American League Roundup : Yankee Castoff Moreno Hits Three-Run Homer to Lead Royals Again

Omar Moreno has started just three games for the Kansas City Royals, but already he has been more effective for them than he was in 33 games for the New York Yankees this season.

Moreno hit a three-run home run to climax a five-run sixth inning Saturday night at Kansas City that paced the surging Royals to a 7-4 victory over Milwaukee and increased their lead over the Angels in the West to 1 1/2 games.

The 31-year-old center fielder, who has proved more than just an adequate replacement for injured Willie Wilson, also had two singles and a walk, driving in another run. Since joining the Royals Wednesday, he is 8 for 13. He has hit two home runs and driven in eight runs.

Moreno began the season as the Yankee center fielder. They soured on him faster than owner George Steinbrenner did on his manager, Yogi Berra.

With the Yankees, Moreno batted 65 times. He had only 13 hits (.200), one home run and four RBIs. The Yankees released him Aug. 16, and Moreno returned to his home in Florida.

If Moreno had gone home and just sat around, the Royals would not have chosen him over 15 other candidates when Wilson was lost for two weeks with a freak injury.

“I picked him,” Manager Dick Howser of the Royals told the Associated Press, “because he never stopped believing he belonged in the majors. He went home to work and keep in shape just in case.”

The Royals have won all five games in which he has appeared. In the three games he has started, he has gone 8 for 11, scored 4 runs and driven in 8.

“He told me he wants to play a couple of more years, and he’s going to get a chance to show people he can still play,” Howser said.

It has been an opportune time for Moreno to start hitting. George Brett, who has been challenging Wade Boggs for the batting lead all season, is in his first real slump of the season.

Brett, who went 0 for 4 and bounced back to the pitcher with Moreno on third and one out in the first, is 1 for 19.

The Royals trailed, 2-0, until the fifth, when Moreno singled in one run and set up the other, which scored on Lonnie Smith’s fly.

A sacrifice fly by Steve Balboni broke the tie in the sixth, and pinch-hitter Jorge Orta made it a 4-2 lead before Moreno smashed his three-run home run.

Mark Gubicza (12-7) came within two outs of pitching a complete game. But bullpen ace Dan Quisenberry made his 73rd appearance. He gave up a scoring fly ball and a single but managed to pick up his 32nd save.

“I know a lot of people are surprised when I hit it out,” said Moreno, a .615 hitter for the Royals. “But if I get a low, inside pitch that I can handle, I can hit it out. I haven’t been so happy since the Pirates won the World Series in 1979.”

New York 3, Oakland 2--Unless somebody figures out a way to stop Don Mattingly and Ron Guidry, the Yankees are going to take charge of the East.

Mattingly drove in two runs, one with his 28th home run, to help Guidry improve his record to 18-5 in this game at New York. The Yankees now are only 1 1/2 games behind Toronto.

The winning run was scored by Dave Winfield when the A’s messed up a rundown play. Winfield doubled in the sixth after Mattingly’s homer tied the game at 2-2. Winfield was sacrificed to third. Then, on a foiled squeeze play, A’s catcher Mike Heath threw high to third and the return throw home was also high to Tommy John and Winfield was safe. He was credited with a steal of home.

Said tough-luck loser John: “We botched the play. You make that play nine times out of 10.”

John, who blanked the Yankees on three hits through seven innings in a 3-0 win Aug. 27, gave up only four hits in seven innings in this one, but lost.

Minnesota 6, Toronto 3--The Blue Jays still are having trouble getting victories out of their best pitcher, Dave Stieb. In this game at Toronto, Stieb gave up home runs to Kent Hrbek and Tom Brunansky on successive pitches in a three-run first inning.

The Blue Jays battled back to tie, but in the seventh, Kirby Puckett singled in the tie-breaking run, and Stieb’s record fell to 13-11.

Mike Smithson allowed only six hits in going the distance and improved his record to 14-11. He gave up consecutive homers to Damaso Garcia and Lloyd Moseby in the fifth to allow the Blue Jays to tie, but was invincible thereafter.

Seattle 12, Detroit 5--Alvin Davis drove in four runs at Detroit, and Gorman Thomas hit a three-run homer. Thomas hit his 29th to tie Willie Horton for the club record. Matt Young won his fourth in a row and is 11-14.

Chicago 3, Texas 2--Carlton Fisk doubled in the tying run and later scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the eighth inning at Arlington, Tex. He also scored the White Sox’s first run after walking in the second.

Boston 11-7, Cleveland 9-4----Marty Barrett went 5 for 7 in the doubleheader at Boston, and Steve Crawford saved both games as the Red Sox swept a twin bill for the first time in more than three years.

Crawford got the final out in the opener after Rich Gedman’s three-run homer gave the Red Sox the lead in the eighth. More than three hours later, Crawford got the last four outs to save Al Nipper’s first win since July 26.