The Athletics walloped the Royals, 8-3, in the opener of a critical three-game series and drew within 3½ games of the American League West leaders. A sixth inning free-for-all followed Sal Bando's leadoff homer, which gave the A's a 5-3 lead. Dennis Leonard hit Don Baylor with a pitch and Baylor dashed to the mound, causing both dugouts to empty. Leonard was decked by Claudell Washington and left the game and Baylor was ejected.

When order was restored, the A's scored three more runs, capitalizing on the hit batsman, three walks and Phil Garner's two-run double. Ron Fairly hit a homer and double while Bando had two singles in addition to his 26th homer. Bert Campaneris drove in three runs with a sacrifice fly and pair of infield outs. Vida Blue hurled the distance for the A's although tagged for 10 hits. [The Sporting News]



Oakland Athletics 8, Kansas City Royals 3
Game Played on Monday, September 27, 1976 (Night game) at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Royals       0  1  0    0  2  0    0  0  0  -   3 10  2
A's          0  1  2    0  1  4    0  0  x  -   8 11  0


Royals               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      A's                  AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Wohlford rf           4   1   2   0     1   1   .247      North cf              3   1   2   0     1   0   .278
Brett 3b              5   0   2   1     0   0   .332      Campaneris ss         4   0   0   3     0   1   .261
McRae lf              4   0   1   1     0   1   .334      Rudi lf               4   0   0   0     1   1   .277
Davis dh              4   1   1   0     0   0   .263      Tenace c              5   1   1   0     0   1   .251
Cowens cf             4   0   2   0     0   0   .267      Bando 3b              4   1   3   1     0   0   .243
Mayberry 1b           4   0   0   0     0   1   .236      Baylor rf             2   0   0   0     0   0   .250
Rojas 2b              4   0   2   1     0   0   .233        Lintz pr            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
White ss              4   0   0   0     0   0   .231        Woods rf            1   0   0   0     0   0   .250
Martinez c            1   1   0   0     1   1   .230      Washington dh         3   1   2   1     1   0   .258
  D. Nelson ph        1   0   0   0     0   1   .232      Fairly 1b             3   3   2   1     1   1   .269
  Wathan c            1   0   0   0     0   1   .324      Garner 2b             3   1   1   2     0   1   .260
Leonard p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Blue p                0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Mingori p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  McClure p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Cram p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Sanders p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Hall p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Bruno p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               36   3  10   3     2   6             Totals               32   8  11   8     4   5

Time of Game: 3:08   Attendance: 37,914
Left on Base: Royals 9, A's 8
DP: Royals 0, A's 0
Errors: White, Leonard
Doubles: Brett (31), Fairly (1), Garner (29)
Triples: Cowens (6)
Home Runs: Fairly (3), Bando (26)
Stolen Bases: Wohlford (22), Washington (36), North (75)
Caught Stealing: Washington (20), Lintz (10)
Sacrifice Hits: Garner (6)
Sacrifice Flies: McRae (8), Campaneris (11)
Hit by Pitch: North (2,by Leonard), Baylor (20,by Leonard)


Royals                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Leonard L(17-10)        5     7   5   4   1   2   2  24   3.59
Mingori                 0.1   0   1   1   1   0   0   1   2.37
McClure                 0     0   1   1   1   0   0   1   9.00
Cram                    0     1   1   1   0   0   0   1   6.23
Sanders                 1.1   2   0   0   1   0   0   7   2.70
Hall                    0.1   0   0   0   0   1   0   1   4.63
Bruno                   1     1   0   0   0   2   0   5   6.75
Totals                  8    11   8   7   4   5   2  40

A's                    IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Blue W(18-12)           9    10   3   3   2   6   0  39   2.42
Totals                  9    10   3   3   2   6   0  39

Hit by Pitch: Leonard 2 (11)
Wild Pitches: Cram (1)

Umpires: HP - Bill Haller, 1B - Ron Luciano, 2B - Al Clark, 3B - Larry McCoy


ROYALS 1ST: 1:07 rain delay before start of game;
Wohlford was called out on strikes; Brett grounded out (second
to first); McRae flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Royals 0, Athletics 0.

ATHLETICS 1ST: North grounded out (second to first); Campaneris
grounded out (third to first); Rudi grounded out (shortstop to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 0, Athletics 0.

ROYALS 2ND: Davis singled to right; Cowens singled to center
[Davis to second]; Mayberry was called out on strikes; Rojas
singled to left [Davis scored, Cowens to second]; White popped
to second; Martinez struck out; 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 1,
Athletics 0.

ATHLETICS 2ND: Tenace singled to left; Bando lined to center;
Baylor grounded out (shortstop to first) [Tenace to second];
Washington singled to center [Tenace scored]; Washington was
caught stealing second (catcher to shortstop); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Royals 1, Athletics 1.

ROYALS 3RD: Wohlford singled to right; Wohlford stole second;
Brett lined to left; McRae struck out; Davis grounded out (first
unassisted); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 1, Athletics 1.

ATHLETICS 3RD: Fairly homered; Garner struck out; North singled
to left; North was picked off first but was safe on an error by
Leonard [North to third]; Campaneris hit a sacrifice fly to
center [North scored (unearned)]; Rudi struck out; 2 R (1 ER), 2
H, 1 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 1, Athletics 3.

ROYALS 4TH: Cowens grounded out (third to first); Mayberry flied
out to left; Rojas grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H,
0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 1, Athletics 3.

ATHLETICS 4TH: Tenace popped to catcher in foul territory; Bando
singled to center; Baylor forced Bando (shortstop to second);
Washington flied out to left; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 1,
Athletics 3.

ROYALS 5TH: White popped to first; Martinez walked; Wohlford
singled to right [Martinez to second]; Brett doubled to left
[Martinez scored, Wohlford to third]; McRae lined out on a
sacrifice fly to center [Wohlford scored]; Davis grounded out
(first unassisted); 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 3, Athletics 3.

ATHLETICS 5TH: Fairly doubled to right; Garner out on a
sacrifice bunt (catcher to second) [Fairly to third]; North was
hit by a pitch; Campaneris grounded out (second to first)
[Fairly scored, North to second]; Rudi walked; Tenace lined to
left; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 3, Athletics 4.

ROYALS 6TH: Cowens tripled to left; Mayberry reached on a
fielder's choice [Cowens out at home (first to catcher)]; Rojas
flied to right in foul territory; White popped to second; 0 R, 1
H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 3, Athletics 4.

ATHLETICS 6TH: Bando homered; Baylor was hit by a pitch; Don
Baylor charged the mound; pitcher Dennis Leonard backed off and
George Brett stepped in; Baylor knocked Brett down with a right
handed punch; Baylor ejected by HP umpire Bill Haller;
MINGORI REPLACED LEONARD (PITCHING); LINTZ RAN FOR BAYLOR; Lintz
was picked off and caught stealing second (pitcher to first to
shortstop); Steve Mingori left with injury; MCCLURE
REPLACED MINGORI (PITCHING); Washington walked (walk was charged
to Mingori); Fairly walked [Washington to second]; CRAM REPLACED
MCCLURE (PITCHING); Washington stole third; Garner doubled to
left [Washington scored, Fairly scored]; Cram threw a wild pitch
[Garner to third]; SANDERS REPLACED CRAM (PITCHING); North
walked; Campaneris grounded out (second to first) [Garner
scored, North to second]; Rudi grounded out (second to first); 4
R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 3, Athletics 8.

ROYALS 7TH: WOODS REPLACED LINTZ (PLAYING RF); D. NELSON BATTED
FOR MARTINEZ; D. Nelson struck out; Wohlford popped to
shortstop; Brett singled to left; McRae singled to left [Brett
to second]; Davis forced McRae (shortstop to second); 0 R, 2 H,
0 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 3, Athletics 8.

ATHLETICS 7TH: WATHAN REPLACED D. NELSON (PLAYING C ); Tenace
grounded out (shortstop to first); Bando singled to left; Woods
forced Bando (shortstop to second); Washington singled to center
[Woods to second]; HALL REPLACED SANDERS (PITCHING); Fairly
struck out; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 3, Athletics 8.

ROYALS 8TH: Cowens lined to center; Mayberry flied out to left;
Rojas singled to right; White flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E,
1 LOB.  Royals 3, Athletics 8.

ATHLETICS 8TH: BRUNO REPLACED HALL (PITCHING); Garner reached on
an error by White; North singled to right [Garner to third];
North stole second; Campaneris struck out; Rudi popped to first
in foul territory; Tenace struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 2 LOB.
Royals 3, Athletics 8.

ROYALS 9TH: Wathan struck out; Wohlford walked; Brett grounded
out (second to first) [Wohlford to second]; McRae flied out to
right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 3, Athletics 8.