Chambliss Socks Game-breaker As Yankees Take Pennant, 7-6

Yankee first baseman Chris Chambliss slugged the first pitch thrown by Kansas City speedballer Mark Littell in the bottom of the ninth over the right-center fence in refurbished Yankee Stadium last night, breaking up a 6-6 tie and catapulting the Bronx Bombers to their first American League penant since 1964.

Each team rocked the starting pitcher for a pair of runs in the first inning, as Ed Figueroa opposed the Royals' Dennis Leonard in the fifth and deciding playoff game.

Figueroa hummed a third strike past Tom Poquette for the game's second out, but George Brett followed by rapping a two-bagger. Cleanup hitter John Mayberry then stepped to the plate and gave the Royals a brief 2-0 cushion by yanking Figueroa's hanging curve over the auxiliary scoreboard in right field.

Leonard, who got the nod for his second start in the series from manager Whitey Herzog, went to the showers early after the Yankees peppered him with three straight hits.

Mickey Rivers, who exploded for four consecutive hits, led off the Yankee's half by slicing a triple to the opposite field. He raced home on Roy White's infield single.

White swiped second and Munson drilled a single to move him along, and the Yankee captain later scored on Chambliss's sacrifice fly.

K.C. edged back into the lead when veteran Cookie Rojas singled, stole second and scored on Buck Martinez's clothesline single to right.

The Yankees pulled into the lead in the bottom of the third after Rivers bounced a single up the middle and loped home on Munson's second RBI single. Chambliss made it 4-3 for New York when White scored on his infield roller.

The men in pinstripes seemed to be in the catbird seat once Figueroa settled down. After leaving seven men stranded on base in the space of two innings, the Yankees shelled Royal reliever Andy Hassler for two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, making it 6-3.

The key play in the Yankee burst was George Brett's error on Carlos May's dribbler down the third base line. But Brett more than made up for the miscue when he walloped a three run homer with Al Cowens and Jim Wohlford aboard in the top of the eighth that momentarily silenced the boisterous capacity crowd.

With the game seemingly headed into extra innings, the stage was set for Chambliss's momentous blast. Fans spilled onto the field as jubilation reigned supreme in the House that Ruth built after a twelve-year drought.