Jim Kaat gained his 20th victory of the season in the opening game of a twi-night doubleheader as the White Sox defeated the Rangers, 5-1 and 7-2. Kaat, who had been in the charmed circle once before with 25 victories for the Twins in 1966, scattered five hits and struck out eight to go over the 2,000 mark for his career. Jorge Orta accounted for the first three runs in support of Kaat, driving in Ed Herrmann with a sacrifice fly in the third inning and hitting a double to score Pat Kelly and Bucky Dent in the fifth. Tony Muser batted in the other pair with a triple in the eighth before the Rangers picked up their lone run off Kaat.

In the nightcap, the White Sox beat Jim Bibby, who failed for the third time in a bid for his 20th victory. Bill Stein led the attack with four hits, driving in three runs. [The Sporting News]



Chicago White Sox 5, Texas Rangers 1 (Game 1)
Game Played on Thursday, September 26, 1974 (Night game) at Arlington Stadium
White Sox    0  0  1    0  2  0    0  2  0  -   5  9  2
Rangers      0  0  0    0  0  0    0  1  0  -   1  5  1


White Sox            AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Rangers              AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Kelly dh              3   1   1   0     2   1   .276      Nelson 2b             4   1   2   0     0   0   .237
Dent ss               5   1   2   0     0   0   .275      Tovar lf              4   0   1   1     0   0   .285
Orta 2b               4   0   1   3     0   0   .317      Burroughs rf          3   0   0   0     1   3   .298
May lf                3   1   0   0     1   0   .253      Robson dh             4   0   0   0     0   1   .250
K. Henderson cf       3   1   2   0     1   1   .294      Randle 3b             4   0   1   0     0   0   .304
Muser 1b              4   0   1   2     0   1   .295      Harrah ss             4   0   0   0     0   1   .264
Sharp rf              4   0   1   0     0   0   .248      Fregosi 1b            3   0   0   0     0   1   .261
Stein 3b              3   0   0   0     1   0   .182      Lovitto cf            3   0   1   0     0   1   .221
Herrmann c            4   1   1   0     0   2   .262      Sundberg c            3   0   0   0     0   1   .252
Kaat p                0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Hargan p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            Clyde p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            Merritt p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               33   5   9   5     5   5             Totals               32   1   5   1     1   8

Time of Game: 2:21
Left on Base: White Sox 7, Rangers 5
DP: White Sox 0, Rangers 2
Errors: Dent, Stein, Randle
Doubles: Dent (14), Orta (29), Nelson (12), Tovar (21)
Triples: Muser (1)
Caught Stealing: Kelly (11), Nelson (12), Lovitto (8)
Sacrifice Flies: Orta (3)
GIDP: Orta (7)


White Sox              IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Kaat W(20-13)           9     5   1   1   1   8   0  33   3.02
Totals                  9     5   1   1   1   8   0  33

Rangers                IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Hargan L(12-9)          5     5   3   2   1   4   0  22   3.95
Clyde                   2.1   2   2   2   3   0   0  10   4.08
Merritt                 1.2   2   0   0   1   1   0   7   4.35
Totals                  9     9   5   4   5   5   0  39

Wild Pitches: Clyde (6)

Umpires: HP - Merle Anthony, 1B - Bill Haller, 2B - Armando Rodriguez, 3B - Bill Kunkel


WHITE SOX 1ST: Kelly was called out on strikes; Dent grounded
out (third to first); Orta grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  White Sox 0, Rangers 0.

RANGERS 1ST: Nelson singled to center; Nelson was caught
stealing second (catcher to second); Tovar made an out to
second; Burroughs was called out on strikes; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  White Sox 0, Rangers 0.

WHITE SOX 2ND: May grounded out (first to pitcher); K. Henderson
singled to right; Muser forced K. Henderson (shortstop to
second); Sharp grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1
LOB.  White Sox 0, Rangers 0.

RANGERS 2ND: Robson struck out; Randle grounded out (second to
first); Harrah struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  White Sox 0,
Rangers 0.

WHITE SOX 3RD: Stein flied out to center; Herrmann singled to
right; Kelly singled to center [Herrmann to second]; Dent
reached on an error by Randle [Kelly to second, Herrmann to
third]; Orta hit a sacrifice fly to left [Herrmann scored
(unearned)]; May made an out to shortstop; 1 R (0 ER), 2 H, 1 E,
2 LOB.  White Sox 1, Rangers 0.

RANGERS 3RD: Fregosi grounded out (third to first); Lovitto
grounded out (second to first); Sundberg grounded out (third to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  White Sox 1, Rangers 0.

WHITE SOX 4TH: K. Henderson was called out on strikes; Muser
struck out; Sharp grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  White Sox 1, Rangers 0.

RANGERS 4TH: Nelson flied out to right; Tovar grounded out
(pitcher to first); Burroughs walked; Robson reached on an error
by Stein [Burroughs to second]; Randle reached on an error by
Dent [Robson to second, Burroughs to third]; Harrah forced
Randle (shortstop to second); 0 R, 0 H, 2 E, 3 LOB.  White Sox
1, Rangers 0.

WHITE SOX 5TH: Stein grounded out (shortstop to first); Herrmann
struck out; Kelly walked; Dent doubled to center [Kelly to
third]; Orta doubled to right [Dent scored, Kelly scored]; May
flied out to center; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  White Sox 3, Rangers
0.

RANGERS 5TH: Fregosi struck out; Lovitto singled to center;
Lovitto was caught stealing second (catcher to second); Sundberg
grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  White Sox
3, Rangers 0.

WHITE SOX 6TH: CLYDE REPLACED HARGAN (PITCHING); K. Henderson
singled to shortstop; Muser flied out to left; Sharp singled to
center [K. Henderson to second]; Clyde threw a wild pitch [Sharp
to second, K. Henderson to third]; Stein hit into a double play
(shortstop to second to third) [K. Henderson out at home, Sharp
out at third]; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  White Sox 3, Rangers 0.

RANGERS 6TH: Nelson flied out to right; Tovar flied out to
right; Burroughs struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  White Sox 3,
Rangers 0.

WHITE SOX 7TH: Herrmann flied out to left; Kelly walked; Kelly
was caught stealing second (pitcher to first to second); Dent
grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  White
Sox 3, Rangers 0.

RANGERS 7TH: Robson grounded out (shortstop to first); Randle
singled to center; Harrah made an out to second; Fregosi flied
out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  White Sox 3, Rangers 0.

WHITE SOX 8TH: Orta flied out to left; May walked; K. Henderson
walked [May to second]; MERRITT REPLACED CLYDE (PITCHING); Muser
tripled to right [K. Henderson scored, May scored]; Sharp
grounded out (first unassisted); Stein was walked intentionally;
Herrmann struck out; 2 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  White Sox 5, Rangers
0.

RANGERS 8TH: Lovitto struck out; Sundberg struck out; Nelson
doubled to right; Tovar doubled to left [Nelson scored];
Burroughs struck out; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  White Sox 5,
Rangers 1.

WHITE SOX 9TH: Kelly flied out to center; Dent singled to left;
Orta grounded into a double play (second to shortstop to first)
[Dent out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  White Sox 5,
Rangers 1.

RANGERS 9TH: Robson grounded out (third to first); Randle
grounded out (third to first); Harrah lined to third; 0 R, 0 H,
0 E, 0 LOB.  White Sox 5, Rangers 1.