Streaking Royals Beat Angels, 2-1, Lead AL West by 2 1/2

Ron Romanick, winless with a 10.99 earned-run average for his previous six starts, saved his place in the Angels’ rotation Wednesday night, but it was another save by Dan Quisenberry that had the most immediate impact on the American League West race.

Quisenberry registered No. 33 as he restricted the Angels to one hit over the final two innings of a tense game won by Kansas City, 2-1.

It was the Royals 10th win in their last 11 games and their 33rd in 48 games since July 21, when they trailed the Angels by 7 1/2.

Now, having won two of the three games in the first of the two September showdowns with the Angels, the Royals lead the Angels by 2 1/2.

The Angels play host to Texas tonight in the opener of a four-game series. The Royals open a three-game series at Oakland Friday night.

“These were big wins,” said Dick Howser, the Kansas City manager. “But we know that we’re going to have to continue to win.

“I hate to keep saying it, but it’s going to go down to that series with the Angels (during the season’s final week) and beyond. It’s going to be won on the last Saturday or Sunday of the season.

“The teams we now have to play (Oakland and Seattle) have been tough on us, but that was two months ago. We’re a better team now.”

Angel manager Gene Mauch predicted that the Royals would have to maintain their pace.

“We’re going to be all right,” he insisted. “Kansas City is going to have to play like hell, because we’re going to.”

The Romanick performance was reassuring, though he is now 13-8 and still hasn’t won since July 31.

An Anaheim Stadium crowd of 32,906 saw the second-year right-hander battle Danny Jackson through a scoreless six innings before yielding the decisive two runs in the seventh.

Mauch said he was ready to replace Romanick with Don Sutton, who will make his first start as an Angel Friday night, replacing Jim Slaton.

“If he wanted to stay in the rotation he had to pitch like he did tonight,” Mauch said of Romanick. “He was aggressive, he threw quality strikes. I was certain that if he pitched like he did tonight we’d win, but that’s two good games Jackson has pitched against us.”

The first put the Royals in first place to stay on Sept. 24 of last year. The second was a 1-0 loss to Romanick last June 9.

The 23-year-old Kansas City left-hander emerged from this one with his 13th win against nine defeats. He extended the Angels’ shutout string to 15 innings, yielded a run in the seventh, left in the eighth and ultimately joined in the clubhouse applause for Quisenberry.

Frank White’s leadoff single and ensuing steal of second set the stage for the two runs of the seventh. Romanick then walked Steve Balboni. Both runners advanced on a ground out. Jamie Quirk then hit a high pop up into no man’s land in shallow right. The ball fell untouched for single. White scored and Balboni took third.

Jorge Orta followed with a pinch hit double, scoring Balboni. Third base coach Mike Ferraro also sent in Quirk, but a flawless relay--Gary Pettis to Bobby Grich to Bob Boone--nailed Quirk, limiting the damage to two runs.

They were enough.

A walk, ground out and Boone single provided the Angels with their only run in the bottom of the seventh.

A leadoff single by Rod Carew brought on Quisenberry in the eighth. Devon White ran for Carew, ultimately stole second after Rob Wilfong fouled off two sacrifice attempts, but was stranded as Quisenberry retired Wilfong on a fly to right, Juan Beniquez on a ground out and Brian Downing on a strike out.

Grich and pinch-hitter Reggie Jackson grounded out to open the ninth, but Pettis then kept the Angels alive with his third single and third steal of second, his one-game career high.

The crowd was suddenly on its feet, pleading for a game tying hit or more from pinch-hitter Ruppert Jones, but Quisenberry took the count to two and two, then caught Jones looking at a called third strike.

Angel Notes

Long reliever Stewart Cliburn, who missed 11 straight games with a pulled muscle on the left side of his rib cage, threw for a second straight day before the game and said he is ready to pitch tonight if needed. “I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself by hurting it again,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to pitch unless I was completely ready, and I think I am.” . . . What will it mean having Cliburn back? “All I can tell you is that it made a hell of a difference not to have him,” Manager Gene Mauch said. . . . Mike Witt is still scheduled to start against Texas tonight, though Mauch acknowledged a degree of concern over the lingering tenderness in his shoulder. . . . Of the Angels, Kansas City Manager Dick Howser said: “They might have an edge in age and veteran players, but they don’t have an advantage in experience. We’ve been through as many races as they have.” . . . The Royals expect Willie Wilson, recovering from surgery after a reaction to penicillin, to be sidelined another seven to 10 days.