The relief pitching of Jim Kern enabled the Rangers to post an 8-7 triumph over the Royals. Kern blanked the Royals on one hit over the final 4 2/3 innings. The Rangers' winning run scored in the fifth when Al Oliver singled, moved to second on an error by U.L. Washington and counted on a single by Gary Gray.

Ed Farmer, making his first start of the season for the Rangers, struck Frank White on the right hand with a pitch to open the game, fracturing his fifth metacarpal bone, and in the fifth inning hit Al Cowens on the right cheek, breaking his jaw. [The Sporting News]



Texas Rangers 8, Kansas City Royals 7
Game Played on Tuesday, May       8, 1979 (Night game) at Arlington Stadium
Royals       3  0  3    0  1  0    0  0  0  -   7  8  1
Rangers      3  2  0    2  1  0    0  0  x  -   8  9  3


Royals               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Rangers              AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
White 2b              0   0   0   0     0   0   .297      Sample lf             4   0   1   2     0   0   .273
  Washington pr,2b    3   1   0   0     0   1   .250      Bell 3b               3   0   2   0     0   0   .212
  Braun ph            1   0   0   0     0   1   .200      Oliver cf             4   2   1   0     0   0   .311
Brett 3b              5   1   1   0     0   1   .258      Zisk rf               3   1   0   0     1   0   .215
Otis cf               5   2   1   1     0   1   .327      J. Ellis 1b           3   1   1   3     0   1   .282
Porter c              4   0   2   1     0   0   .354        Grubb ph            1   0   0   0     0   0   .200
Cowens rf             2   1   1   0     0   1   .308        Jorgensen 1b        0   0   0   0     0   0   .267
  Poquette pr,rf      1   1   0   0     0   1   .000      Gray dh               3   1   2   1     0   0   .281
LaCock 1b             3   1   1   1     1   0   .312        Putnam ph,dh        1   0   0   0     0   1   .289
McRae dh              2   0   0   0     2   0   .255      Sundberg c            4   2   2   2     0   0   .202
Hurdle lf             3   0   0   1     1   2   .250      Wills 2b              3   1   0   0     1   0   .210
Patek ss              4   0   2   1     0   1   .304      Norman ss             2   0   0   0     0   0   .210
Gura p                0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Farmer p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Rodriguez p         0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Kern p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               33   7   8   5     4   9             Totals               31   8   9   8     2   2

Time of Game: 2:33   Attendance: 14,400
Left on Base: Royals 5, Rangers 3
DP: Royals 1, Rangers 1
Errors: Washington, Wills 2, Norman
Doubles: Otis (7), Bell (8), Sundberg (2)
Home Runs: J. Ellis (2), Sundberg (1)
Stolen Bases: Cowens (6)
Caught Stealing: Patek (4)
Sacrifice Hits: Norman (7)
GIDP: Bell (3)
Hit by Pitch: White (1,by Farmer), Cowens (1,by Farmer), Bell (3,by Gura)


Royals                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Gura L(1-4)             4.2   8   8   7   2   1   2  24   6.29
Rodriguez               3.1   1   0   0   0   1   0  11   3.68
Totals                  8     9   8   7   2   2   2  35

Rangers                IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Farmer                  4.1   7   7   4   4   3   0  24   4.30
Kern W(4-0)             4.2   1   0   0   0   6   0  15   1.53
Totals                  9     8   7   4   4   9   0  39

Hit by Pitch: Gura (3), Farmer 2 (2)
Wild Pitches: Farmer (2)

Umpires: HP - Dick Nelson, 1B - Johnny James, 2B - Mike Thompson, 3B - Joe Bob Taylor


ROYALS 1ST: White was hit by a pitch; WASHINGTON RAN FOR WHITE;
Brett singled to center [Washington to third]; Frank White
fractured 5th metacarpal right hand; Otis reached on an
error by Wills [Washington scored, Brett to second]; Porter
singled to center [Brett scored (unearned), Otis to third];
Cowens struck out; LaCock grounded out (first unassisted) [Otis
scored (unearned), Porter to second]; McRae walked; Hurdle was
called out on strikes; 3 R (1 ER), 2 H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 3,
Rangers 0.

RANGERS 1ST: WASHINGTON STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 2B); Sample
popped to first in foul territory; Bell doubled to left; Oliver
reached on a fielder's choice [Bell out at third (pitcher
unassisted)]; Zisk walked [Oliver to second]; J. Ellis homered
[Oliver scored, Zisk scored]; Gray grounded out (pitcher to
first); 3 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 3, Rangers 3.

ROYALS 2ND: Patek singled to pitcher; Patek was caught stealing
second (catcher to shortstop); Washington grounded out (second
to first); Brett grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  Royals 3, Rangers 3.

RANGERS 2ND: Sundberg doubled to center; Wills walked; Norman
out on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to first) [Sundberg to third,
Wills to second]; Sample singled to left [Sundberg scored, Wills
scored]; Bell grounded into a double play (second to shortstop
to first) [Sample out at second]; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals
3, Rangers 5.

ROYALS 3RD: Otis doubled to right; Porter lined to second;
Cowens singled to shortstop [Otis scored (error by Norman)];
Cowens stole second; LaCock walked; McRae walked [Cowens to
third, LaCock to second]; Hurdle walked [Cowens scored, LaCock
to third, McRae to second]; Patek singled to pitcher [LaCock
scored, McRae out at home (first to catcher to third), Hurdle
out at third (second to third to catcher)]; Ed Farmer struck
on forearm by line drive; 3 R, 3 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 6,
Rangers 5.

RANGERS 3RD: Oliver popped to shortstop; Zisk flied out to
center; J. Ellis was called out on strikes; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Royals 6, Rangers 5.

ROYALS 4TH: Washington struck out; Brett grounded out (shortstop
to first); Otis grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Royals 6, Rangers 5.

RANGERS 4TH: Gray singled to left; Sundberg homered [Gray
scored]; Wills grounded out (shortstop to first); Norman
grounded out (third to first); Sample flied out to right; 2 R, 2
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 6, Rangers 7.

ROYALS 5TH: Porter flied out to center; Cowens was hit by a
pitch; POQUETTE RAN FOR COWENS; LaCock singled to second
[Poquette to third (error by Wills), LaCock to second]; Al
Cowens left with broken left jaw; Farmer threw a wild pitch
[Poquette scored (unearned), LaCock to third]; KERN REPLACED
FARMER (PITCHING); McRae popped to catcher in foul territory;
Hurdle grounded out (second to first); 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 E, 1
LOB.  Royals 7, Rangers 7.

RANGERS 5TH: POQUETTE STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING RF); Bell was hit
by a pitch; Oliver singled to center [Bell out at third (center
to third)]; Zisk reached on a fielder's choice [Oliver to second
(error by Washington; assist by Brett)]; J. Ellis popped to
shortstop; Gray singled to left [Oliver scored (unearned), Zisk
to second]; RODRIGUEZ REPLACED GURA (PITCHING); Sundberg forced
Gray (shortstop to second); 1 R (0 ER), 2 H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Royals
7, Rangers 8.

ROYALS 6TH: Patek grounded out (shortstop to first); Washington
grounded out (second to first); Brett flied out to center; 0 R,
0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 7, Rangers 8.

RANGERS 6TH: Wills flied out to center; Norman popped to
shortstop; Sample flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Royals 7, Rangers 8.

ROYALS 7TH: Otis flied out to right; Porter singled to right;
Poquette struck out; LaCock grounded out (third to first); 0 R,
1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 7, Rangers 8.

RANGERS 7TH: Bell singled to third; Oliver flied out to right;
Zisk forced Bell (second to shortstop); GRUBB BATTED FOR J.
ELLIS; Grubb grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1
LOB.  Royals 7, Rangers 8.

ROYALS 8TH: JORGENSEN REPLACED GRUBB (PLAYING 1B); McRae
grounded out (first unassisted); Hurdle struck out; Patek struck
out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 7, Rangers 8.

RANGERS 8TH: PUTNAM BATTED FOR GRAY; Putnam struck out; Sundberg
flied out to left; Wills flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Royals 7, Rangers 8.

ROYALS 9TH: BRAUN BATTED FOR WASHINGTON; Braun struck out; Brett
struck out; Otis struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Royals 7,
Rangers 8.