Game 53: Home Is Where the Losses Are; Tigers Fall, 3-1

Detroit (June 12) - Another home game for the Tigers, another listless loss.

This time it was a typical score: 3-1, at the hands of the California Angels, who completed a three-game sweep tonight, revenge for the Tigers' three-game sweep in Anaheim last week.

The Angels' Ed Figueroa was the latest starting pitcher to turn the Tigers' bats into limp noodles.

Figueroa pitched a complete game, scattering eight mostly harmless hits.


Figueroa tossed an efficient complete game (no walks, seven Ks)


Lerrin LaGrow (2-8) took the loss for the Tigers but, as usual for Detroit starters, his was an effort that could have won most games. It was yet another instance when the Tigers starter's ERA went down, but the team still lost.

The Angels only scored 10 runs in the three games, but they did just enough to beat the punchless Bengals (21-32), who are 8-19 at home and off to a 0-3 start to this 12-game home stand. They scored four runs in the Angels series.

Tonight, the Halos scored all three runs in the fourth inning. Four singles and a Tom Veryzer error produced the three tallies.

Ron LeFlore's two-out single scored Veryzer in the fifth inning.

That was it for the offense.

The Oakland A's visit for a three-game weekend series.

Notes: Rookie catcher John Wockenfuss started a third straight game and went 2-for-4, making him 4-for-11 since being recalled from Toledo...When rookie Jack Pierce pinch-hit for Nate Colbert in the sixth with two outs and a runner on first base, the crowd of 14,442 cheered loudly. It was the earliest in a game that Colbert had been pinch-hit for as a Tiger. Pierce singled, but the rally died shortly thereafter...Rookie John Knox started at second base for Gary Sutherland, who is battling a sore neck. Knox went 0-for-4...LeFlore stole a base for the second straight game, for the first time this season. He now has six thefts.

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Tigers record: 21-32 (actual 24-29)
Home: 8-19
Away: 13-13
Last 10: 5-5

Games 51 and 52: Tigers Lifeless at Home Again, Swept by Halos

Detroit (June 11) - Three runs and 12 hits. That's what the Tigers mustered tonight---in two games.

Needless to say, it wasn't enough to win a game, as the California Angels swept a twi-night doubleheader, 4-2 and 3-1 at Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers (21-31) continue to struggle at home, where they are 8-18.

They swept the Angels in a three-game series in Anaheim last week, but that just underscores the discrepancy between the Tigers at home and on the road (13-13).

The Tigers were hoping that a 6-2 road trip would give them some momentum heading into tonight's twinbill, which kicks off a 12-game home stand.

The way the Tigers are playing at Michigan and Trumbull, they might want to consider wearing their road grays during this homestand.

"It's a thought," manager Ralph Houk said wryly when it was thrown out there by a reporter.

Houk can't do much more than show gallows humor as his team's offense continues to slumber. Even during the successful road trip, the bats were suspect.

Rookie catcher John Wockenfuss, called up from Toledo (fellow catcher Terry Humphrey was sent to the Mud Hens), started both games and went 2-for-7 with a double.

The Tigers managed just three hits in the nightcap off lefty Andy Hassler, who went 7.1 innings.

It got so bad that even Ron LeFlore's one-out triple in the sixth inning failed to yield a run. Boos cascaded when the Tigers couldn't get LeFlore home.

In Game 1, Detroit native and lefty Frank Tanana, just 21 years old, kept the Tigers at bay with eight innings of eight-hit ball.

Mickey Lolich (5-7) took the loss in Game 1, while Ray Bare (1-2), making his first start of the season, was tagged with the loss in the nightcap.

The Angels scored twice in the ninth inning in Game 1, breaking a 2-2 tie. The runs came after two were out and nobody on base. A couple walks and two singles produced the game-winning tallies. The key hit was Bruce Bochte's two-run single off reliever Bob Reynolds.


Bochte was the hero in Game 1


In Game 2, the Angels pecked away, scoring single runs in the second, sixth and seventh innings.

There wasn't much offense from the Angels, either, but these days, it doesn't take much to beat the Tigers.

"Tomorrow is another day," Houk said.

It was difficult to tell if he was trying to convince the reporters, or himself.

Notes: Rumors persist that the Tigers are about to rid themselves of Nate Colbert any day now. Colbert is 20-for-162 (.123) and has 58 strikeouts...Houk, on Wockenfuss starting both games behind the plate: "He's young and fresh. No issue." Wockenfuss: "I would have started three if it was a tripleheader."

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Tigers record: 21-31 (actual 24-28)
Home: 8-18
Away: 13-13
Last 10: 6-4

Game 50: Tigers Overcome Royals, Finish 6-2 Trip

Kansas City, MO (June 10) - When the Tigers left Detroit, they were 15-27 and the wheels looked to be falling off, based on a 1-10 streak.

They return home having put their house back together again, at least for the time being.

The Tigers completed a 6-2 road trip with a 5-2 win over the Royals tonight.

Leon Roberts had two hits, including a solo homer, and drove in two runs. Ron LeFlore had three singles, and the Tigers banged out 11 hits in overcoming a 2-1 deficit midway through the game.

Starter Vern Ruhle (4-6) won his third straight start, posting a 2.14 ERA in that time.

Even light-hitting backup catcher Terry Humphrey got into the act with a couple hits, an RBI and a run scored.

"It'll be a much happier flight back home than the one leaving Detroit," manager Ralph Houk said.

Indeed.

The Tigers are 8-16 at home and left Detroit having lost 10 of 11 and looking completely out of sorts.

But they reeled off five wins to start the trip and won tonight, breaking a modest two-game losing streak.

"I think we played more relaxed on this trip," Roberts observed. "Maybe getting out of Detroit was good for us."


Roberts was 2-for-3 with two RBI

Now, Houk can only hope returning to Detroit brings the same "relaxed" play.

"We have twelve straight home games coming up," Houk said. "It's time to put up or shut up now."

If the Tigers can right the ship at home, the 12-game home stand provides a great chance to get back into the division race---a thought not lost on LeFlore.

"Just think. If we start winning at home like good teams should do, we could be right in the thick of things before too long," the speedster said.

The Tigers are currently in a virtual tie for last with Baltimore, seven games behind Boston.

But, as LeFlore said and Houk hopes, things can turn around quickly with some wins at home.

Tonight, the Tigers trailed 2-1 in the fifth before scoring twice on three singles and an error.

They added to their lead with Roberts' solo homer in the sixth. A Humphrey single in the seventh brought home the fifth run.

Ruhle went eight innings of six-hit ball.

Notes: Newly-acquired RHP Bob Reynolds made his Tigers debut in the ninth, pitching a stress-free inning for the save. The Tigers traded RHP Fred Holdsworth to Baltimore on May 29 for Reynolds, a 28-year-old veteran now with his fifth big league team...Between Nate Colbert (.128) and rookie Jack Pierce (1-for-21), the Tigers have, by far, the worst production at first base in the majors...Houk said he inserted Reynolds in the ninth because he wanted to give normal fireman John Hiller the night off, despite it being a save situation.

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Tigers record: 21-29 (actual 23-27)
Home: 8-16
Away: 13-13
Last 10: 6-4

Game 49: Otis Zings Tigers In 12th, 3-2

Kansas City, MO (June 9) - Amos Otis delivered a single in the 12th inning, scoring Jim Wohlford, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers, 3-2, at Royals Stadium tonight.

It was Otis' only hit in the game, and it couldn't have come at a better time for his team.

The Royals put runners on first and second with one out in the 12th off Ray Bare, the Tigers' fourth pitcher of the night.

Otis lofted a soft liner into left field, and Wohlford easily beat Danny Meyer's throw to the plate.

The Tigers (20-29) have lost two straight after a five-game winning streak.

"It was a slider that didn't do much," Bare said of the losing pitch.

The Tigers tied the game in the sixth on a two-run double by Willie Horton, who had three hits, lifting his team-leading BA to .322.

Otis scored the second of two Royals runs in the fourth after reaching on an error by SS Tom Veryzer. Fran Healy's single scored Otis after Hal McRae's single scored George Brett, who walked.


Otis was the Royal hero in the 12th inning


Tom Walker, so effective from the bullpen in recent games, started for the Tigers, as the team has run into the need for a fifth starter in the midst of having no days off recently and with a twi-night doubleheader coming up this week against California.

Walker pitched six innings, allowing five hits and two unearned runs. He struck out three and walked two.

"Very pleased with Walker," manager Ralph Houk said. "But as usual we didn't help our pitchers much with the bats."

Despite winning five of their past seven games, the Tigers have scored more than three runs in just one of those games.

Royals starter Al Fitzmorris pitched the first nine innings before giving way to Lindy McDaniel (two innings) and winning pitcher Nelson Briles (one inning).

Houk seemed at a loss to explain why runs have come so difficult for his team to muster. The Tigers have scored 172 times in 49 games for an average of just 3.5 per game.

"If I had an answer, I wouldn't be doing this. I'd be writing a book and letting everyone know the secret," Houk said.

The Tigers conclude their eight-game road trip tomorrow before heading back to Detroit for the DH with the Angels on Wednesday and a single game on Thursday.

Notes: Aurelio Rodriguez made his first start at 3B in six games, his left heel injury having healed. He went 1-for-5...Wohlford had three hits...Rookie 1B Jack Pierce got his first hit as a Tiger, a double in the second inning...The Tigers fell back to under .500 on the road (12-13).

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Tigers record: 20-29 (actual 23-26)
Home: 8-16
Away: 12-13
Last 10: 6-4

Game 48: Crash! Tigers' Win Streak Ends In Oakland, 12-0

Oakland, CA (June 8) - That sound you heard was the Tigers' five-game winning streak coming to a crashing end.

It couldn't have been more resounding: a 12-0 pasting at the hands of the Oakland A's at the Coliseum this afternoon.

A's lefty Ken Holtzman escaped a bases loaded jam in the first inning and was never headed off after that.

Billy Williams went 5-for-5 with an RBI. Joe Rudi had five RBI with a homer and a single as the A's salvaged the final game of the three-game series.

The Tigers, though, are 5-1 on this eight-game trip so they have clinched a winning record on it.

Still, today's game was a stunning way to end the winning streak.

Holtzman blanked the Tigers on six hits, with a walk and five strikeouts. After the first inning, no Tigers runner so much as reached second base.

"(Holtzman) pretty much mowed us down after we let him off the hook," Tigers manager Ralph Houk said, referring to the opening inning, when Holtzman struck out Leon Roberts and coaxed a line out from Nate Colbert to leave the sacks loaded.


Holtzman baffled the Tigers after the first inning


Meanwhile, the A's, who'd only scored three runs in the first two games of the series, were exploding.

They scored twice in the second on Rudi's two-run homer and then added four more in the third off starter Joe Coleman, making his first start since injuring himself in Anaheim in his last start.

Houk said the knee injury played a role in Coleman's performance.

"Oh, I think so," the skipper said. "I think he was kind of ginger on it," he added about Coleman's left leg, injured in a collision with California's Joe Lahoud at first base.

But Houk said Coleman and trainer Bill Behm assured the manager that Coleman was OK to start.

The A's couldn't do anything against Ray Bare, who pitched the fourth, fifth and sixth. But they abused Gene Pentz, who has struggled all year. The A's tagged Pentz for six runs (three earned) in the eighth.

Gary Sutherland had three singles for Detroit (20-28).

Notes: GM Jim Campbell, who's on the trip, denied reports that the team is close to trading Colbert, who's batting .128. The San Francisco Examiner reported that the Tigers are talking to two National League teams who've inquired about the struggling slugger...Tom Veryzer is in a 3-for-23 slump, lowering his average to .277...Mickey Stanley started a fifth straight game at third base for injured Aurelio Rodriguez.

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Tigers record: 20-28 (actual 23-25)
Home: 8-16
Away: 12-12
Last 10: 6-4

Game 47: Tigers Squeak By Again; Win Fifth In Row, 3-1

Oakland, CA (June 7) - Break up the Tigers!

The Tigers have scored just three runs in each of their last four games, but have won every one of those. In fact, they have won five in a row after slipping past the Oakland A's, 3-1, at Oakland Coliseum today.

The Tigers continued to ride stellar pitching and timely hitting to victory.

The heroes today? Center fielder Ron LeFlore (two-run triple) and starter Lerrin LaGrow (8.1 IP, one run, six hits, zero walks).

The Tigers are 5-0 on their eight-game road trip and can sweep the three-time defending champion A's tomorrow.

"It's nice to see the guys feel good about themselves again," manager Ralph Houk said. "We were teetering there for a bit."

No kidding.

The Tigers began the trip on a 1-10 slide, but have played like pennant contenders since leaving Detroit. The Tigers (20-27) are 8-16 at home but 12-11 on the road.

"No clue," Houk said when asked about the disparity.

This afternoon, the Tigers didn't even register their first hit until the fifth inning, when Nate Colbert, of all people, singled off A's starter Vida Blue.

But LaGrow was stingy himself. He didn't tire until the ninth, throwing shutout baseball until then. John Hiller recorded his 11th save, stranding two A's runners.


LaGrow entered the game 1-7 with a 5.63 ERA, but was splendid on Saturday


LeFlore's triple over the head of center fielder Billy North plated Mickey Stanley and Tom Veryzer, breaking a scoreless tie in the sixth inning. Gary Sutherland added an RBI single for a 3-0 Detroit lead.

That was it for the Tigers' offense, which won't remind anyone of the 1927 Yankees, but which has been just good enough to cobble together this five-game winning streak.

"The worst thing you can do in this game is waste good pitching," Houk said as he attacked a postgame meal of fried chicken. "So it's good to see us get good pitching and wins."

Blue was very good, but LaGrow (2-7) was even better.

"I haven't been doing my share so far," LaGrow said. "But today I had my slider and I got ahead of hitters."

Notes: Third baseman Aurelio Rodriguez said he could have pinch-hit today if Houk needed him, but playing in the field is still up in the air as he recovers from a bruised heel, suffered last weekend while running the bases. Mickey Stanley started his fourth straight game at third...Houk replaced rookie 1B Jack Pierce with Colbert for the first time in four games after Pierce went 0-for-12 in his first three Tigers starts. Colbert went 1-for-3...LeFlore, on his triple: "I was thinking inside the park homer, but Joe (3B coach Schultz) thought better of it." Indeed, LeFlore likely would have been thrown out at the plate.

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Tigers record: 20-27 (actual 23-24)
Home: 8-16
Away: 12-11
Last 10: 6-4

Game 46: Tigers Squeak Out Another, 3-2

Oakland (June 6) - The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the fourth inning and then held on for a 3-2 win, their fourth straight, over the A's in Oakland tonight.

The Tigers have rediscovered their pitching, which enabled them to stay near .500 in the season's first month. In the past three games, the Tigers have allowed just five runs.

Mickey Lolich (5-6) went eight strong innings (eight hits, two runs, six strikeouts) before giving way to fireman John Hiller, who appears to have bounced back from his season-long struggles. Hiller pitched an uneventful ninth for his 10th save, his third straight scoreless appearance.

The A's scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but aside from that, Lolich held the three-time defending World Champs at bay.

Danny Meyer continued his hot hitting with a double and two singles. Meyer has eight hits in his last 14 at-bats.

Manager Ralph Houk attributed the Tigers' 4-0 start on this eight-game road trip to pitching and timely hitting.

"We're not doing a whole lot on offense, but we're doing enough, because our pitching has been terrific," Houk said.

The Tigers opened the scoring in the first inning. With Gary Sutherland on third base and Meyer on second with one out, DH Willie Horton lofted a sacrifice fly to center field.

They tacked on two more runs in the fifth on a Leon Roberts ground out and an error by Oakland SS Bert Campaneris, making the score 3-0 Detroit.

The A's scored on a Phil Garner ground out in the fifth and a Joe Rudi triple in the sixth. After Rudi's hit put a runner on third with one out, Lolich beared down and struck out Gene Tenace before inducing a ground out from Sal Bando to preserve the 3-2 lead.

Lolich said it wasn't as easy as he made it look.


Lolich retired 10 straight A's batters from the first thru fourth innings


"That's a great lineup," he said of the A's. "It's a pressure-filled lineup and I was just trying to make it through each inning with minimal damage."

He did that. At one point, the 34-year-old lefty retired 10 in a row.

The four-game winning streak matches the Tigers' season high.

"We just need wins," Lolich said. "The wheels were coming off there for awhile," he added about the team's 1-10 funk prior to the road trip.

The win enabled the Tigers (19-27) to virtually tie the Baltimore Orioles (20-28) for fifth place in the East Division. That sounds better than tied for last, right?

Notes: The Tigers continue to get next to nothing offensively from the first base position. With Nate Colbert temporarily benched, rookie Jack Pierce has started the last three games but is 0-for-12...Ron LeFlore went 0-for-5 with four fly outs to center field...The A's made three errors...Horton's 30 RBI ranks him fifth in the league...Announced attendance was just over 6,500 as the A's continue to struggle to draw, despite three straight World Series titles.

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Tigers record: 19-27 (actual 22-24)
Home: 8-16
Away: 11-11
Last 10: 5-5

Game 45: Benji!! Tigers, Led By Oglivie, Sweep Angels

Anaheim, CA (June 5) - Ben Oglivie delivered a two-run double---his fourth hit of the game---in the seventh inning that put the Tigers ahead to stay, and Detroit got its first three-game sweep of the season with a 3-2 win tonight at Anaheim Stadium.

Oglivie is now batting .488 (21-for-43) and is 5-for-5 in stolen bases, with another swipe tonight.

The Tigers (18-27) pulled off an unlikely sweep, given that they came into the series in a 1-10 funk.

"We battled this whole series," manager Ralph Houk said of his team, which won the three games by a combined total of five runs. "I'm proud of my guys."

Oglivie was the unquestioned star on this night.

He had singles in the first, third and fifth innings before coming to the plate in the seventh with runners on second and third and one out.

Angels manager Dick Williams, for whatever reason, elected to pitch to Oglivie with first base empty, rather than walk him to face Willie Horton with the bases loaded. Oglivie made Williams and the Angels pay by ripping a drive into the right field corner, plating Ron LeFlore and Terry Humphrey to erase a 2-1 deficit.

So why pitch to a guy who was 3-for-3 with first base open?

"Horton isn't chopped liver," Williams explained afterward of the Tigers DH, who is batting .317. "Frankly, I thought we could get Oglivie and then I'd have walked Horton."

Still, strange strategy, it would seem, and Oglivie's double underlined that.

Horton, ironically, then lined into a double play off reliever Dick Lange.

But the damage had been done.

Tom Walker, who has become the Tigers most dependable reliever recently, pitched two shutout innings (7th and 8th), and Fernando Arroyo pitched the ninth for his second save.

Normal fireman John Hiller was unavailable because of 3.1 innings pitched in the first two games of the series.

"The bullpen was great," Oglivie said. "I was happy to help," he then understated.


Oglivie is batting .488, albeit in 43 at-bats


Starter Vern Ruhle (3-6) pitched one batter into the seventh, scattering seven hits and allowing two unearned runs. He, too, lauded his relievers.

"Tommy's been on his game," Ruhle said of Walker. "And Fernie (Arroyo) picked us up with John (Hiller) being out."

The Tigers, though, committed three errors. They lead the majors with 47 miscues.

"We need to catch the ball better," Houk acknowledged.

But the Tigers have a three-game winning streak heading to Oakland.

Notes: Oglivie leads the Tigers with five steals. Shouldn't speedster Ron LeFlore (4) be doing that? "We'll look at that," Houk said. "Maybe we need to give Ronnie more leeway"...The Tigers will head to Kansas City for two games after the three games in Oakland...With GM Jim Campbell on the trip, there's a buzz about the future of 1B Nate Colbert. Rookie Jack Pierce started for the second straight night at first base. Pierce is 0-for-8. Houk wouldn't comment.

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Tigers record: 18-27 (actual 21-24)
Home: 8-16
Away: 10-11
Last 10: 4-6

Game 44: Lemanczyk Makes Rare Start, Dominates, 3-1

Anaheim, CA (June 4) - Dave Lemanczyk made his first start since April 30---7.2 innings of one-run ball---and struggling fireman John Hiller recorded his second straight save, wriggling out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in the ninth inning as the Tigers beat the California Angels, 3-1 tonight.

Lemanczyk (3-0) took the baseball and struck out 10 Angels, allowing just five hits as he breezed through every inning except the seventh.

Leon Roberts' two-run single in the seventh put the Tigers up 3-0.

In the Angels' seventh, Lemanczyk lost his command and loaded the bases with nobody out. But he limited the damage to one run: a force out to score a run, followed by an inning-ending double play.

Hiller faced the same daunting situation in the ninth. Bruce Bochte doubled, Dave Chalk walked, and rookie first baseman Jack Pierce, appearing in his first game as a Tiger, botched Dave Collins' sacrifice bunt to fill the bases with no outs. But the lefty struck out Leroy Stanton and Ellie Rodriguez, then got Billy Smith to pop out to second base to seal his ninth save.

The Tigers (17-27) have won the first two games of this eight-game road trip after a 1-10 stretch. They are 9-11 on the road, compared to 8-16 at home.

"No explanation for it," manager Ralph Houk said when the differing records were pointed out to him. "After you've been in this game as long as I have, you stop trying to figure certain things out."

Houk was more eager to talk about Lemanczyk, who was pressed into duty thanks to Sunday's doubleheader.


Lemanczyk's first start since April 30 was a gem


"I was really proud of Dave," Houk said. "To go over a month between starts isn't easy, but he made it look easy."

Of his 10 strikeouts, a career high, Lemanczyk said, "Sometimes they swing and miss. I had a good slider and some fastball movement."

Pierce was making his Tigers debut after being recalled from Toledo. The Tigers sent catcher Gene Lamont to the Mud Hens to make room for the tall, lefty-swinging first baseman.

Naturally, Pierce's promotion caused reporters to speculate about the future of Nate Colbert, who has struggled mightily as a Tiger.

Houk wouldn't comment, but GM Jim Campbell is with the team during the trip, which has fueled talk that a roster move involving Colbert was imminent.

Notes: Pierce was 0-for-4, but had an RBI ground out...Bill Freehan was hit by a pitch for the 110th time, a franchise record...Ron LeFlore's 0-for-5 makes him 12 for his last 58 AB...Angels starter Ed Figueroa pitched all nine innings, surrendering 10 hits but just the three runs...Houk said Joe Coleman, who injured his left knee in last night's game after just two innings, is feeling much better and should be able to make his next start.

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Tigers record: 17-27 (actual 21-23)
Home: 8-16
Away: 9-11
Last 10: 3-7

Game 43: Tigers West Coast Swing Starts Well, 8-6

Anaheim, CA (June 3) - The Tigers used a five-run fifth inning, then survived a four-run Angels seventh, to start their west coast trip with a much-needed 8-6 win at Anaheim Stadium tonight.

Leon Roberts smacked a bases-loaded triple in the fifth and recorded four RBI on the night.

Detroit native Frank Tanana took the loss for the Angels.

Tanana had sailed through the first four innings allowing just one run until the Tigers roughed him up in the fifth.

Gary Sutherland and Willie Horton drove in a run each with a single and double, respectively, and then Roberts cleared the bases with a drive over the head of center fielder Mickey Rivers.

The uprising put the Tigers up, 6-2. They extended the lead to 7-2 before the Angels kicked up their heels in the seventh off reliever Gene Pentz.

Bruce Bochte drove a two-run double into the right field corner, a Danny Meyer error on Dave Chalk's single allowed another run to score, and Joe Lahoud added an RBI double to make the score 7-6, Detroit.

The Tigers added an insurance run in the ninth on Roberts' solo home run.


Roberts broke out of a slump with a triple, a HR and four RBI


The previously slumping Meyer had three hits and scored twice.

Tigers starter Joe Coleman only pitched two innings. In the second, Coleman was run over by Lahoud on a close play at first base. Coleman landed awkwardly on his left leg, pitched the rest of the inning, but didn't look comfortable in allowing the Angels' second run.

Manager Ralph Houk replaced Coleman with Ray Bare to start the third inning. Bare responded with four shutout innings.

"He's day-to-day," Houk said of Coleman, who apparently hurt his left knee.

John Hiller, maligned during the Tigers' recent home stand, pitched an uneventful ninth inning for his eighth save.

Houk was asked if pitching on the road helped Hiller.

"No," he said flatly. "John did what John usually does. He just has had a tough stretch lately."

The Tigers (16-27) won for just the fifth time in their past 20 games.

Notes: Lahoud, on the play that injured Coleman: "It was just one of those things. We both got to the base at the same time. I hope he's OK"...The Angels' Jerry Remy had four hits and scored two runs...Houk said that if Coleman can't go in his next start, Bare would replace him...The game was briefly halted in the fourth inning when an errant beach ball from the stands eluded players and umpires in the outfield.

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Tigers record: 16-27 (actual 21-22)
Home: 8-16
Away: 8-11
Last 10: 2-8

Games 41 and 42: Hiller Again Booed as Tigers Drop DH

Detroit (June 1) -- The Tigers' doubleheader with the Chicago White Sox started with hope and ended in a hail of boos.

After 18 innings of baseball today at Tiger Stadium, the Tigers are now officially back to their losing ways after a one-game hiatus yesterday.

They lost to the White Sox, 6-4 and 7-4---the second game a bitter loss punctuated by yet another ill-timed home run off reliever John Hiller.

The Tigers (15-27) have lost 10 of their last 11 games and 15 of 19.

"It's just something we have to battle our way through," said manager Ralph Houk after the sweep at the hands of the Chisox. "We have too much baseball to play to fold our tents."

Too much baseball to play? That could be good or bad news, the way the Tigers are playing, and the way they are being treated by their fans.

It wasn't just Hiller who was rocked with boos. During both games, the Tiger Stadium crowd of 25,665 found plenty of opportunities to voice their displeasure.

The Tigers are now 8-16 at home and a schedule that was heavily weighted with home games early hasn't proved to be an advantage at all.

In both games today, the White Sox broke a 4-4 tie to move ahead for good.

In Game 1, Bill Stein and Jorge Orta hit back-to-back two-out singles to put the White Sox ahead 6-4 in the sixth inning.

The White Sox scored four times off starter Mickey Lolich in the first inning, highlighted by consecutive home runs by Deron Johnson and Buddy Bradford.

But the Tigers battled back, showing determination not to go back to their losing ways after yesterday's victory broke an eight-game losing streak.

They scored three times in the third, with Willie Horton's two-run double being the key hit. Horton added a sacrifice fly in the fifth to knot the score, 4-4.

After the White Sox took the lead again, the Tigers went out mostly meekly the rest of the way. Wilbur Wood went eight innings for the win, and Rich Gossage pitched the ninth for the save.

In Game 2, the White Sox again drew first blood, plating two runs in the third on a two-out, two-run triple by Orta that was made possible by a Nate Colbert error that kept the inning alive.

The Tigers used sloppy defense by the White Sox (error by Bucky Dent, the first of four in the game by Chicago) to tie the game in the fourth. Colbert's single with two outs scored the tying run.

The Tigers actually led, 4-3, heading into the seventh, but it didn't last long. A Tom Veryzer error led to a tying single by Pat Kelly.

As in Game 1, once the Tigers reached four runs their offense pretty much stalled.

The White Sox threatened in the eighth but didn't score, a double play ball ending their rally.

But then came the ninth, and in that frame the White Sox didn't make a mistake---but Hiller did.

With two runners on and one out, Hiller, who had been brought in to face three Chicago lefty bats in a row, hung a curve ball to Carlos May and May destroyed it. The ball went about 10 rows into the right field upper deck.

The boos cascaded as May rounded the bases. 7-4, Chicago.


May's three-run homer in the ninth inning of Game 2 triggered an onslaught of boos


Hiller's (0-3) ERA is now an unsightly 6.12 and he's surrendered five homers in 25 innings.

"Let's face it, I'm not getting the job done," Hiller lamented afterward. "This is embarrassing and unacceptable."

When asked if the boos bothered him, Hiller shot back, "What do YOU think?"

Houk wasn't so sure.

"John has been booed before, and he'll be booed again," the manager said. "That's the life of a relief pitcher."

Houk was asked if he's lost confidence in his 32-year-old lefty.

"Nope," was his one word reply.

Tigers fans would vehemently disagree.

Next up for the Tigers is their first West Coast swing of the season: three games each at California and Oakland, followed by two games at Kansas City.

The road couldn't come at a better time.

Notes: Deron Johnson hit a home run in Game 2, also...Lolich on his tough first inning in Game 1: "I threw beach balls up there, and they did what you're supposed to do to beach balls"...10 errors were committed in the DH, combined (seven by Chicago, three by Detroit)...It is unclear when was the last time a team committed seven errors in a doubleheader yet won both games...Chicago manager Chuck Tanner used two vastly different lineups and batting orders in the twinbill, with lefty Lolich and right-hander Lerrin LaGrow slated to pitch, whereas Houk used mostly the same lineup in both games, with two southpaws (Wood and Claude Osteen) starting for Chicago. The Tigers' only change was Terry Humphrey in for Bill Freehan at catcher in Game 2.

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Tigers record: 15-27 (actual 20-22)
Home: 8-16
Away: 7-11
Last 10: 1-9

Game 40: Tigers Escape Jams, End Losing Skid

Detroit (May 31) - For once, it was the Tigers who scored first. For once, it was the Tigers who increased their lead. For once, it was the other team who failed to finish their rallies.

It all added up to a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox today at Tiger Stadium, ending Detroit's eight-game losing streak.

Starter Vern Ruhle, among several in the rotation who've struggled this season, pitched into the eighth inning, allowing just seven hits and three runs, walking only two.

But it was the man who relieved him who saved the day.

Tom Walker entered the eighth with runners on first and third (error, single) and nobody out. The Tigers were hanging on to a precarious 5-3 lead. Walker then set down Deron Johnson (strikeout), Bill Stein (shallow fly ball) and Tony Muser (fly ball), stranding the runners.

Then in the ninth, inconsistent John Hiller survived a second Gary Sutherland error and left the bases loaded to end the game, earning his seventh save.

"Plop, plop, fizz fizz," manager Ralph Houk said afterward, invoking the line from a popular antacid commercial. "Oh what a relief it is."

The Tigers' first win since May 19 didn't come easy. They usually don't when you've lost eight in a row.

Ruhle escaped jams in the third and fifth before Walker wiggled his way out of the White Sox eighth.

"The bullpen picked me up today," Ruhle (2-6) said. "I owe Tom (Walker) a beer."


Walker saved Ruhle's bacon in the eighth


The Tigers were leading 2-1 in the fifth when Sutherland doubled home catcher Terry Humphrey, and Leon Roberts added an RBI ground out for a 4-1 lead.

After the White Sox used three singles and a couple ground outs to get within 4-3 in the sixth,
Aurelio Rodriguez laced a Jim Kaat pitch into the left field lower deck for an insurance run in the Tigers' half of the inning.

"My thing has always been, you're not officially out of a losing streak until you win a couple in a row," Houk said. "It's nice to win, but we can't keep piling up the ones in the right hand column (losses)."

Thanks to Friday's rainout, the Tigers and White Sox will play a doubleheader Sunday afternoon.

Only then will we know if Houk's team is "officially" out of its losing streak.

Notes: Willie Horton's two RBI gives him 26, which is on pace for 104 for the season. Still, he's not satisfied. "I could have a lot more," Horton said, despite carrying a healthy .317 BA...Sutherland on his two errors, both botched grounders: "Mental. Gotta bear down more. That's unacceptable"....Ruhle won for the first time since May 8.

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Tigers record: 15-25 (actual 19-21)
Home: 8-14
Away: 7-11
Last 10: 2-8