Despite Win Over Angels, Royals Are Out of Race

On a dismal, rainy night in Kansas City, the Royals were eliminated from the American League West race Friday night despite their 7-2 victory over the Angels in a game stopped in the sixth inning by rain.

“What we have to play for now is second,” Manager Hal McRae said. “I’d like to finish the season on a good note.”

Greg Gagne hit a two-run double and Craig Wilson hit his first major league home run in a five-run fourth inning for Kansas City.

“I wasn’t out looking for a particular pitch,” Wilson said after connecting off Joe Magrane, a former teammate at St. Louis. “I was just trying to protect and he just gave me a pitch to hit.”

The Angels made four errors in the game and Magrane threw two wild pitches and walked two batters as the Royals scored their first two runs in the second inning on only one hit.

“I guess we’re just not mudders,” Angel Manager Buck Rogers said. “We couldn’t make the plays. We dropped two fly balls. We threw two balls away. They didn’t make those mistakes. It was a case of us not playing good defense in the rain.”

Kansas City broke it open in the fourth. Hubie Brooks reached second to start the inning when Luis Polonia botched a liner to left for the Angels’ fourth error. One out later, Chico Lind singled in Brooks. Keith Miller followed with a single, Gagne doubled and Wilson homered.

Magrane (3-2), who had won three consecutive starts, lasted only 3 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs--five earned--and five hits.

Hipolito Pichardo (7-8) got the victory, giving up eight hits and two runs. It was his first start since he was put on the disabled list Aug. 17 because of a fatigued shoulder.

The start of the game was delayed 29 minutes by rain and it was played in a steady downpour until it was stopped again with one out in the top of the sixth. It was finally called after a wait of more than an hour and a half.

Greg Myers, who had only one hits his his previous 15 at-bats, had three hits and singled in runs in the first and fifth innings.