Freddie Patek (.344, 12 SB) came into todays game with the Seattle with five stolen bases. In the course of three hours and one minute, he more than doubles that total as swipes seven bases on Mariners backup catcher
Joe Lis, setting a modern day Major League record.
"I knew I was getting great reads on the pitcher and in turn I was getting great jumps." said
Patek afterward.
"The great thing was I kept finding myself on base. It's one of those things that you really can't explain - you feel unbeatable - and you probably take some chances in the process that you probably shouldn't have."
Patek walked to lead off the game and promptly stole second and third base on three pitches, scoring on a
John Wathan (.324, 7 RBI) single. In the second, Patek hit a two-out double and stole third after just two pitches. Again, he would score as Seattle SS bobbled a
Wathan grounder. The very next inning,
Patek walks again on four straight pitches, steals second on the first pitch to
Wathan and scores on a
Wathan single.
In the first three innings,
Patek had stolen four bases and scored three runs. Not coincidentally, Kansas City was leading 8-1.
But
Patek wasn't finished. In the sixth, Freddie walks for the third time and wastes little time swiping his fifth base - on the very first pitch. He would score this time on a
Hal McRae (.231, 12 RBI) single. Two innings later, he was at it again after a one-out single. On consecutive pitches, he steals second and third base again for the modern day record.
Patek claims he wasn't chasing the record book.
"I really didn't know what the record was and honestly I really wasn't thinking about any record per se. After the third inning, I just wanted to see how many I could get."
While his mark has not been achieved before in modern times, it has been done twice before - by
George Gore who stole seven on June 25, 1881 while playing for the Chicago White Stockings and by
Billy Hamilton, who accomplished the feat on August 31, 1894 with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Six of the nine hitters in the Royals lineup have two hits with
Wathan,
McRae,
John Mayberry (.205, 2 HR, 6 RBI) and
Bob Heise (5 RBI) each driving in two runs. Seattle catcher
Joe Lis did manage to throw out three base stealers, going 3-for-11 (27%) for the game.
Other Scores
Fielding errors by Larry Gura (his 1st) and and John Mayberry (his 2nd) contribute to all three of Seattle's runs being unearned as the Mariners manage to split the afternoon doubleheader by a 3-1 score. Dave Collins (.325, 4 SB) hits two doubles to support a strong outing from starter Byron McLaughlin (1-1, 3.60 ERA).
John Wockenfuss (.375, 2 HR, 6 RBI) scores twice, has three hits and drives in three runs while
Milt Wilcox (1-0, 3.09 ERA) goes eight innings in winning his first start of the year as Detroit sneak past the Orioles, 5-4.
Pat Kelly (.333, 4 HR, 12 RBI) and
Al Bumbry (.326, 1 HR, 5 RBI) hit home runs for Baltimore in the losing effort.
Mark Fidrych (4-0, 2.06 ERA) wins his fourth straight in the second game as
Steve Kemp (.382, 9 RBI),
Milt May (.237) and
Lou Whitaker (.242, 3 RBI) have three apiece to beat Baltimore, 7-5.
Kemp drives in the deciding game winner with a two-RBI in the seventh inning to sweep both games of the afternoon doubleheader.
Jim Essian (.235, 1 HR, 3 RBI) and
Oscar Gamble (.333, 3 HR, 6 RBI) each hit home runs in the top of the 11th inning as the White Sox score five runs in the frame and win 9-4.
Jorge Orta (.267, 6 RBI) and
Alan Bannister (.600, 1 RBI) each have three hits in the win. Oakland's
Bill Russell has three hits and is hitting .300 since being picked up on waivers.
In the second game of the doubleheader,
Jerry Tabb (.250, 2 RBI) singles home
Billy North in the eighth and
Mike Torrez (2-2, 4.15 ERA) holds the Sox to three hits over eight innings as Oakland wins, 3-2. White Sox rookie reliever
Dave Frost (0-1, 3.12 ERA) goes the distance in his first ever start, allowing three runs on 14 hits.
Toronto continues to work their magic as
Gary Woods (.280, 8 RBI) doubles home
Doug Ault in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Blue Jays a 6-5 win.
Carl Yastrzemski (.388, 5 HR, 14 RBI) hits two solo home runs and
Jim Rice (.267) delivers a trio of singles in the game.
In yet another doubleheader, Cleveland 2B
Duane Kuiper (.225, 5 RBI) hits the first home run of his major league career with a 391-foot solo shot to right center field off of
Catfish Hunter (0-2, 5.74 ERA) in the third inning to lead the Tribe to a 5-2 win over the Yankees.
Ray Fosse (.267, 3 RBI) has three hits and
Dennis Eckersley (1-2, 5.53 ERA) strikes out six over eight innings to get the win.
In the afternoon game,
Reggie Jackson (.368, 16 RBI) has three hits - including his league leading sixth home run - while
Roy White (.269, 8 RBI) and
Chris Chambliss (.222, 2 HR, 10 RBI) each drive in three runners in crushing the Indians, 13-5.
Rick Manning (.186, 5 RBI) hits two doubles for the Tribe.
Minnesota breaks a seven game losing streak by scoring seven runs in the final two innings as costly errors by C
John Ellis (three in the game) and 3B
Jimmy Sexton (his first) account for six unearned runs in an 8-1 victory over the Rangers.
Larry Hisle (.161, 11 RBI) breaks an 0-for-21 slump with three hits in the win.
Von Joshua (.205, 1 HR, 3 RBI) hits a two-run blast in the top of the 14th inning to lead the Brewers to a 6-4 road win over California. Joshua also hits two doubles and
Dan Thomas (.308) adds three hits after entering the game in the seventh inning.
Jerry Remy (.356, 16 SB) has a double and two singles in the loss.
Reggie Smith (.327, 5 HR, 12 RBI) was already having a good day at the plate, going into the ninth inning with four hits, but he saves his best for last as he hits a 386-foot, three-run bomb to propel LA to a come from behind 8-6 win over the Braves. Smith finishes scoring three runs and driving in four.
Pittsburgh's
Willie Stargell (.265, 5 RBI) hits an RBI-single to tie the game in the sixth inning and
Bill Robinson (.286, 2 RBI) follows that up with an RBI-double to take the lead and eventual 2-1 win over New York.
Mike Phillips (.273) has three hits and
Brian Boisclair (.273) delivers a pair of doubles for the Mets.
37-year old
Willie Stargell (.302, 3 HR, 8 RBI) does it again as he hits two home runs in the game and goes 5-for-8 (.625) in the doubleheader as Pittsburgh wins 7-4 and sweeps both games today.
Odell Jones (1-0, 6.75 ERA) goes seven innings before departing and four Pirates relievers allow two hits in the final two innings.
Bill Madlock (.356) has three hits and
Jack Clark (.255, 14 RBI, 1 SB) drives in three runs on a pair of singles to lead the Giants offense while
Ed Halicki (3-1, 3.94 ERA) throws his first complete game of the season, leading to a 7-2 Giants victory.
Gary Carter (.412, 7 RBI) has three more hits to raise his average above .400.
Bob Stinson (.279, 7 RBI) comes within a home run of hitting for the cycle as the Padres score in bunches to beat Houston, 11-4.
Bob Watson (.281) and
Julio Gonzalez (.294, 2 RBI) each have three hits, but an error by 3B
Enos Cabell (5th) leads to four unearned runs in the seventh inning.
Tim McCarver (.302, 7 RBI) scores twice and drives in a pair of runs while
Jay Johnstone (.205, 3 RBI) hits his first home run of the season to lead the Phils past St. Louis, 6-1.
Jim Kaat (2-1, 4.58 ERA) collects win number 249 of his career, tying him with
Vic Willis for 29th on the all-time list.
George Foster (.302, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 4 SB) hits a towering grand slam off of Cubs starter
Steve Renko (1-2, 5.48 ERA) in the eighth inning to give Cincinnati a 8-4 victory and their ninth win in a row.
Johnny Bench (.328, 2 HR, 14 RBI) and
Joe Morgan (.245, 2 HR, 7 RBI) each hit solo home runs as the Reds have six extra-base hits.
Injuries
| MR Lary Anderson (6.75 ERA) was injured while pitching.
He is expected to miss about 4-5 weeks with a hyperextended elbow.
He is placed on the 15-day disabled list.
MR Cardell Camper (1.59 ERA) contract purchased from Triple A Toledo.
Camper will roll with the middle relievers and throw batting practice before games. |
Major Transactions
| SS Alan Bannister activated from the disabled list.
SS Tim Nordbrook (1.000, 1 AB) optioned to Triple A Iowa.
Bannister will assume his staring SS duties and his #9 spot in the batting order. |
Short Season Single A Update
Jamestown Expos (13-5) at Little Falls Mets (10-8)
Bill Newton (3-1, 4.18 ERA) has a rare bad start as he fails to record an out in the second inning and gives up six runs in an 8-3 defeat to Little Falls.
Alfonzo Aranda (.288, 10 RBI) has an RBI-triple and
Jesus Rivera (.289, 6 RBI) doubles in a run to lead our offense.
Cris Burgos (.286) has a double and a triple for the bad guys.