I haven't been this pumped for a game in a long while, and this first game of the series between the top two teams in the AL East started off quite compelling but descended into madness soon after.
In the top of the first eight Blue Jays came to the plate against a laboring Dan Petry. RBI hits by Willie Upshaw, Jesse Barfield, and Rance Mulliniks had Toronto up 3-0. But in the bottom half of the inning Lou Whitaker and newly announced Hall of Famer Alan Trammell rapped a single apiece to put two on for Kirk Gibson...who went big-fly to tie the game up for Detroit!
And then the Blue Jays scored ELEVEN runs across the second and third innings. So much for a back and forth nail-biter between the two best teams in the American League...
Winning Pitcher - Jim Clancy
Losing Pitcher - Dan Petry
Player of the Game - Rance Mulliniks, 4-6, 3B, 3RBI, 2R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Alan Trammell!!!
The Mariners played the role of the devil against poor Kansas City. Charlie Leibrandt faced ELEVEN batters in the top of the first, getting shelled for five runs. Three of those scored thanks to back-to-back doubles from Alvin Davis and Al Cowens.
The Royals put up a two-spot in the bottom half of the first in an honest attempt to stay in the game. But Leibrandt didn't make it out of the third and the KC bullpen was taxed throughout the rest of the game. Joe Beckwith was solid through three-plus innings until Alvin Davis crushed a two-run bomb in the sixth. Paul Splittorff, making his final appearance of the season (and career) came on in the seventh and got destroyed. Jim Presley, Ken Phelps, and then Alvin Davis again all homered off him and Splittorff had to split without recording his third out of the game.
The Royals staged a minor rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring five runs off struggling Mariners reliever Roy Thomas, but it wasn't nearly enough to overcome the deficit.
Winning Pitcher - Mike Moore
Losing Pitcher - Charlie Liebrandt
Player of the Game - Alvin Davis, 3-4, 2B, 2HR's, 2BB's, 4RBI, 3R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett
As I mentioned above, this marked the last appearance of Kansas City legend Paul Splittorff. The late, great Splittorff struggled mightily in the real 1984, his last season in the big leagues. He pitched all 15 of his seasons for the Royals, and it was a rough way for the talented lefty to leave the game. Before giving up six runs in this contest he was actually doing better than his real 1984 stats, but that got ruined by the Mariners bats. Let's compare the stats:
Real 1984: 1-3, 7.71ERA, 28IP, 4K's, 10BB's, 2.04WHIP
Statis Pro: 1-2, 8.23 ERA, 35IP, 19K's, 15BB's, 2.17WHIP
The innings pitched differential was thanks to a successful long relief appearance a few games back. Otherwise, these stats are pretty similar minus the surplus of strikeouts in this Statis Pro season.
With Splittorff gone rookie Danny Jackson has been added to the bullpen...
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