The Royals began a weekend series with their hated rivals in the Bronx in style, whipping the Yankees 13-1 on a Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

Kansas City pounded out 21 hits against three New York pitchers. Meanwhile, Royals starter Larry Gura held the Yankees to three hits, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Gura struck out seven, although he did walk four.

The Royals wasted no time grabbing the lead. Willie Wilson, facing New York’s Rudy May, started the game with a single. He scored when George Brett, a night after his nine-game hitting streak ended, started a new streak with a home run.

Kansas City tacked on two more runs in the fifth. Wilson again reached to start the rally, with a single, one of his five hits on the night. Wilson stole second and took third on a wild pitch. Hal McRae drew a walk and Brett singled to score Wilson. Amos Otis hit a sacrifice fly to bring McRae home for a 4-0 lead.

The game turned into a laugher in the sixth with four more Royal runs. Singles by Willie Aikens and U L Washington started the inning. Tim Lollar replaced May but walked Frank White to load the bases. Wilson and McRae followed with a pair of doubles worth two runs each.

Gura had issued three walks before the Yankees got their first hit, a Bob Watson single with two outs in the sixth. Willie Randolph, who had walked with one out in the sixth, became the first New Yorker to reach second base. But Gura struck out Reggie Jackson to end the inning.

Kansas City poured it on, scoring two runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth. McRae and Otis picked up the RBIs in the eighth, while Washington, McRae, and Brett had the honors in the ninth. Brett and Otis picked up four hits each on the night.

New York’s lone run was unearned, as errors by Washington and White on separate plays in the eighth allowed Fred Stanley to reach third. He scored on Watson’s sacrifice fly.

The win lifted the Royals to 54-35 on the season. They had an 11.5-game lead in the AL West.

George Brett watch: 4-5, one run scored, and four RBIs. Season stats: .377/.444/.652.

Box score and play-by-play: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA198007180.shtml

1980 sports news: The British Open continued at Muirfield Golf Links in Scotland. Tom Watson fell into a tie for second after the second round, as he shot a 70 (one under par). Watson, Jerry Pate, and Scotland’s Ken Brown were all three strokes behind Lee Trevino.

1980 entertainment news: Moviegoers had three new films of various types to check out. Fans of war movies could go see The Big Red One, starring Lee Marvin and Mark Hamill. Meanwhile, Honeysuckle Rose, starring Willie Nelson, introduced the world to the song “On The Road Again,” which would be nominated for an Oscar. And for those on a, um, higher plane, Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie rolled into theaters.

Today’s birthdays: None