/81/57/.587/—
Chicago/138/79/59/.572/2
Kansas City/136/71/65/.522/9
Minnesota/137/71/66/.518/9.5
California/137/61/76/.445/19.5
Texas/137/54/83/.394/26.5
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