1968 Tigers Tribute Site

June 25, 1968 at Yankees Stadium
Tigers 8, Yankees 5 (46-26)

The Tigers piled on twelve hits and eight walks to win their third straight game.  Willie Horton led the way and he went two for five with a triple, two runs and two RBIs while Jim Northrup tripled, drove in two and drew two walks.

Mickey Lolich was roughed up and he gave up four runs before he even finished the third inning.  Dennis Ribant picked up the win and he improved to 1-1.  He gave up one unearned run on three hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings.  Pat Dobson got the final batter out and he picked up his fourth save of the season.

June 22, 1968 at Cleveland Stadium
Indians 2, Tigers 0 (43-25)

The Tigers dropped their second straight game to the Indians in a contest that saw the road team pick up just five hits.  Willie Horton was the only hitter to reach base twice with a single and a walk while Mickey Stanley and Norm Cash both doubled.

Earl Wilson fell to 5-5 despite a solid start.  He gave up two runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts in seven innings of work.

June 19, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Red Sox 8, Tigers 5 (42-23)

Joe Sparma took it on the chin again and he fell to 5-7 with a subpar outing.  He gave up five runs on eight hits and four walks with eight strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.  Daryl Patterson gave up three runs in his 2/3 of an inning, but all three were unearned because Patterson himself made an error in the inning.

Wille Horton and Norm Cash both hit solo homers in the loss.  For Horton, it was his 18th of the season and Dick McAuliffe went one for two with three walks and two runs.

June 15, 1968 at Comiskey Park
White Sox 7, Tigers 4 (40-21)

Joe Sparma had a rough outing and he fell to 5-6 as the Tigers five game winning streak came to an end.  He gave up five runs on five hits and three walks with a strikeout in four innings of work.

Bill Freehan went four for five with a solo homer.  Dick McAuliffe and Willie Horton both went yard with solo shots.  For Horton, it was his 17th of the season.

June 12, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 2, Twins 1 (38-20)

The Tigers made it three straight over the Twins behind a solid outing by Mickey Lolich.  He improved to 5-3 and he gave up one run on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in the complete game.

Dick McAuliffe was the hiting star.  He went two for four with a solo homer and a pair of runs.  Willie Horton drove in the other run with a sac. fly.

June 7, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 5, Indians 4  (34-19)

The Tigers needed five runs in the final three innings but they did it to win their fourth straight game.  Norm Cash had a big game with a pair of solo homers while Willie Horton joined him with a solo shot of his own.  For Horton, it was his sixteenth of the season.

John Hiller walked five and gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings.  Fred Lasher gave up a run in the ninth to tie it but he picked up the win because of Mickey Stanley’s walk off RBI triple in the bottom of the ninth.

June 1, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 5, Yankees 4  (29-16)

The Tigers overcame a four run first inning deficit to top the Yankees by a single run.  Les Cain was bounced in the first inning after getting just one batter out and he was tagged for four runs on five hits.  Back to back homers by Willie Horton and Norm Cash in the sixth inning tied the game and then Jim Northrup scored on Bill Freehan’s single in the seventh inning for the game winner.

Bill Freehan finished the game with three RBIs while Willie Horton had a team high three hits.  His homerun was his fifteenth of the season and for Cash, it was just his third.

Pat Dobson did a fantastic job after that first inning and he went on to pick up the win.  He did allow one inherited runner to score in the first but after that, he didn’t allow a run in 5 2/3 innings.  Fred Lasher gave up just one hit in three shutout frames and he improved to 3-1.

May 31, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 1, Yankees 0  (28-16)

The Tigers closed out the month of May with their fourth straight win despite picking up just a run on four hits in the contest.  Willie Horton’s solo homerun in the seventh inning, his fourteenth long ball of the year, was the only run for either side as Mickey Lolich and Stottlemyre were both immersed in an intense pitcher’s dual.

Lolich improved to 3-2 with his best start of the season.  He gave up four hits and four walks with eight strikeouts in the shutout win.

May 29, 1968 at Anaheim Stadium
Tigers 3, Angels 0  (26-16)

Denny McLain did it again with another exceptional start as he improved to 8-1.  He gave up just four hits and a walk with thirteen strikeouts in the shutout win.

Willie Horton’s two run homer in the seventh inning was his thirteenth of the season.  Dick McAuliffe went three for four and he drove in the other Tiger run.

May 28, 1968 at Anaheim Stadium
Tigers 4, Angels 1  (25-16)

Bill Freehan doubled home two runs and then Willie Horton followed that up with a two run homer to give the Tigers an early 4-0 lead before the Angels even got to hit.  That was all the Tigers got but it more then enough because of some exceptional relief pitching from John Hiller.

Les Cain got the start and after giving up a run in the first, he ran into trouble in the third inning when he put two men on with one out.  John Hiller came in to get the final two outs and he then pitched six more innings of shutout ball to improved to 2-1 on the season.

May 24, 1968 at the Oakland Coliseum
Tigers 2, Athletics 2  (23-14)

The Tigers and Athletics played to a 2-2 rain shortened tie today and the game was called in the seventh inning.  Both Tiger runs came via the longball with solo shots by Bill Freehan and Willie Horton.  For Horton, it was his eleventh of the season and Freehan belted his seventh.

Earl Wilson gave up two runs on five hits with two strikeouts in five innings.  Daryl Patterson gave up a hit and a walk with a strikeout in two shutout innings of relief.

May 21, 1968 at Metropolitan Stadium
Twins 3, Tigers 1  (23-13)

The Tigers three game winning streak came to an end with a pretty pathetic day at the plate.  Tigers’ hitters managed just four hits and their lone run of the game came in the second inning when Bill Freehan singled home Willie Horton.

A solid start by Joe Sparma went to waste.  He fell to 3-4 and he gave up three runs on eight hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in eight innings.

May 20, 1968 at Metropolitan Stadium
Tigers 4, Twins 3  (23-12)

The Tigers came back from an early 3-0 deficit in this one to walk away with their third straight win.  Willie Horton hit a solo shot, his tenth homer of the season, in the ninth inning to send the game into extra frames and then Al Kaline scored on an error (the second of the inning) in the top of the tenth to win it.  Kaline finished with two runs despite not getting a hit and no Tiger had more then one hit.

Denny McLain improved to 6-1 despite a three run second inning. He gave up just the three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts in the ten inning complete game.

May 18, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Senators 8, Tigers 4  (20-12)

Frank Howard took it to the Tigers with two more homeruns as Mickey Lolich was shelled in the Tigers blowout loss.  Lolich gave up five runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and the loss dropped his record to 2-2 on the season.

Bill Freehan went two for three with a walk, an RBI and two runs.  Willie Horton chipped with a two run homer.  It was his ninth homer of the season.

May 14, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 4, Orioles 0  (19-10)

Earl Wilson improved to 4-4 on the season with a four hit shutout as the Tigers got back on track in front of their home crowd.  He gave up two walks and he struck out five in what his best start of the season to date.

Willie Horton pretty much was the Tigers offense in this one.  He homered twice and drove in three runs and the only run he didn’t play a part in was on a solo homer by Ray Oyler.

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 8, 1968 at Memorial Stadium
Tigers 3, Orioles 1  (16-9)

Earl Wilson had one of his best starts of the season as he gave up just one unearned run in eight innings of work. That lone run didn’t come until the ninth inning and it was Jon Warden who came in to put out the fire.  He struck out one and got all three batters he faced out in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.

Jim Northrup put the Tigers on the board with a solo homer in the first inning.  Willie Horton went two for three with a walk, a run and an RBI.

May 3, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Angels 6, Tigers 5  (13-7)

The Tigers lost their second one run game in as many days as Mickey Lolich was roughed up by the Angels’ hitters.  Lolich fell to 1-1 and he gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

Willie Horton had a monster day at the plate.  He homered twice and drove in three runs while Al Kaline went three for five with a run.

May 3, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Angels 6, Tigers 5  (13-7)

The Tigers lost their second one run game in as many days as Mickey Lolich was roughed up by the Angels’ hitters.  Lolich fell to 1-1 and he gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

Willie Horton had a monster day at the plate.  He homered twice and drove in three runs while Al Kaline went three for five with a run.

May 1, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 3, Twins 2  (13-5)

Willie Horton drove in Dick McAuliffe with a sac. fly in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie to win their first game in the May.  With just five hits, the Tigers needed a two run homer by Jim Northrup in the fifth inning to give them the additional runs they needed to pull this one out.

Denny McLain improved to 3-0 with a nice start.  He gave up two runs (both on solo homers) on six hits with nine strikeouts in a complete game win.

April 18, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 5, Indians 0  (6-1)

The Tigers made it six straight wins behind an exceptional start by Joe Sparma.  He gave up seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts in the complete game shutout and it was his first win of the season.

Three of the Tigers’ runs came via the long ball.  Willie Horton, Dick McAuliffe and Al Kaline all went yard with solo shots in the win.  Horton finished the game with two RBIs while McAuliffe drew two walks in addition to the homerun and he scored twice.

April 17, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 4, Indians 3  (5-1)

The Tigers picked up their fifth straight win and their second extra inning win in three games in their opener against the Indians.   Willie Horton provided the heroics with a two run, walk off homer in the bottom of the tenth inning to win it for Detroit.  Mickey Stanley had a nice game as well at the plate and he went two for five with an RBI.

Denny McLain got his second no decision of the season with seven solid frames.  He gave up two runs on six hits and two walks with nine strikeouts.  Jon Warden picked up his second win of the season as he got the final two batters out in the tenth inning.

April 16, 1968 at Fenway Park
Tigers 9, Red Sox 2  (4-1)

The Tigers ran up the score in their most impressive offensive performance of the short season and won their fourth straight game.  While there were plenty of hitting stars, it was Willie Horton who led the way.  He went three for six with two doubles, two RBIs and a run.  Bill Freehan went three for four with two runs and Dick McAuliffe walked four times and scored a run.

Earl Wilson not only picked up two hits, a run and an RBI but he threw a gem of a game.  He gave up just two runs on four hits and five walks with eight strikeouts in the complete game win.

April 13, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 5, White Sox 2  (2-1)

Daryl Patterson threw some exceptional relief pitching after Joe Sparma ran into problems in the fifth inning.  Like Jon Warden two days before, Patterson picked up his first career win and he gave up four hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.  Fred Lasher got the final out of the game and he picked up his first save of the season.

Mickey Stanley was the hitting star.  He went two for five with a double, two RBIs and a run.  Willie Horton doubled, drove in a run and scored in the win.

April 10, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Red Sox 7, Tigers 3  (0-1)

The Tigers lost their home opener against the defending American League champs.  The Red Sox got to Earl Wilson early to the tune of five runs in five innings and both Pat Dobson and Daryl Patterson were touched up for a piece as well.

Wilson did help out his own cause with the stick though and he belted the Tigers only homer, a solo shot in the third inning.  Mickey Stanley had a team high three hits while Willie Horton went two for three with a double and an RBI.