Royals Win West Again--Angels Don’t Again : Kansas City Wraps It Up in 10th, 5-4

Dan Quisenberry and Joe Beckwith held an impromptu postgame pitchers’ meeting in the middle of the Kansas City Royals clubhouse, both players soaking in champagne and ready for a second dousing.

“It’s not that easy!” Quisenberry screamed as he wrapped a bear hug around Beckwith. “It’s never easy!”

With those words, Quisenberry, the man who has so often written the final chapter of Kansas City victories, coined what should become the working title for the Royals’ 1985 highlight film--a curious piece of cinema that will include an American League Western Division championship.

With a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Oakland A’s in 10 innings Saturday night, Kansas City clinched its sixth divisional title and earned a berth in next week’s American League playoffs against Toronto. The Angels had temporarily staved off elimination by beating Texas earlier in the afternoon, but later that evening--much, much later--the Royals won, finishing Angel hopes.

One game remains on the regular-season schedule.

The Royals won this championship during a season in which they trailed the Angels by 7 1/2 games on July 21; lost 5 of 6 entering the decisive final week; wound up tied for last in the league in team batting, and started, on title-clinching night, a lineup consisting of six players hitting .247 or less.

The Royals did not win easily. And Saturday’s victory may have been the most difficult, the most improbable of them all.

After six innings, Kansas City trailed, 4-0. At that point, history indicated that this game was history. In their first 160 games during 1985, the Royals had never rallied from a four-run deficit to win.

Not once.

But then George Brett, who has never experienced quite such a week as this, delivered a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth--his third homer in as many days and his fifth in six games.

In the seventh, Kansas City scored two more runs to tie--on consecutive RBI singles by Frank White and Steve Balboni against Oakland’s exceptional relief pitcher, Jay Howell.

Howell was still in the game in the 10th inning, which shows how badly the A’s wanted to squelch the Royals’ champagne celebration. But in the 10th, Kansas City wore down Howell to wrench out another victory--in typical Royal fashion.

With one out, .227-hitting Pat Sheridan doubled into the right-field corner. Next came .211-hitting Greg Pryor, who pogoed an AstroTurf infield single over the head of Howell, who leaped high off the mound but could succeed only in deflecting the ball with his glove.

Runners were on first and third. The infield was in. Lonnie Smith drilled a line drive, inches off the carpet, that shortstop Rob Picciolo gloved on his knees.

Howell had Out No. 2--and maybe, just maybe, enough to force an 11th inning.

Willie Wilson was next. The Royal center fielder lined Howell’s second pitch back through the middle. Again, Howell got a glove on the ball. Again, he failed to catch it.

The ball skidded by Howell, over second base and into the outfield. Wilson sprinted to first with his arms raised and his fists clenched.

Sheridan scored easily . . . and the Royals were champions.

“At first, I thought (Howell) was going to catch it,” Wilson said. “The same thing had just happened to Lonnie. When it went by him, I was the happiest guy out there.”

Watching from the bench, Kansas City Manager Dick Howser had the same feeling.

“They caught Lonnie’s line drive,” Howser said. “I thought Howell would knock down Willie’s, too, and get a force play at second.”

Howser received a pleasant surprise. It wasn’t his first of the night.

By the sixth inning, the Royals had been down by four runs. Bret Saberhagen, Kansas City’s Cy Young Award hope, was struggling to keep the ball in the stadium. Royal right fielder Lynn Jones robbed Jose Canseco of one drive with a leaping catch against the wall. Saberhagen wasn’t so lucky with Bruce Bochte, who homered, and Dave Kingman and Dwayne Murphy, who both doubled and scored.

By the middle of the sixth, Saberhagen was out of the game. Kansas City appeared in similar condition.

Howser knew of the Royals’ sorry track record in dealing with four-run deficits.

“There was a difference tonight,” Howser pointed out. “It didn’t stay 4-0 for long. We came back with two runs and got right back in the ballgame. Then, when we tied it, we knew we could win it.”

The comeback was led by Brett, who has crammed a season’s worth of heroics into one head-shaking week. Five home runs in six days.

“I haven’t seen anyone have a better week,” Howser said. “I haven’t seen anyone have a better season. In 1980 (Brett’s .390 season), George was the rave of baseball, but I don’t know how he can have a better year than this.

“I think we have the MVP and the Cy Young guy. I sure hope so. I’ll be able to stay around for a while.”

Quisenberry, who pitched 2 innings Friday night to clinch Kansas City’s tie for the championship, came back to pitch three more and earn the title outright Saturday.

“And he could’ve pitched one more,” Hoswer said. “It’s that time of year.”

The Royals are accustomed to this time of year. They enjoy it. Six times since 1976, they’ve won the West--including each of the past two seasons.

But never have they taken a stranger, more taxing route than the one that got them there in 1985.