1968 Tigers Tribute Site

October 10, 1968 at Busch Stadium
Tigers 4, Cardinals 1
Tigers Win Best of Seven Game Series 4-3

The Tigers and Mickey Lolich saved the best for last as the Tigers completed a historic comeback to secure their first World Series win since 1945.  In a first time battle between both team’s best postseason pitchers, it was Mickey Lolich who came out on top with a fantastic outing that saw him surrender just one run on five hits to go a perfect 3-0 in three complete game wins for the Tigers.

Through six innings, this was a total nail biter.  The Tigers managed just a single hit off of Bob Gibson while the Cardinals picked up just four.  The biggest threat came in the bottom of the sixth inning but Lolich picked both Lou Brock and Curt Flood off of first base to negate any damage.  Both times Lolich was able to get the ball over to first base on stolen base attempts.

The Tigers finally shined in the seventh inning.  Mickey Stanley struck out and Al Kaline grounded out to lead things off but with two outs, the Tigers got it going.  Norm Cash and Willie Horton belted back to back singles and then Jim Northrup belted a triple to drive them both in.  Bill Freehan followed that up with a double to make it 3-0 and just like that, the Tigers were three innings away from taking the series. 

The Cardinals got nothing in the seventh and eighth and then in the top of the ninth, the Tigers got an insurance run.  Willie Horton singled with one out before Dick Tracewski came in to run for him.  Tracewski moved to third on Jim Northrup’s single and then Don Wert singled him home to make it 4-0.

The Cardinals finally got on the board in their last frame.  With two outs, Mike Shannon belted a solo homer but the optimism was short lived because Tim McCarver followed that up with a pop out to Norm Cash to end the game.

Lolich was nothing short of fantastic and in the process, he secured World Series MVP honors.  In his third consecutive complete game, he gave up just one run on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts and he finished the series a perfect 3-0.

October 9, 1968 at Busch Stadium
Tigers 13, Cardinals 1
Best of Seven Game Series Tied 3-3

The 1968 World Series moved back to St. Louis and the Tigers showed up like they did in game two, the last time a game was played at Busch Stadium.  The Tigers scored enough runs to put this one away with two in the second but the ten they scored in the third frame turned this game into a big time blowout.  In the process, the Tigers forced a pivotal winner take all game seven.

It was Denny McLain going up against Ray Washburn and the 31 win variety of McLain showed up.  The Tigers first got to Washburn in the second inning.  Norm Cash led off with a walk and he scored on Willie Horton’s double.  An out later, Horton scored on Bill Freehan’s single to left.  The inning could have been worse because with two men on, Denny McLain grounded into a double play to end the inning.

The third inning was one for the record books.  The Tigers picked up ten runs on seven hits against four different pitchers.  Dick McAuliffe led off with a walk and he moved to second on Mickey Stanley’s single.  McAuliffe scored on Al Kaline’s single before Larry Jaster came in to relieve Washburn.  Norm Cash singled home Stanley and Willie Horton walked to load up the bases before Jim Northrup came through with one of his trademark grand slams to open the game up.  Ron Willis came in to pitch for Jaster but still the Tigers weren’t done.  Bill Freehan walked and Don Wert was hit by a pitch before Denny McLain moved them both over with a bunt, the first out of the inning.  Dick McAuliffe was given a free pass before Mickey Stanley forced out Bill Freehan at the plate to make it two outs.  Still, Al Kaline picked up his second hit of the inning with a two run single before Dick Hughes came in to replace Willis.  Norm Cash singled home Stanley and Willie Horton singled home Kaline to put the tally at ten runs in the inning.  Finally, Jim Northrup flied out to left to end the inning.

Al Kaline belted a solo homer in the fifth to further pad the lead.  The Cardinals finally got to McLain in the ninth when Julian Javier singled home Roger Maris with two outs.

McLain finished with his first and only win of the series.  He gave up one run on nine hits without a walk and he struck out seven in the complete game.  Al Kaline and Norm Cash both had three hits and Kaline and Northrup both drove in four runs.  The only Tiger starter to not reach base at least once was Denny McLain, who struck out in four at bats.

October 7, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 5, Cardinals 3 
Cardinals Lead Best of Seven Game Series 3-2

The Tigers avoided elimination for at least one day as they closed out Tiger Stadium for the season.  They needed a huge fielding play by Willie Horton as well as some timely hitting to lock up the win but still, it was enough to allow them to fight another day.

Things got off to a grim start in the first inning with Mickey Lolich on the mound.  Lou Brock led off with a double before Julian Javier grounded out to short.  Curt Flood singled home Brock and he stole second before Orlando Cepeda belted a huge two run homer to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

From there, the game turned into a bit of a pitchers duel until the Tigers finally got to Nelson Briles in the fourth inning.  Mickey Stanley led off with a triple and he after an Al Kaline ground out to the pitcher, Norm Cash drove home Stanley with a sac. fly.  Willie Horton followed that up with a two out triple and then he scored on Jim Northrup’s single to shave the Tiger’s deficit down to 3-2.

The Cardinals looked like they might get something going in the fifth inning but Willie Horton came up big with what many think was the biggest play of the series.  Nelson Briles led off the inning with a strikeout but Brock followed that up with a double.  Julian Javier singled and Brock looked like he was going to score easily from second but Willie Horton came up throwing.  After getting the scouting report that Brock tended to let up without sliding into home plate, Horton threw a strike to the plate to get Brock by a step.  Instead of having one out and a run in, the Tigers had two outs with a runner on first with no damage so far.  Curt Flood followed that up with a fly out and the Tigers one run deficit was maintained.

The Tigers loaded the bases in the sixth but couldn’t push a run across.  In the meantime, Mickey Lolich had settled in and he held the Cardinals hitless in the sixth and seventh inning.

The Tigers finally hit pay dirt in the seventh inning.  Don Wert led off with a strikeout before Mickey Lolich helped out his own cause with a single.  Joe Hoerner came in to relieve Briles and he was pummelled by the Tigers hitters.  Dick McAuliffe singled, and then a Mickey Stanley walk loaded the bases.  Al Kaline then came in and singled home Lolich and McAuliffe to give the Tigers their first lead of the game.  Norm Cash singled home Stanley some insurance but Ron Willis finally came on in relief to get to get the Cardinals out of the jam.

Lolich gave up just a single in the eighth but he finally ran into trouble in the ninth.  Tim McCarver led off with a single and after a Phil Gagliano fly out, Ed Spiezio single to put two runners on.  Lolich buckled down though and he got Roger Maris to strike out and Lou Brock to ground out to end the game.

Lolich finished his second complete game of the series with some solid numbers.  He gave up three runs on nine hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.  Al Kaline and Norm Cash both had two hits and two RBIs while Stanley was the lone Tiger with two runs.

October 3, 1968 at Busch Stadium
Tigers 8, Cardinals 1
Best of Seven Game Series Tied 1-1

The Tigers bounced back in a big way as they evened their series with the Cardinals behind an eight run, thirteen hit attack.  Nelson Briles took the brunt of it and before the Cardinals scored their lone run, the Tigers already had five on the board.

Willie Horton drove in the first run with a solo shot in the second inning.  Mickey Lolich helped out his own cause with a solo homer in the third while the big inning came in the top of the sixth.  Norm Cash led off the inning with a solo homer and then Horton followed that up with a single.  Briles left the game and Steve Carlton took his turn but it didn’t stem the damage.  Jim Northrup singled to put runners at first and scored before Bill Freehan made the first out with a pop out to first base.  Don Wert drew a walk to load the bases and it looked like the runners might be wasted because Mickey Lolich struck out.  Dick McAuliffe kept things going though and he singled home Horton and Northrup to give the Tigers a 5-0 lead

The Cardinals did finally put a run on the board against Mickey Lolich in the bottom of the sixth.  Lou Brock led off with a walk, stole second, moved to third on Curt Flood’s single and then scored on an Orlando Cepeda single.  The inning was cut short though because Mike Shannon grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Al Kaline scored on a Jim Northrup double play to make it 6-1 and then Don Wert and Mickey Lolich drew bases loaded walks in the top of the ninth to make it 8-1.  Cash finished with a team high three hits while Don Wert drew three walks and drove in a run.

Lost in all of the offense was an outstanding game by Mickey Lolich.  He gave up just one run on six hits and he walked just two with nine strikeouts in the complete game win.

September 23, 1968 at Memorial Stadium
Orioles 2, Tigers 1  (101-56)

The Tigers failed to set their new franchise win record for the second straight day and Denny McLain lost his sixth game of the season.  Blame the offense on this one though because McLain definitely threw a good enough game.  He gave up just two runs (one earned) on five hits and five walks with four strikeouts in seven innings.  The loss dropped his record to 31-6.

Gates Brown went two for three with a double.  Don Wert singled and he scored the lone Tigers run.

September 17, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 2, Yankees 1  (98-54)

The Tigers clinched their first American League pennant since 1945 with their eighth straight win.  Joe Sparma got it done in a pitcher’s duel in another September complete game and he gave up one run on five hits and one walk with two strikeouts.  The win improved his record to 9-10 on the season.

Don Wert had the big hit with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.  Bill Freehan went two for three with a run while Norm Cash went two for three.

September 7, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Twins 2, Tigers 1  (90-53)

The Tigers outhit the Twins 8-6 but they came up short where it counted in a 2-1 loss that ended their four game winning streak.  Pat Dobson went the distance but he gave up a ninth inning run to fall to 5-6.  He gave up two runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts and both runs came on solo homers.

Mickey Stanley went three for five.  Don Wert drove in the lone Tiger run with his twelth homerun of the season.

August 6, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 2, Indians 1  (68-41)

It can be tough enough playing a doubleheader, but when the first game goes seventeen innings, it makes it that much tougher.  Down 1-0, Don Wert hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to tie the game up.  Then neither side scored until the bottom of the seventeenth when Dick Tracewski singled home Bill Freehan for the game winner. 

John Hiller threw the first eight innings and he held the Indians to just one run.  Then five relievers held the Indians to just three hits in nine shutout innings to finish up the game.  John Wyatt threw the final frame and he picked up the win to improve to 2-4.

August 6, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 5, Indians 2  (69-41)

The Tigers didn’t finish up their sweep over the Indians until August 7 because this one was suspended at the end of eight innings where they picked up the next day.  Mickey Lolich picked up the win and he improved to 8-7 with 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief while John Wyatt threw three shutout innings to pick up his first save of the season.

Norm Cash was the hiting star.  He went two for four with a solo homerun while Al Kaline doubled in two at bats and he drove in a pair.

July 27, 1968 at Memorial Stadium
Tigers 9, Orioles 0  (63-37)

Tiger stars Willie Horton and Denny McLain shined as the team won for the 63rd time at the 100 game mark today.  McLain improved to 20-3 with an impressive three hit shutout.  He walked two and struck out seven and with 20 out of the way, McLain had his eyes set on 30 wins with over two months left in the season.

Willie Horton homered twice and drove in four.  The two long balls brought his season total up to 25 on the season.  Dick McAuliffe, Don Wert and Al Kaline all went yard as well while Norm Cash went four for five with two doubles and two runs.

July 14, 1968 at Anaheim Stadium
Angels 7, Tigers 3  (56-31)

The Tigers kicked off a west coast trip with a loss as Earl Wilson had a tough time in his start.  He fell to 6-7 and he gave up six runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts in just three innings of work.

Norm Cash and Don Wert both hit solo shots to account for most of the Tigers offense.  Mickey Stanley was the only Tiger with two hits and Cash finished with a pair of runs.

July 12, 1968 at Metropolitan Stadium
Tigers 5, Twins 1 (56-29)

Denny McLain improved to 17-2 with an exceptional start as the Tigers evened up their series with the Twins. He gave up just one unearned run on three hits with four walks with five strikeouts in yet another complete game win.

Don Wert went two for four with a two run homer. Willie Horton singled twice, scored a run and drove in one.

June 23, 1968 at Cleveland Stadium
Indians 3, Tigers 0  (43-26)

The Tigers suffered their third straight loss and their second straight shutout at the hands of the Indians.  This time, the offense was held to just three hits, two of which were by Don Wert.  He singled and doubled while Tom Matchick had the only other hit with a single.

John Hiller was roughed up and he gave up three runs while he pitched just 1/3 of an inning.  Dennis Ribant did a fine job in relief and he pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings and he also got the Tigers out of their first inning jam, but it wasn’t enough as the hitters could never get going.

June 23, 1968 at Cleveland Stadium
Tigers 4, Indians 1 (44-26)

The Tigers snapped their three game losing streak behind a solid outing by Joe Sparma.  He gave up one run on six hits and four walks with five strikeouts in seven innings.  Pat Dobson threw two no-hit innings to close out the game and he picked up his third save of the season.

Dick Tracewski had a big day at the plate in the win. He went two for five and his three run homer was the difference.  Dick McAuliffe had a pinch hit, RBI single and he later drew a walk.

June 16, 1968 at Comiskey Park
White Sox 3, Tigers 2  (40-22)

Mickey Lolich fell to 5-4 on the season despite a solid outing as the Tigers lost to the White Sox in the first game of their Sunday doubleheader.  He gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits with two strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. 

Bill Freehan was the only Tiger with two hits in the contest.  Don Wert doubled, scored a run and drew a walk.

June 16, 1968 at Comiskey Park
Tigers 6, White Sox 1 (41-22)

The Tigers salvaged both a split in their doubleheader with the White Sox as well as their four game series behind another fantastic outing by Denny McLain.  He improved to 11-2 and he gave up one run on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts in seven innings.  Pat Dobson got the final five outs and he picked up his first save of the season.

Jim Northrup doubled, singled and drove in a pair.  Dick McAuliffe doubled, drove in two and scored a run in the win.

June 14, 1968 at Comiskey Park
Tigers 6, White Sox 5  (40-20)

This time it was the hitters who bailed out the pitchers as the Tigers won their fifth straight contest despite needing fourteen innings to notch the win.  Earl Wilson helped out his own cause with a three run homer and Don Wert belted a solo homer in the top of the fourteenth for the game winner.  Bill Freehan had a team high three hits and he scored and drove in a run.

Wilson gave up four runs in seven innings before yielding to the pen.  Pat Dobson came up huge with five shutout innings while John Hiller shut the White Sox out in the final two frames to improve to 5-1.

June 4, 1968 at Fenway Park
Red Sox 2, Tigers 0  (30-19)

A pretty good start by Mickey Lolich went to waste as the Tigers dropped the first game of their doubleheader with the Red Sox.  Lolich gave up two runs on just two hits but he walked six with four strikeouts in seven innings.  For his efforts, he fell to 3-3.

The Tigers actually outhit the Red Sox 3-2 but that wasn’t saying much.  Gate Brown got the start in left and he was the only Tiger to reach base twice with a single and a walk.

June 4, 1968 at Fenway Park
Tigers 2, Red Sox 0  (31-19)

The Tigers returned the favor and Pat Dobson shut out the Red Sox on just five hits in the second game of their doubleheader.  Dobson picked up his first win of the season and he gave up the five hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

The Tigers scored both of their runs in the seventh frame.  Don Wert belted a solo homer, his sixth of the season.  Norm Cash was the only Tiger with more then one hit and he had a pair of singles.

May 26, 1968 at the Oakland Coliseum
Athletics 7, Tigers 6  (24-15)

The Tigers lost a bizare one as Joe Sparma was pummelled for six runs total in the second, third and fourth innings.  The Tigers then scored two in the fifth and four in the sixth to tie it before the game settled down and the final three regulation innings were scoreless on both sides.  Then John Hiller was touched up for a run in the bottom of the tenth as the Tigers dropped their fourth game in their last five.

Mickey Stanley had a nice day at the plate.  He went two for five with a triple, an RBI and two runs.  Don Wert singled, doubled and scored a run in the loss.

May 22, 1968 at Metropolitan Stadium
Twins 4, Tigers 3  (23-14)

The Tigers lost their rubber game with the Twins despite coming back from two runs down to tie it in the top of the eighth.  Don Wert led off the inning with his second homerun of the game to make it a one run contest and then after a Gate Brown pinch hit triple, Al Kaline singled to tie the game.  Unfortunately, Fred Lasher gave up a run in relief of Mickey Lolich in the bottom of the eighth to blow the comeback.

Wert hit his fourth and fifth homeruns of the season and outside of that, the Tigers didn’t get much at the plate.  A decent start by Mickey Lolich went to waste and he gave up three runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts in seven innings.

May 11, 1968 at D.C. Stadium
Tigers 12, Senators 2  (18-9)

For the second straight game, an impressive offensive performance by the Tigers overshadowed a solid outing by the team’s starter.  Bill Freehan, Willie Horton and Don Wert all went yard in the contest and both Horton and Freehan finished with three RBIs a piece.  Mickey Stanley and Al Kaline also pitched in and they both scored a team high three runs.

Joe Sparma improved to 2-3 on the season.  He gave up two runs on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts in the complete game.

May 10, 1968 at D.C. Stadium
Tigers 12, Senators 1  (17-9)

The Tigers won their third straight game behind a huge game by Al Kaline at the plate and another rock solid outing on the mound by Denny McLain.  Kaline went three for four with a homerun, six RBIs and three runs.  Bill Freehan and Don Wert also went yard in the contest and Freehan finished the game with three RBIs.

Denny McLain improved to 5-0 with another complete game.  He gave up one run on seven hits with seven strikeouts and the lone run was a solo homer off the bat of Frank Howard.

April 29, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 2, Athletics 1  (12-4)

The Tigers returned home to Tiger Stadium and won their sixth straight home game behind Mickey Lolich’s first win of the season.  Lolich gave up just a single run on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts in the complete game win.

Don Wert had a big day at the plate.  He went three for four and he belted his first homerun of the season.  And while Wert didn’t get the RBI, his ninth inning single pushed home the winning run after Rene Lachemann couldn’t hold onto a throw to the plate that could have gotten Norm Cash, the winning run, out.

April 28, 1968 at Yankee Stadium
Yankees 2, Tigers 1  (10-4)

The Tigers lost a tough one in a low scoring pitchers duel.  Joe Sparma took a shutout into the eighth inning but both he and Jon Warden combined to give up two runs in the eighth to blow a 1-0 lead.  Sparma dropped to 1-2 on the season and while one of the runs scored off of Warden, both were credited to Sparma.

The Tigers lone run came in the fourth inning when Roy Oyler drove in Jim Northrup with a sac. fly.  No Tiger reached base more the once in the loss.

April 28, 1968 at Yankee Stadium
Tigers 3, Yankees 2  (11-4)

The Tigers salvaged both a split in their doubleheader with the Yankees as well as their four game series at Yankee Stadium.  The Tigers were down 2-1 heading into the ninth when Bill Freehan belted a solo shot to tie the game and then just two batters later, Jim Northrup drove in the winning run with a solo shot of his own.  Don Wert singled twice and drove in a run to account for the other Tigers run.

Les Cain made his major league debut and while he didn’t get the win, he definitely kept the Tigers in this one.  He gave up just a single run on six hits and four walks with two strikeouts in seven innings.  John Hiller threw 1 2/3 shutout innings and he picked up the win while Fred Lasher got the final batter out to earn his second save of the season.

April 26, 1968 at Yankee Stadium
Yankees 5, Tigers 0  (9-3)

The Tigers suffered their worst loss of the short season and for the second straight time, they were shut out by the opposition.  Roy Oyler doubled and Don Wert and Earl Wilson both singled to account for the only Tiger hits of the game.

Wilson was knocked around for five runs in seven innings and he dropped to 2-2.  He gave up the five runs on seven hits and five walks with eight strikeouts and the big hit against him was a two run blast by Mickey Mantle.

April 14, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 5, White Sox 4  (3-1)

The Tigers won their third straight in a ten inning contest in which Bill Freehan provided the heroics.  His RBI single in the bottom of the tenth inning won it for the Tigers and it capped off a great individual game for the catcher.  He finished three for five with two RBIs and a run.  Don Wert doubled, drove in two and scored.

Mickey Lolich was roughed up for four runs on nine hits in just five innings.  Fred Lasher threw a shutout tenth inning and he improved to 1-0 on the season.