Paul Splittorff, who pitched seven innings, gained his fourth straight victory this year and 11th in a row over two seasons when the Royals defeated the Orioles, 5-3. Al Hrabosky, in relief of Splittorff, picked up his fourth save.

The Orioles collected only four hits off Splittorff, but they included homers by Carlos Lopez and Lee May. Hal McRae and Al Cowens rapped round-trippers for the Royals, while John Wathan hit two doubles, driving in one run and scoring another. [The Sporting News]



Kansas City Royals 5, Baltimore Orioles 3
Game Played on Saturday, April     22, 1978 (Night game) at Memorial Stadium
Royals       0  0  0    1  1  0    2  0  1  -   5  9  0
Orioles      0  0  0    0  1  0    1  1  0  -   3  6  2


Royals               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Orioles              AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Zdeb lf               4   0   0   0     0   1   .143      Bumbry cf             3   0   0   0     1   0   .235
  Poquette ph,lf      0   0   0   1     0   0   .300      Belanger ss           4   0   0   0     0   0   .244
McRae dh              5   1   1   1     0   0   .244      Roenicke lf           3   0   0   0     0   0   .263
Brett 3b              5   0   1   0     0   1   .214      Murray 1b             4   0   1   0     0   0   .229
Cowens rf             3   1   1   1     0   1   .333      May dh                4   1   1   1     0   0   .320
Otis cf               3   1   1   0     1   0   .265      Lopez rf              4   1   2   1     0   0   .263
Wathan 1b             3   1   2   1     0   0   .333      DeCinces 3b           4   0   0   0     0   1   .255
  LaCock ph,1b        1   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Dempsey c             3   1   1   0     1   0   .256
Porter c              4   1   2   1     0   0   .395      Dauer 2b              3   0   1   1     0   0   .100
Patek ss              4   0   1   0     0   0   .242      Flanagan p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
White 2b              3   0   0   0     1   0   .129        Briles p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
Splittorff p          0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        T. Martinez p       0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Hrabosky p          0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Stanhouse p         0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               35   5   9   5     2   3             Totals               32   3   6   3     2   1

Time of Game: 2:29   Attendance:  7,277
Left on Base: Royals 7, Orioles 5
DP: Royals 1, Orioles 0
Errors: Bumbry, Stanhouse
Doubles: Wathan 2 (2), Brett (3), Dauer (1)
Home Runs: McRae (4), Cowens (1), Lopez (1), May (3)
Caught Stealing: White (2)
Sacrifice Flies: Poquette (2)
GIDP: Lopez (2)
Hit by Pitch: Cowens (1,by Briles), Roenicke (1,by Splittorff)


Royals                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Splittorff W(4-0)       7     4   2   2   0   0   2  25   1.44
Hrabosky SV(4)          2     2   1   1   2   1   0  10   1.69
Totals                  9     6   3   3   2   1   2  35

Orioles                IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Flanagan L(1-3)         7.2   8   4   4   0   3   2  30   4.68
Briles                  0     0   0   0   1   0   0   2   2.77
T. Martinez             0.1   1   1   0   0   0   0   2   7.04
Stanhouse               1     0   0   0   1   0   0   5   0.00
Totals                  9     9   5   4   2   3   2  39

Hit by Pitch: Splittorff (1), Briles (2)

Umpires: HP - Ken Kaiser, 1B - Mike Reilly, 2B - Bill Haller, 3B - Lou DiMuro


ROYALS 1ST: Zdeb grounded out (first unassisted); McRae flied
out to center; Brett grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 0 H,
0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 0, Orioles 0.

ORIOLES 1ST: Bumbry grounded out (pitcher to first); Belanger
grounded out (pitcher to first); Roenicke popped to first in
foul territory; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 0, Orioles 0.

ROYALS 2ND: Cowens grounded out (pitcher to first); Otis
grounded out (shortstop to first); Wathan flied out to right; 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 0, Orioles 0.

ORIOLES 2ND: Murray singled to left; May flied out to right;
Lopez grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first)
[Murray out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 0, Orioles
0.

ROYALS 3RD: Porter flied out to right; Patek singled to left;
White flied out to right; Zdeb struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
 Royals 0, Orioles 0.

ORIOLES 3RD: DeCinces grounded out (catcher to first); Dempsey
flied out to center; Dauer flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Royals 0, Orioles 0.

ROYALS 4TH: McRae homered; Brett struck out; Cowens struck out;
Otis grounded out (pitcher to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Royals 1, Orioles 0.

ORIOLES 4TH: Bumbry grounded out (second to first); Belanger
grounded out (shortstop to first); Roenicke was hit by a pitch;
Murray flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 1,
Orioles 0.

ROYALS 5TH: Wathan doubled to left; Porter singled [Wathan
scored, Porter to third (error by Bumbry)]; Patek grounded out
(shortstop to first); White reached on a fielder's choice
[Porter out at home (pitcher to catcher)]; White was caught
stealing second (catcher to shortstop); 1 R, 2 H, 1 E, 0 LOB.
Royals 2, Orioles 0.

ORIOLES 5TH: May lined to third; Lopez homered; DeCinces flied
out to right; Dempsey singled to right; Dauer lined to left; 1
R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 2, Orioles 1.

ROYALS 6TH: Zdeb grounded out (second to first); McRae grounded
out (pitcher to first); Brett grounded out (first to pitcher); 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 2, Orioles 1.

ORIOLES 6TH: Bumbry grounded out (first to pitcher); Belanger
grounded out (shortstop to first); Roenicke flied out to left; 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 2, Orioles 1.

ROYALS 7TH: Cowens homered; Otis singled to center; Wathan
doubled to left [Otis scored]; Porter grounded out (first
unassisted) [Wathan to third]; Patek reached on a fielder's
choice [Wathan out at home (pitcher to third)]; White flied out
to right; 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 4, Orioles 1.

ORIOLES 7TH: Murray flied out to right; May homered; Lopez
grounded out (first unassisted); DeCinces made an out to
shortstop; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 4, Orioles 2.

ROYALS 8TH: Zdeb grounded out (third to first); McRae made an
out to catcher; Brett doubled to left; BRILES REPLACED FLANAGAN
(PITCHING); Cowens was hit by a pitch; Otis walked [Brett to
third, Cowens to second]; LACOCK BATTED FOR WATHAN; T. MARTINEZ
REPLACED BRILES (PITCHING); LaCock grounded out (first to
pitcher); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 3 LOB.  Royals 4, Orioles 2.

ORIOLES 8TH: LACOCK STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 1B); HRABOSKY
REPLACED SPLITTORFF (PITCHING); Dempsey walked; Dauer doubled to
left [Dempsey scored]; Bumbry walked; Belanger reached on a
fielder's choice [Dauer out at third (third to shortstop),
Bumbry to second]; Roenicke flied out to center; Murray flied
out to center; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 4, Orioles 3.

ROYALS 9TH: Porter singled to right; STANHOUSE REPLACED T.
MARTINEZ (PITCHING); Patek reached on a fielder's choice [Porter
to second (error by Stanhouse)]; White walked [Porter to third,
Patek to second]; POQUETTE BATTED FOR ZDEB; Poquette hit a
sacrifice fly to center [Porter scored (unearned), Patek to
third]; McRae flied out to right; Brett flied out to center; 1 R
(0 ER), 1 H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 5, Orioles 3.

ORIOLES 9TH: POQUETTE STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING LF); May flied out
to center; Lopez singled to center; DeCinces struck out; Dempsey
grounded out (catcher to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals
5, Orioles 3.