Royals take 3 of 4 from Tribe

GAME 1
Aug 14,1981    1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 KCR 2-3   0 0 0   0 1 0   1 0 1      3 12  1
1981 CLE 4-2   0 0 0   0 1 0   2 1 -      4 11  0

M.Jones vs Bert Blyleven

Both starters were gone after 6 in this tightly contested contest.  Andre Thorton's 2 run single in the 7th gave the Tribe a 3-2 lead.  Tom Veryzer's RBI single in the 8th provided a much needed insurance run, because the Royals had the bases loaded in the 9th and Sid Monge was able to wiggle out of the jam giving up just an RBI double to Dave Chalk.  The Tribe wins the first game of a 4 game set by holding on for dear life.  The defending AL Champs (KC) showed some grit with their failed 9th inning comeback.

GAME 2

Aug 15, 1981   1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E

1981 KCR 3-3   1 4 0   0 0 3   0 2 0     10 15  2

1981 CLE 4-3   0 0 0   8 0 0   0 1 0      9 14  3

Dennis Leonard vs Steve Garland

The Tribe exploded for 8 runs in the 4th to take a 8-5 lead, but no lead (big or small) is safe with Wayne Garland on the hill.  KC battled back to tie it with 3 in the 6th.  Garland was done for the day having served up batting practice, which resulted in 8 runs in 5 1/3 innings.  Leonard also gave up 8, but only 2 were earned.  An error by Toby Harrah in the 8th resulted in 2 runs off the bat of John Wathan.  That put the Royals up by 2.  A run by the Tribe in the bottom of the inning made it a 1 run game again.  After Jerry Dybzinski singled and stole second with 2 out in the 9th, rookie closer Dan Quisenberry was called on to get the final out (Veryzer), which he easily did.

GAME 3

Aug 16, 1981   1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9   10    R  H  E

1981 KCR 4-3   0 3 1   0 0 0   0 1 0    8   13 21  2

1981 CLE 4-4   0 0 4   1 0 0   0 0 0    0    5 10  2

Jim Wright vs Dennis Waits

U.L. Washington's squeeze bunt in the 8th tied the game up at 5-5 and forced extra innings.  John Denny, who had pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief for the Tribe got lit up like the lights on Broadway in the 10th as he took one for the team and gave up 8 runs.  Frank White, Willie Mays Aikens and Hal McRae all had RBI doubles in an inning that turned a close nail biter into a walkover.  Both George Brett and McRae had 4 hit games in a 21 gun salute (hit) attack by the Royals.  12 batters came to the plate for KC in the 10th, and if it wasn't for a UL Washington DP ending the inning the damage could have been conceivably worse.

GAME 4

Aug 16, 1981   1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E

1981 KCR 5-3   2 0 2   0 1 1   0 4 0     10 13  0

1981 CLE 4-5   2 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 1      3  8  3

Larry Gura vs Len Barker

Call Barker "Mr. Imperfect" after a miserable 8 inning 10 run (2 earned) performannce.  Gura improved his record to 2-0 by giving up just 2 runs over 8 innings.  Gura did have his struggles, especially in the walks department (7), but he did manage to make the key pitches when he needed to.  George Brett continued his onslaught on Tribe pitching with a perfect day at the plate.  Brett went 3 for 3 with 2 walks, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI's to raise his average to an unheard of .516.  KC as a team after 8 games is now hitting .361.  Lost in the mix was Alan Bannister's 4 for 4 day for the Tribe.  KC moves to 5-3 and the Tribe drops to 4-5.