Sleep To Baseball Podcast Episode 15
Cardinals @ Royals, October 27, 1985 - World Series, Game 7
1985 World Series — Game 7
- Date: October 27, 1985
- Venue: Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium), Kansas City
- Series: Tied 3–3 coming into this decisive Game 7.
🏟 How the game unfolded
⚾ Pitching matchup:
- Royals: Bret Saberhagen, their 21-year-old ace, who had already won Game 3.
- Cardinals: John Tudor, who’d shut out the Royals in Game 4.
🔥 The Royals’ big night
- 2nd inning:
The Royals jumped out early. Darryl Motley crushed a 2-run homer to left, putting Kansas City up 2–0. - 3rd inning:
The Cardinals unraveled. Tudor lost his command, loading the bases. Steve Balboni singled to make it 3–0, then Jim Sundberg walked to force in another, 4–0. A wild pitch by reliever Bill Campbell made it 5–0. Darryl Motley then singled again to drive in two more, pushing the lead to a shocking 7–0. - 5th inning:
The Royals added two more on RBI singles from Lonnie Smith and Willie Wilson, stretching it to 9–0. - Cardinals meltdown:
Frustration boiled over. John Tudor had already been removed after lasting just 2.1 innings, giving up 5 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks. Later, in the dugout, he famously punched an electric fan and cut his hand badly.
🚀 Bret Saberhagen’s masterpiece
- Meanwhile, Saberhagen was in complete control.
- He pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just 5 hits, walking none, and striking out 2.
- When Jorge Orta grounded out to second for the final out, Saberhagen celebrated on the mound with his teammates — his newborn son was even brought onto the field during the celebration.
🏆 Final score:
Royals 11, Cardinals 0
Kansas City wins the 1985 World Series, 4–3, capturing their first championship in franchise history.
⭐ Key performances:
- Bret Saberhagen: Complete game shutout on the biggest stage, named World Series MVP.
- Darryl Motley: 3-for-4, with a 2-run homer and 3 RBIs total.
- George Brett: Went 1-for-3 with 2 runs scored, steady leadership throughout.
⚾ Historic notes
- This Game 7 rout came one night after the infamous Game 6 blown call by umpire Don Denkinger, which sparked Kansas City’s late rally and shifted the momentum of the series.
- The Cardinals’ frustration was obvious — manager Whitey Herzog and pitcher Joaquín Andújar were both ejected in the 5th inning for arguing balls and strikes.
- It remains one of the most famous turnarounds in World Series history, as St. Louis had been just three outs from winning the title in Game 6.
✅ In short:
The Royals pounced early and never looked back, crushing the Cardinals 11–0 behind Bret Saberhagen’s brilliant shutout to win their first-ever World Series title, just a day after a controversial call gave them new life.
