Tigers sweep Yanks, move into tie of 1st

Sunday September 12 at Tiger Stadium. Ron Guidry -v- Mickey Lolich.

The Tigers jumped on Guidry in the 3rd, capitalizing on two walks, but the big blow was a Ray Boone three run homer (4).  Boone added a two run homer in the 7th and the Fat Man took a 6 run lead into the 8th.  To this point Lolich had dominated the Yankee lineup but in the 8th things fell apart.  Skowron led off with a walk and the next 5 Yankees singled.   Joe DiMaggio grounded out for the first out, driving in the 4th run.  After an intentional pass to pinchhitter Graig Nettles, John Hiller closed the door on the Yankee 8th.  In the ninth Ekston Howard struck for his 1st homerun off closer Willie Hernandez but with a two run lead Willie was good enough (s, 6).  Lolich got the win (4-4, 5.25)  Guidry took the loss ((1-3, 4.45)
Tigers 6  Yankees 4

Monday September 13 at Tiger Stadium  Allie Reynolds -v- Jack Morris.

One the reasons Hall of Fame voters constantly overlook Jack Morris is the complaint that he always seemed just good enough.  well, he was just good enough, often enough to be one the of the winningest pitchers of the 80s.  But the thing that gets overlooked is that sometimes being just good enough requires you to be outstanding.  Today Morris was.  He didn't keep the Yankees off the base path, giving up 2 walks and 6 hits.  But through 8 innings he kept the Yankees off the board.  The offense?  Norm Cash, Home run (8).  That's right Mr. Euker, "One lousy run."  Reynolds came into the game at 5-0 and was nearly as good as Morris, but there was no offensive help for him.  Hernandez again closed out the ninth for his 7th save.  Morris got the win (6-1, 2,45)  Reynolds took the loss (5-1, 1.61). Compounding the Yankees woes was the fact the Joe D. joined Rickey Henderson on the injured list and will be unavailable for about ten days.  Tigers 1  Yankees 0

Tuesday September 14 ay Tiger Stadium  Mel Stottlemyre -v- Hank Aguiree. 

The Tigers scored first in the second inning when Harvey Kuenn grounded out with the bases full to force in a run.  In the third, Cash singled, went to third on George Kell's double and scored on Bill Freehan's sacrifice fly.  The Yanks picked up a run in the 4th on a Phil Rizzuto double and Mickey Mantle single.  Cash led off the fifth with his ninth homerun and there things stood into the 9th.  Again the Yankees would face Hernandez and once again a Yankee catcher would homer, this time Thurman Munson, his first/  but again Willie came in with a two run lead and was just good enough (s, 8).  Aguirre was the winner (1-0, 5.16)  Stottlemyre took a loss he didn't deserve (5-1, 305)  Tigers 3  Yankees 2

--submitted by Tom “Crash” Davis--

Dodgers take 2 of 3 from ‘Spos

Game 1 in Montreal saw Don Sutton for the LA Dodgers taking on Bryn Smith for the Montreal Expos.

Montreal struck first in the bottom half of the 1st inning when Delino DeShields Doubled and Andre Dawson then doubled him home. But, that would be all that Montreal enjoyed in this Game. LA jumped all over Smith by scoring 2 runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings, then scoring another 3 runs in the 4th inning by way of 9 hits in that span, including a pair of Homeruns from Carl Furillo. LA also added an insurance run in the top half of the 5th inning - for a solid 8-1 lead after 5 innings of play - and held thru 8 innings. Charlie Hough took over the 9th inning for Sutton and gave up a
solo HR to Dawson.  Game 1: LA wins 8-2.

Game 2 shifted to LA, where Fernando Valenzuela took the mound to face Charlie Lea for Montreal.

This game would turn into a pitching duel that had Dodger fans on edge.  But, the Dodgers jumped out front with a 2-run blast from Steve Garvey.  Valenzuela held until the 6th inning, when Montreal scored a run on a Double from Gary Carter that scored Andre Dawson. Down 2-1, Montreal scored 2 more runs and took the lead off Valenzuela in the 7th inning when Delino DeShields singled home Tim Foli and Marquis Grissom. Montreal was pitching by committee to hold off the Dodger bats, with Lea going 6 innings, Joe Hesketh and Tim Burke going 1 inning each, and Woodie Fryman and Jeff Reardon handling the 9th inning. In that 9th inning, the Dodgers had the bases loaded with no outs and they could not get it done - they had an infield out, a line out, and Duke Snider striking out to end the game.  Game 2: Montreal wins 3-2

In Game 3, LA came out with a sense of purpose after letting Game 2 slip away. They started Sandy Koufax against Scott Sanderson for Montreal.

LA jumped to a 4-run lead by jumping all over Sanderson in the bottom 2nd inning on 5 Singles and 1 Double - and Sanderson only lasted those 2 innings. LA provided Koufax with more of a cushion with another 2 runs in the bottom half of the 6th inning that started with a Single and followed by 3 Walks. With a 6-0 lead, Koufax gave up a solo HR to Gary Carter in the 7th inning. Koufax would go on to give up 2 more solo shots to Hubie Brooks
and Andre Dawson in the 8th inning. But, LA scored again on a solo shot from Gil Hodges in the bottom half of the 8th inning and Koufax sealed the 9th inning to preserve the win. Koufax fanned 11 to get his 6th Win of the season.
Game 3: LA wins 7-3.
--submitted by Georges Bseraini--

Standings with 15 Games left to play

Motown take 2 of 3 in Beantown

9/8 - GAME 1 - Fenway Park
Jack Morris vs Roger Clemens
Red Sox 3, Tigers 2
Both hurlers were spot on.  "The Rocket" had himself a shutout until the top of the 9th when the Tigers bats finally came alive.  Kirk Gibson, who's not a stranger to big 9th inning homers slammed a lead off shot to make it 3-1.  Lou Whitaker hit a mile high pop up in front of home plate that backstop Sammy White dropped, which allowed Whitaker to cruise into second.  Roger Clemens threw a perfect splitter to Harvey Kuenn for the strikeout, but the ball got past White and Whitaker strolled over to third.  The turning point of the game was Al Kaline's at bat.  Clemens was visibly rattled by the events of the inning and looked ready to crack.  He was given one more batter (Kaline) and with one swing almost gave away the ball game.  Clemens tried to overpower Kaline, who turned on the fastball and hit a blast to the deepest part of the park (420).  Dom DiMaggio tracked it down for the second out of the inning as Whitaker easily scored to make it 3-2.  With Norm Cash due up Clemens was lifted for lefty Sparky Lyle who fanned Detroit's lefty hitting first baseman to end the contest.  Boston scored all 3 of their runs in the 4th thanks to two passed balls charged to Lance Parrish and a two run double by Jim Rice.

9/9 - GAME 2
Denny McLain vs Dennis Eckersley
Tigers 16, Red Sox 5
The "Eck" came into the game sporting a 5-0 record and a tidy ERA.  He left the game a beaten victim, who was sent to the showers before registering 3 outs in the top of the first.  Detroit's 7 run barrage saw 12 hitters come to the plate.  Eckersley allowed lead off singles to Whitaker and Kuenn then walked the next 3.  Kirk Gibson's 2 run double made it 4-0 and Bill Freehan's 3 run homer finished off Eckersley's day.  Bruce Hurst came in from the pen in an uncomfortable role as long reliever and went 3 2/3 and gave up just 1 run.  In the meantime the Bosox battled back with 2 in the 4th and 3 in the 6th off of McLain to make it an 8-5 ball game.  Bob Stanley replace Hurst and until the 8th he was doing fine.  Detroit bulldozed Stanley for 8 runs over the final 2 innings to seal the deal in a game where they scored 16 runs on 20 hits.  Kirk Gibson and George Kell both had 5 RBI days.  Havey Kuenn went 4 for 5.  Norm Cash was the only Tiger regular w/out a hit.

9/10 - GAME 3
Jim Bunning vs Mel Parnell
Tigers 4, Red Sox 3
Jim Bunning and his national debt-like ERA was on a tight leash in a must win game for both teams who are trying to keep pace with the Evil Empire.  Mel Parnell got himself into a bit of a bind in the top of the second, when 3 of the first 4 batters he faced singled to load the bases.  An error by Johnny Pesky at short on Alan Trammell's sinking liner allowed George Kell to score.  Kirk Gibson would score on Ron LeFlore's grounder to second.  Detroit carried that 2-0 lead into the 4th when Bunning ran into trouble and got the quick hook.  With runners on the corners and nobody out the "splendid splinter", Ted Williams, lined a single to right to score Jim Rice.  Yaz would score three batters later on a groundout by Goodman, but Mark "the Bird" Fidrych would minimized the damage to two runs and go on to pitch almost 3 scoreless innings of long relief.  Detroit would regain their lead in the 5th when Ray Boone tripled home Al Kaline and George Kell, who went 3 for 4 on the day, singled home Boone.  Hank Aguirre and Mike Henneman would take over for "the bird" and keep the status quo until the bottom of the 9th when they handed the ball off to closer Willie Hernandez.  Pesky and Boggs both grounded out and Hernandez was 1 out away from putting the game away.  Jim Rice stepped to the plate and hit one right over the green monstah to make it a 1 run game.  Yaz followed and all of a sudden the tension began to mount on both pitcher and hitter.  Hernandez got the upper hand and played Yaz like a fiddle by changing speeds and striking him out with a slider.  Detroit took 2 of 3 in this all important AL East matchup.

‘Stros take 2 of 3 from Friars

GAME 1 - 9/8 - Astrodome
Bruce Hurst vs Larry Dierker
Astros 4, Padres 0
Larry Dierker had a 5 hit shutout after 10, but was removed for a pinch hitter (Joe Morgan) in the 8th.  Joe Sambito and Dave Smith gave up 2 hits and no runs to close it out for the home team.  Dickie Thon had a 3 for 4 day.  Rusty Staub, who replace the injured Glenn Davis, went 2 for 4 and scored 2 runs.  Tony Gwynn had 3 of SD's 7 hits.

GAME 2 - 9/9
Randy Jones vs Nolan Ryan
Astros 6, Padres 3
The "Express" struck out 7, threw 138 pitches and went the distance as the Astros doubled up the Friars 6-3.  Nolan Ryan notched his first win in a season where run support has been almost non-existent.  Randy Jones had another bad outing for SD and was removed in the middle of the 2nd, where the Astros scored 4 runs.  After Dickie Thon's RBI single, Jones hit the showers.  Clay Kirby came on board and promptly served up a bases clearing double to Craig Biggio to make it 4-1.  Houston never looked back.

GAME 3 - 9/10
Eric Show vs Joe Niekro
Padres 13, Astros 4
No sweep for the 'Stros as Joe Niekro, Ken Forsch, JR Richard and Don Wilson all threw BP.  SD posted 17 hits in total.  Dave Winfield hit his 9th homer in a 4 for 6 day that included 4 RBI's and 3 runs scored.  Tony Gwynn's 3 for 6 day culminated in 4 runs scored and 2 RBI.  Padre shortstop Garry Templeton, who went 2 for 5, was the only regular not to have an RBI.  He did score two runs.  Show got the win with 7 solid innings and Hawkins finished out the final 2 frames with the game already out of reach.

Amazin’s take 2 of 3 from Cubbies

GAME 1 - 9/8 - Wrigley Field
Tom Seaver vs Ferguson Jenkins
Mets 9, Cubs 8
Something's wrong in both Metland and Wrigleyville when HOF starters like Seaver and Jenkins pitch batting practice day in and day out.  Both were victimized for 8 runs in 6+ innings of work and both now have ERA's in the mid 5's.  After 6 the Cubbies had an 8-6 lead, but no lead is safe when the wind is blowing out in the "friendly confines".  Jenkins would start the 7th clinging ever so tightly to a tenuous 2 run lead. After getting 2 quick outs the hard throwing right hander from Canada looked to be in good shape.  Three consecutive singles by Backman, Mex and McReynolds + an error by Santo at third made it 8-7.  A walk to Straw re-loaded the bases and a single by HoJo tied it at 8-8.  Lee Smith was brought in to get Carter out and end the inning.  Bud Harrelson would lead off the 8th and work out a walk.  Pinch hitter Felix Millan grounded out to short as Harrelson moved up 90 feet.  Maz walked to put runners on 1st and 2nd and an error by Banks at short loaded the bases for Mex (Keith Hernandez), who lifted a sac fly to right to give the Mets their first lead since the top of the first.  Roger McDowell started the 9th and delivered his famed sinker ball to Ryno who hit a one hopper to second that Backman booted.  Hank Sauer, who has hit some big clutch homers this season, hit a bullet to Backman who stepped on second and flipped one over to first for a DP.  Andre Dawson would keep Chicago's faint hopes alive with a clean single to center, but Jesse Orosco would come in from the pen and fan Rick Monday to end the game.

GAME 2 - 9/9
Dwight Gooden vs Bill Hands
Mets 6, Cubs 1
Doc Gooden (5-2, 2.56) was flat out dealin'.  Doctor K struck out 11 and walked only one in 7 2/3 innings of work.  Ron Taylor would pitch the final inning and a third for his 3rd save.  Chicago actually carried a 1-0 lead into the 4th courtesy of a solo shot by "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks in the bottom of the 1st.  Bill Hands looked to be up for the challenge of dueling with Gooden until he hit a speed bump in the 4th.  Maz lead the inning off with a walk and when Randy Hundley botched Backman's sac bunt attempt all hands were safe.  Mex singled to load the bases.  Kevin McReynolds followed that with an RBI single, but Backman got nailed at the plate by a great throw by Billy Williams for the first out.  Darryl Strawberry's double off the ivy plated to more to give New York a 3-1 lead.  HoJo's solo shot in the 7th made it a 3 run lead and solo shots by Straw and Carter in the 9th put it out of reach.

GAME 3 - 9/10
Jerry Koosman vs Rick Reuschel
Cubs 5, Mets 2
Chicago knocked Kooz out of the box with 3 big runs in the first.  El Sid came on and gave up 2 more runs over the next 3 to give Chicago a comfortable 5-1 lead that was never in jeopardy.  Chicago salvaged the final game of this disappointing home series vs the struggling Amazin's.  Andre Dawson hit his 11th homer and Ernie Banks hit his 15th.  Rick Monday was the only Cub regular not to notch a hit.  Bruce Sutter pitched a perfect 9th and recorded his 7th save of the season.  Hojo had 3 hits in a losing cause.

Dem bums sweep de Jints

GAME 1 - 9/8 - Ebbets Field
Gaylord Perry vs Sandy Koufax
Dodgers 9, Giants 4
Sandy Koufax went the distance fanning 11 and giving up just 4 hits.  Those 4 hits accounted for 4 runs as Willie Mays hit his league leading 14th homer and Matt Williams hit his 3rd.  The rest of the scoring was all Dodgers, who hit 4 round trippers themselves.  Duke Snider (6), Steve Garvey (7), Roy Campanella (4) and Gil Hodges (10) all went deep.  Maury Wills had 3 hits, but didn't need to pilfer any bases with the Dodgers going deep.  Koufax increased his record to 5-1 with a 2.69 ERA.  Perry, who didn't make it to the 5th gave up 7 runs even though he did fan 7.

GAME 2 - 9/9
Juan Marichal vs Don Drysdale
Dodgers 9, Giants 3
For the second day in a row fans were treated to a HOF pitching  matchup.  Marichal (1-3, 3.89) was not at his best despite fanning 5 in 6 2/3 innings.  During that same stretch he allowed 5 runs, while his counterpart, Don Drysdale, kept damage to a minimum (3 runs over 8 IP).  The Dodgers took the lead in the bottom of the second with a 2 run blast from Reggie Smith and a solo shot by Gil Hodges.  Alvin Dark's 2 run shot in the top of the 3rd cut the Dodger lead to 1.  Duke Snider's grand slam in the bottom of the 8th blew the game wide open.  The "Duke of Flatbush" 7th homer of the season was served up by reliever Bobby Bolin.  One the Dodgers broke it open, Drysdale was removed for a pinch hitter and Charlie Hough finished out an uneventful 9th.

GAME 3 - 9/10
Larry Jansen vs Orel Hershiser
Dodgers 3, Giants 2
Duke Snider's 3rd homer in successive games staked "the Bulldog", Orel Hershiser, to a 3 run lead that he would take to the bank.  Jansen and his understudy, Jim Barr were able to shut the famed Dodger offense down the rest of the way, but the Giant offense could only muster 2 runs of their own thanks to a 2 run blast by Jim Ray Hart in the top of the 4th.  The Giants next threat would come when Kevin Mitchell doubled with 2 outs, but Hershiser caught Hart looking at a called strike three to end the inning.  Pinch hitter Dick Dietz hit one to the warning track in the 9th, but Hershiser held on to ensure that his team completed the coveted 3 game sweep vs their bitter rivals.