In a well-pitched game by both sides, the Royals dropped a 3-2 decision to the Seattle Pilots at Municipal Stadium.
Seattle’s Gene Brabender limited the Royals to three hits and four walks in his seven innings. One of the two runs he allowed was unearned. Meanwhile, Royals starter Jerry Cram allowed four hits and one walk in his seven innings. Cram struck out five while Brabender had three strikeouts.
It did not take the Royals long to take the lead. In the bottom of the first, Pat Kelly led off with a single. Mike Fiore followed that with a walk. Brabender had Kelly picked off at second, but made a bad throw, and the runners moved up a base. Kelly scored on a wild pitch, but the Royals were unable to bring Fiore home, as Brabender recovered to get a strikeout and two infield outs.
Seattle tied the score in the fourth. With one out, Wayne Comer walked and reached second on a groundout. Danny Walton’s grounder to third was booted by third baseman Joe Foy, and Comer scored while Walton reached second.
Then the Pilots took the lead in the fifth, using singles by Ray Oyler, Tommy Harper, and John Donaldson to plate the lead run, although Harper was thrown out at home to end the inning.
Cram left the game for a pinch-hitter in the seventh, and Seattle tacked on an insurance run against reliever Al Fitzmorris in the eighth. Brabender led off with a single, and took second on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Comer singled for a 3-1 lead.
Brabender walked Kelly to start the bottom of the eighth, and reliever Diego Segui took over. With one out, Ed Kirkpatrick doubled, driving in Kelly and cutting the KC deficit to 3-2. Kirkpatrick reached third on a groundout, but pinch-hitter Hawk Taylor grounded out to end the inning. Segui then pitched a perfect ninth to nail down his 10th save of the year.
The loss dropped the Royals to 61-85 on the season. They were in fourth place in the AL West, 27 games behind Minnesota.
Box score and play-by-play: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/KCA/KCA196909150.shtml
Today’s birthdays: Gaylord Perry (1938), Paul Abbott (1967), Dennis Moeller (1967), Luke Hochevar (1983)
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