Clinching at least a tie for the A. L. West title, the Royals beat the Mariners, 7-2, as Dennis Leonard became a 20-game winner for the second straight year. A two-run triple by John Wathan gave K. C. a first-inning lead and the Royals put the game away with four tallies in the fourth frame as Freddie Patek, Willie Wilson and Hal McRae collected RBI hits with McRae scoring the final run of the inning on a stolen base and consecutive errors by catcher Bob Stinson and center fielder Ruppert Jones. [The Sporting News]



Kansas City Royals 7, Seattle Mariners 2
Game Played on Monday, September 25, 1978 (Night game) at Royals Stadium
Mariners     0  0  0    1  0  0    0  1  0  -   2  6  2
Royals       2  0  0    4  0  0    0  1  x  -   7  9  0


Mariners             AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Royals               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Cruz 2b               3   1   1   0     1   1   .242      Brett 3b              4   1   1   0     0   0   .291
Reynolds ss           4   0   1   0     0   0   .286      McRae dh              4   1   1   1     0   0   .273
Ruppert Jones cf      4   1   3   1     0   0   .243      Otis cf               4   0   1   0     0   1   .297
Roberts rf            4   0   0   0     0   1   .300      Cowens rf             4   2   2   0     0   0   .275
Bochte dh             3   0   0   1     0   0   .261      Wathan 1b             3   0   1   2     0   0   .306
Paciorek 1b           4   0   0   0     0   2   .304      Porter c              3   0   0   0     1   1   .266
Stinson c             3   0   1   0     1   0   .259      White 2b              3   1   1   1     0   1   .279
Hale lf               4   0   0   0     0   0   .173      Patek ss              1   1   1   1     3   0   .251
Milbourne 3b          3   0   0   0     0   0   .236      Wilson lf             4   1   1   1     0   2   .220
Honeycutt p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Leonard p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Parrott p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               32   2   6   2     2   4             Totals               30   7   9   6     4   5

Time of Game: 2:26   Attendance: 21,890
Left on Base: Mariners 6, Royals 5
DP: Mariners 1, Royals 0
Errors: Ruppert Jones, Stinson
Doubles: Ruppert Jones (24), Stinson (14), Patek (22)
Triples: Wathan (1)
Stolen Bases: Cruz 2 (57), Patek (37), Wilson (44), McRae (17)
Caught Stealing: Patek (11)
Sacrifice Hits: Wathan (3)
Sacrifice Flies: Bochte (6), White (2)


Mariners               IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Honeycutt L(5-11)       3.2   7   5   5   1   0   0  19   4.89
Parrott                 4.1   2   2   1   3   5   0  17   4.80
Totals                  8     9   7   6   4   5   0  36

Royals                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Leonard W(20-17)        9     6   2   2   2   4   0  35   3.39
Totals                  9     6   2   2   2   4   0  35

Wild Pitches: Parrott (1)

Umpires: HP - Bill Deegan, 1B - Bill Kunkel, 2B - Al Clark, 3B - Terry Cooney


MARINERS 1ST: Cruz singled to left; Reynolds popped to first;
Cruz stole second; Ruppert Jones flied out to center; Roberts
struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mariners 0, Royals 0.

ROYALS 1ST: Brett singled to center; McRae flied out to center;
Otis flied out to right; Cowens singled to left [Brett to
third]; Wathan tripled to left [Brett scored, Cowens scored];
Porter grounded out (second to first); 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
Mariners 0, Royals 2.

MARINERS 2ND: Bochte grounded out (first to pitcher); Paciorek
struck out; Stinson walked; Hale popped to shortstop; 0 R, 0 H,
0 E, 1 LOB.  Mariners 0, Royals 2.

ROYALS 2ND: White grounded out (shortstop to first); Patek
walked; Wilson popped to catcher in foul territory; Patek stole
second; Brett flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mariners
0, Royals 2.

MARINERS 3RD: Milbourne flied out to left; Cruz was called out
on strikes; Reynolds grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  Mariners 0, Royals 2.

ROYALS 3RD: McRae grounded out (shortstop to first); Otis
singled to center; Cowens lined to center; Wathan forced Otis
(shortstop to second); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mariners 0, Royals
2.

MARINERS 4TH: Ruppert Jones doubled to right; Roberts grounded
out (pitcher to first) [Ruppert Jones to third]; Bochte hit a
sacrifice fly to right [Ruppert Jones scored]; Paciorek was
called out on strikes; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mariners 1, Royals
2.

ROYALS 4TH: Porter grounded out (first unassisted); White
singled to left; Patek doubled to left [White scored]; Wilson
singled to right [Patek scored]; Wilson stole second; Brett
flied out to right [Wilson to third]; PARROTT REPLACED HONEYCUTT
(PITCHING); McRae singled to center [Wilson scored]; McRae stole
second [McRae scored (error by Stinson) (error by Ruppert Jones)
(unearned)]; Otis flied out to left; 4 R (3 ER), 4 H, 2 E, 0
LOB.  Mariners 1, Royals 6.

MARINERS 5TH: Stinson flied out to center; Hale grounded out
(second to first); Milbourne lined to second; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Mariners 1, Royals 6.

ROYALS 5TH: Cowens grounded out (first to pitcher); Wathan
grounded out (first unassisted); Porter was called out on
strikes; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mariners 1, Royals 6.

MARINERS 6TH: Cruz flied to left in foul territory; Reynolds
singled to right; Ruppert Jones singled to right [Reynolds to
second]; Roberts flied out to center; Bochte flied out to
center; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Mariners 1, Royals 6.

ROYALS 6TH: White struck out; Patek walked; Wilson struck out
while Patek was caught stealing second (catcher to second); 0 R,
0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mariners 1, Royals 6.

MARINERS 7TH: Paciorek popped to shortstop; Stinson grounded out
(second to first); Hale flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
 Mariners 1, Royals 6.

ROYALS 7TH: Brett grounded out (shortstop to first); McRae
popped to second; Otis struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Mariners 1, Royals 6.

MARINERS 8TH: Milbourne flied out to left; Cruz walked; Cruz
stole second; Reynolds grounded out (second to first) [Cruz to
third]; Ruppert Jones singled to center [Cruz scored]; Roberts
forced Ruppert Jones (shortstop unassisted); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1
LOB.  Mariners 2, Royals 6.

ROYALS 8TH: Cowens singled to center; Wathan out on a sacrifice
bunt (catcher to first) [Cowens to second]; Porter was walked
intentionally; Parrott threw a wild pitch [Cowens to third,
Porter to second]; White hit a sacrifice fly to right [Cowens
scored, Porter to third]; Patek walked; Wilson struck out; 1 R,
1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Mariners 2, Royals 7.

MARINERS 9TH: Bochte grounded out (first unassisted); Paciorek
flied out to left; Stinson doubled to right; Hale flied out to
right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mariners 2, Royals 7.