Jim Palmer painted a masterpiece, holding the Royals to three hits as the Orioles took a 5-0 win over the Royals at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

The 23-year-old righthander and future Hall of Famer toyed with the Kansas City lineup, striking out six and walking two as he pitched a complete game. The Royals did not have a runner reach third base. And not that Palmer needed the help, but two of KC’s five baserunners were erased on failed stolen base attempts.

The Royals’ best (and really, only) scoring chance came in the very first inning. With two outs, Lou Piniella doubled and Joe Foy walked. However, Bob Oliver struck out to end the inning.

Kansas City starter Roger Nelson battled his control, walking four batters in five innings. He also allowed six hits and three runs and did not have a strikeout. Baltimore put the game out of reach with Frank Robinson’s two-run home run off Dave Wickersham in the seventh inning. That gave the Orioles their five-run cushion.

From there, Palmer finished it off. Following Mike Fiore’s single with two outs in the seventh, Palmer retired the last 10 batters in order.

The loss dropped the Royals to 15-14 on the season and left them in a third-place tie with Chicago in the AL West. Both teams were four games behind Minnesota.

Box score and play-by-play: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL196905110.shtml

Today’s birthdays: Jerry Martin (1949), Dane Iorg (1950), Mark Huismann (1958), Trent Hubbard (1964), Glenn Sparkman (1992)