The Royals ended their spring training schedule in style with an 11-6 whipping of the White Sox in Fort Myers.

Kansas City battled back from a 6-1 deficit, scoring 10 unanswered runs. The Royals belted four home runs in the game, with Al Cowens, Buck Martinez, John Mayberry, and Dave Nelson all going deep. Those were four of the Royals’ 13 hits on the day.

The offensive onslaught helped starting pitcher Jim Colborn pick up the win, although he did give up two home runs and all six of Chicago’s runs.

With the win, the Royals finished exhibition play with a 17-9 mark, the best in team history to that point.

After the game, the team broke camp and headed to Detroit for the season opener, set for April 7.

1977 baseball news: After an ugly, public contract stalemate, the Cincinnati Reds and star third baseman Pete Rose agreed to a two-year contract extension. Rose had been threatening to play out the final year of his deal and enter free agency, while also saying his desired salary would go up each month until the situation was resolved. The team went so far as to take out newspaper ads offering their side of the story. Terms were not immediately disclosed, but it was believed that Rose would be making less than the $400,000 per year he was seeking.

Today’s birthdays: Ron Hansen (1938), Jim Scranton (1960), Ross Gload (1976), Jorge De La Rosa (1981)