The decision to pitch to Pete LaCock with first base open in the ninth inning backfired on the Angels, who lost to the Royals. 3-2, and fell 4½ games behind the pace-setters in the West division. With two out, pinch-hitter Clint Hurdle tripled off Nolan Ryan. George Brett drew an intentional pass and stole second.

LaCock, who was the next batter, and Darrell Porter, who followed LaCock, both swing lefthanded. The Angels chose to pitch to LaCock and lost when the Royals' first baseman singled to drive in the winning run. [The Sporting News]

Kansas City Royals 3, California Angels 2

Game Played on Friday, September 15, 1978 (Night game) at Royals Stadium

Angels 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 - 2 8 1 Royals 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 - 3 9 1 Angels AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Royals AB R H RBI BB SO AVG R. Miller cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .267 Braun lf 4 0 2 0 0 1 .263 Lansford 3b 4 1 2 1 0 1 .283 Silverio pr,lf 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.000 Bostock rf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .295 Hurdle ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 .263 Baylor dh 2 1 2 0 2 0 .260 Brett 3b 4 0 0 0 1 0 .278 Rudi lf 4 0 2 1 0 0 .252 LaCock 1b 3 0 2 1 2 1 .304 Landreaux pr,lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222 Porter c 4 0 1 1 0 0 .277 Jackson 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .298 McRae dh 1 0 0 0 2 0 .270 Downing c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .261 Wilson pr,dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 .217 Grich 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 .234 Poquette ph,dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 .213 Solaita ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 .223 Cowens rf 3 0 0 0 1 2 .280 Rettenmund ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .269 Otis cf 4 1 2 1 0 0 .294 Anderson ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 .214 Patek ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .262 Chalk ss,2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 .258 White 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .273 Ryan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Gale p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 McGilberry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hrabosky p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 32 2 8 2 3 2 Totals 33 3 9 3 6 5 Time of Game: 2:48 Attendance: 30,847 Left on Base: Angels 6, Royals 10 DP: Angels 1, Royals 2 Errors: Jackson, Silverio Doubles: Rudi (24), Braun (13) Triples: Hurdle (5) Home Runs: Lansford (5), Otis (22) Stolen Bases: Lansford (17), Bostock (14), Otis (29), Patek (34), Brett (19) Caught Stealing: McRae (8), White (9) GIDP: Jackson (7), R. Miller (13), Cowens (7) Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Ryan L(7-13) 8.2 9 3 3 6 5 1 39 3.75 Totals 8.2 9 3 3 6 5 1 39 Royals IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Gale 8 7 2 2 3 2 1 31 2.95 McGilberry 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 3.38 Hrabosky W(8-6) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2.86 Totals 9 8 2 2 3 2 1 35 Umpires: HP - Durwood Merrill, 1B - Marty Springstead, 2B - Rich Garcia, 3B - Jim Evans ANGELS 1ST: R. Miller grounded out (first unassisted); Lansford singled to shortstop; Bostock flied out to center; Lansford stole second; Baylor walked; Rudi forced Baylor (second to shortstop); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Angels 0, Royals 0. ROYALS 1ST: Braun flied out to center; Brett grounded out (second to first); LaCock walked; Porter popped to catcher in foul territory; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 0, Royals 0. ANGELS 2ND: Jackson flied out to right; Downing grounded out (pitcher to first); Grich popped to second; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 0, Royals 0. ROYALS 2ND: McRae walked; McRae was caught stealing second (catcher to second); Cowens struck out; Otis grounded out (catcher to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 0, Royals 0. ANGELS 3RD: Chalk grounded out (third to first); R. Miller flied out to center; Lansford was called out on strikes; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 0, Royals 0. ROYALS 3RD: Patek struck out; White flied to left in foul territory; Braun singled to center; Brett flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 0, Royals 0. ANGELS 4TH: Bostock walked; Bostock stole second; Baylor walked; Rudi forced Bostock (third unassisted) [Baylor to second]; Jackson grounded into a double play (second to shortstop to first) [Rudi out at second]; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 0, Royals 0. ROYALS 4TH: LaCock was called out on strikes; Porter flied out to right; McRae grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 0, Royals 0. ANGELS 5TH: Downing flied out to center; Grich singled to right; Chalk singled to left [Grich to second]; R. Miller grounded into a double play (second to shortstop to first) [Chalk out at second]; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 0, Royals 0. ROYALS 5TH: Cowens struck out; Otis singled to left; Otis stole second; Patek popped to second; White flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 0, Royals 0. ANGELS 6TH: Lansford homered; Bostock grounded out (first unassisted); Baylor singled to center; Rudi singled to left [Baylor out at third (left to third), Rudi to second (on throw to 3b)]; Jackson grounded out (shortstop to first); 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 1, Royals 0. ROYALS 6TH: Braun was called out on strikes; Brett flied to left in foul territory; LaCock singled to right; Porter grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 1, Royals 0. ANGELS 7TH: Downing grounded out (shortstop to first); Grich flied out to center; Chalk lined to third; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 1, Royals 0. ROYALS 7TH: McRae walked; WILSON RAN FOR MCRAE; Cowens grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [Wilson out at second]; Willie Wilson called for interference with Bobby Grich; Royals Coach Chuck Hiller ejected by 2B umpire Rich Garcia and Wilson ejected by HP umpire Durwood Merrill; Otis homered; Patek singled to right; Patek stole second; White grounded out (shortstop to first); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Angels 1, Royals 1. ANGELS 8TH: WILSON STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING DH); R. Miller struck out; Lansford flied out to left; Bostock flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Angels 1, Royals 1. ROYALS 8TH: Braun doubled to right; SILVERIO RAN FOR BRAUN; Brett grounded out (shortstop to first) [Silverio to third]; LaCock walked; Porter singled to right [Silverio scored, LaCock to second]; POQUETTE BATTED FOR WILSON; Poquette flied to left in foul territory; Cowens walked [LaCock to third, Porter to second]; Otis flied out to center; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Angels 1, Royals 2. ANGELS 9TH: POQUETTE STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING DH); SILVERIO STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING LF); Baylor singled to left [Baylor to second (error by Silverio)]; MCGILBERRY REPLACED GALE (PITCHING); Rudi doubled to right [Baylor scored]; LANDREAUX RAN FOR RUDI; Jackson popped to third in foul territory; Downing grounded out (second to first) [Landreaux to third]; SOLAITA BATTED FOR GRICH; HRABOSKY REPLACED MCGILBERRY (PITCHING); RETTENMUND BATTED FOR SOLAITA; Rettenmund grounded out (third to first); 1 R, 2 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Angels 2, Royals 2. ROYALS 9TH: ANDERSON REPLACED RETTENMUND (PLAYING SS); CHALK CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING 2B); LANDREAUX STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING LF); Patek reached on an error by Jackson (assist by Anderson); White forced Patek (first to shortstop); HURDLE BATTED FOR SILVERIO; White was caught stealing second (catcher to shortstop); Hurdle tripled to center; Brett was walked intentionally; Brett stole second; LaCock singled to left [Hurdle scored, Brett to third]; 1 R, 2 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. Angels 2, Royals 3.

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