Royal drubbing
White Sox pound Kansas City 13-5
Posted: Sunday September 27, 1998 12:27 AM
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- Chicago White Sox
rookie outfielder Brian Simmons has the first two momentos of his major
league baseball career -- the balls he hit for his first two home runs.
Returning to his locker stall following Saturday night's 13-5 victory
over the Kansas City
Royals, he found the two baseballs sitting atop his dress shoes.
Simmons connected from the left side of the plate off starter Brian Barber
(2-4) in a four-run fourth inning and then from the right side off reliever
Allen McDill
in a five-run seventh. He finished the night with three hits and
five RBIs. "I think my mom and dad will get my first major-league
hit, but I'm keeping these," Simmons said. "I never hit two homers in a
professional game, let alone hitting them from both sides of the plate.
"It's something I dreamed about, and now, it's happened." White
Sox manager Jerry Manuel appreciated Simmons' big night. "Simmons is
in the future plans. He may be a possible spot starter or fourth
outfielder. We'll just have to wait and see." Frank Thomas
and Albert
Belle joined in on the power show, hitting consecutive home runs in the
fifth inning. The four home runs estabished a single-season team record of
196, eclipsing the White Sox mark of 195 set in 1996. Kansas City
held a 4-2 lead going into the fourth when Jeff Abbott hit a two-run double
and Simmons followed with his first home run, deep into the Royals' bullpen
in right field. Thomas then hit No. 29 to deep center field and
Belle followed with No. 48, a line drive that cleared the fence in left
field. It was his 30th since the All-Star break and his seventh against the
Royals this season. The White Sox's offensive show made a winner of
Jim Abbott
(5-0), who got off to a rocky start but settled down to keep his perfect
record intact. "It's been an awful quick 5-0," Manuel said of
Abbott. "He's a guy you want to give every opportunity in the world to come
back and be a part of this staff." Abbott, who was out of baseball
in 1997, said he will soon begin to think about his future in baseball.
"The time to think about the future is now," said Abbott, whose contract
was purchased from Class AAA Calgary on Sept. 2. "I've had a lot of fun
with the White Sox. I want to get back with my family, reflect on the
season and we will make the decision together." The Royals scored
three runs in the first inning on Dean Palmer's
sacrifice fly and rookie Jeremy Giambi's two-run double. Chicago cut
the deficit to one in the top of the second when Wil Cordero hit
a sacrifice fly and Simmons had an RBI single off Kansas City starter Brian
Barber (2-4). The Royals added solo runs in the second, on Carlos
Beltran's RBI single, and the fifth, on Jeff Conine's
RBI double. The White Sox added five runs in the seventh when Robin Ventura
stroked an RBI single, his third of the game, and Cordero hit a two-run
triple. The runs were credited to Kansas City reliever Brian Bevil.
Simmons then connected for his second big-league home run, a two-run
shot off Allen McDill. Kansas City used five pitchers in the game.
The White Sox sent four pitchers to the mound, with Abbott going five
innings. Notes: Prior to the game, Kansaas City pitcher Kevin Appier
was named the Royals' True Value Roberto Clemente Man of the Year. He was
presented wih an award and a check for $2,500 that will be donated to the
Leukemia Society and Hope House, a Kansas City-based home for battered
women and children. ... Palmer's first-inning sacrifice fly gave the
Royals' third baseman 119 RBIs this season, the second-highest total in
team history. ... Kansas City first baseman Jeff King was
scratched from the starting lineup when he was struck in the right eye by a
batted ball during batting practice. He was taken to the Medical Center of
Independence where it was announced that he had a contusion on the right
eyeball, a small laceration and contusion on the upper eyebrow and an
abrasion on the cornea. ... Thomas scored his 893rd run, tying Minnie
Minoso for fourth on the White Sox all-time scoring list.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
