Since John Curtis had defeated the Royals twice previously this season, manager Eddie Kasko called on the young lefthander again and the rookie responded by pitching the Red Sox to a 3-1 victory to extend their lead over the Tigers to 1½ games in the East Division race.

The Red Sox were held to only five hits by Dick Drago, but they included two doubles by Reggie Smith, who scored once on a wild pitch and another time on an error. The other Red Sox hits were singles by Rico Petrocelli, Carlton Fisk and Doug Griffin for their first run in the second inning. Smith hit his first double in the fourth inning, stole third and counted on Drago's wild pitch.

The Royals notched their lone tally in the sixth on a single by John Mayberry, double by Lou Piniella and infield out by Cookie Rojas. The Red Sox added an insurance counter in the home half of the sixth. Smith doubled again and, with two out, raced home when Rojas dropped an infield fly by Petrocelli. [The Sporting News]



Boston Red Sox 3, Kansas City Royals 1
Game Played on Thursday, September 28, 1972 (Day game) at Fenway Park
Royals       0  0  0    0  0  1    0  0  0  -   1  7  1
Red Sox      0  1  0    1  0  1    0  0  x  -   3  5  0


Royals               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Red Sox              AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Schaal 3b             4   0   0   0     1   0   .226      Harper cf             3   0   0   0     0   1   .256
Otis cf               4   0   2   0     1   0   .292        Miller cf           1   0   0   0     0   1   .204
Scheinblum rf         4   0   1   0     0   0   .305      Aparicio ss           4   0   0   0     0   2   .254
Mayberry 1b           3   1   2   0     1   0   .301      Yastrzemski 1b        3   0   0   0     1   0   .261
Piniella lf           4   0   1   0     0   1   .305      Smith rf              4   2   2   0     0   0   .269
Taylor c              3   0   0   0     1   2   .279      Petrocelli 3b         3   1   1   0     0   0   .244
Rojas 2b              3   0   1   1     1   0   .263      Fisk c                2   0   1   0     1   0   .298
Patek ss              4   0   0   0     0   1   .215      Evans lf              3   0   0   0     0   1   .297
Drago p               3   0   0   0     0   2   .059      Griffin 2b            3   0   1   1     0   0   .264
  Wohlford ph         1   0   0   0     0   0   .300      Curtis p              3   0   0   0     0   2   .098

Totals               33   1   7   1     5   6             Totals               29   3   5   1     2   7

Time of Game: 2:10   Attendance: 10,196
Left on Base: Royals 10, Red Sox 4
DP: Royals 1, Red Sox 1
Errors: Rojas
Doubles: Piniella (32), Otis (26), Smith 2 (25)
Stolen Bases: Smith (13)
GIDP: Scheinblum (19), Evans (1)


Royals                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Drago L(12-17)          8     5   3   2   2   7   0  31   3.01
Totals                  8     5   3   2   2   7   0  31

Red Sox                IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Curtis W(11-7)          9     7   1   1   5   6   0  38   3.69
Totals                  9     7   1   1   5   6   0  38

Wild Pitches: Drago (5)

Umpires: HP - Bill Deegan, 1B - Larry McCoy, 2B - Jim Honochick, 3B - Lou DiMuro


ROYALS 1ST: Schaal walked; Otis walked [Schaal to second];
Scheinblum grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to
first) [Schaal to third, Otis out at second]; Mayberry walked;
Piniella forced Mayberry (third to second); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 2
LOB.  Royals 0, Red Sox 0.

RED SOX 1ST: Harper grounded out (third to first); Aparicio
grounded out (shortstop to first); Yastrzemski flied out to
center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 0, Red Sox 0.

ROYALS 2ND: Taylor struck out; Rojas walked; Patek popped to
third in foul territory; Drago was called out on strikes; 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 0, Red Sox 0.

RED SOX 2ND: Smith grounded out (second to shortstop to first);
Petrocelli singled; Fisk singled to center [Petrocelli to
second]; Evans struck out; Griffin singled to center [Petrocelli
scored, Fisk to third, Griffin to second (on throw)]; Curtis
struck out; 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 0, Red Sox 1.

ROYALS 3RD: Schaal grounded out (third to first); Otis singled
to third; Scheinblum made an out to second; Mayberry singled to
right [Otis to third]; Piniella was called out on strikes; 0 R,
2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 0, Red Sox 1.

RED SOX 3RD: Harper grounded out (shortstop to first); Aparicio
struck out; Yastrzemski grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 0, Red Sox 1.

ROYALS 4TH: Taylor struck out; Rojas made an out to shortstop;
On a bunt Patek made an out to third; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Royals 0, Red Sox 1.

RED SOX 4TH: Smith doubled; Smith stole third; Petrocelli
grounded out (first unassisted); Drago threw a wild pitch [Smith
scored]; Fisk walked; Evans grounded into a double play
(shortstop to second to first) [Fisk out at second]; 1 R, 1 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  Royals 0, Red Sox 2.

ROYALS 5TH: On a bunt Drago grounded out (pitcher to first);
Schaal grounded out (third to first); Otis flied out to left; 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 0, Red Sox 2.

RED SOX 5TH: Griffin made an out to second; Curtis grounded out
(second to first); Harper struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Royals 0, Red Sox 2.

ROYALS 6TH: Scheinblum grounded out (third to first); Mayberry
singled to pitcher; Piniella doubled [Mayberry to third]; Taylor
walked; Rojas forced Taylor (shortstop to second) [Mayberry
scored, Piniella to third]; Patek forced Rojas (third to
second); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 1, Red Sox 2.

RED SOX 6TH: Aparicio lined to center; Yastrzemski flied out to
center; Smith doubled; Petrocelli reached on an error by Rojas
[Smith scored (unearned) (no RBI)]; Fisk grounded out (pitcher
to first); 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 1, Red Sox 3.

ROYALS 7TH: Drago struck out; Schaal lined to center; Otis
doubled; Scheinblum singled to left [Otis to third]; Mayberry
flied out to right; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 1, Red Sox 3.

RED SOX 7TH: Evans grounded out (shortstop to first); Griffin
grounded out (third to first); Curtis was called out on strikes;
0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 1, Red Sox 3.

ROYALS 8TH: MILLER REPLACED HARPER (PLAYING CF); Piniella
grounded out (third to first); Taylor flied out to center; Rojas
singled to third; Patek struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
Royals 1, Red Sox 3.

RED SOX 8TH: Miller was called out on strikes; Aparicio struck
out; Yastrzemski walked; Smith grounded out (second to first); 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 1, Red Sox 3.

ROYALS 9TH: WOHLFORD BATTED FOR DRAGO; Wohlford popped to
center; Schaal flied out to center; Otis made an out to second;
0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 1, Red Sox 3.