Thursday, July 26, 2012

Game 95: Benji!! A's, Fingers Stunned in 9th, 6-5

Detroit (Wed., July 23, 1975) - Ben Oglivie hit a two-run homer into the right field upper deck in the bottom of the ninth, and the Tigers came all the way back from an early 5-1 deficit to beat the Oakland A's, 6-5, at Tiger Stadium Wednesday night.

It was Detroit's third straight win, all over division-leading Oakland, against whom the Tigers are 6-2 this season.

Oglivie's home run came off Rollie Fingers, who the night before surrendered an 8th-inning, three-run blast to Bill Freehan, enabling the Tigers to win that game.

The Tigers scored twice in the sixth to pull to within 5-3, then added a single run in the seventh, made possible by an error by left fielder Claudell Washington.

In the ninth, John Wockenfuss led off with a double. After Tom Veryzer struck out, Oglivie stepped up and clubbed his second homer of the year.

The A's opened ths scoring with three unearned runs off starter Vern Ruhle in the fourth inning. Veryzer's muff of a ground ball should have been the second out of the inning, loading the bases. The next batter struck out, but thanks to the fourth out, the A's s got a walk and a double to push across three runs.

Willie Horton singled twice and scored twice for the Tigers (39-56), who have won five of six on this home stand.

The Major Said: "This was a great win, exciting for the fans. Hell, exciting for me, too. You never get tired of winning games in the ninth inning. It's a wonderful feeling. Fingers has had two tough nights here, but he's still one of the best in the business."

Oakland  000 320 000  5-9-1
Tigers   010 002 102   6-11-1

HR: Rudi (OAK); Oglivie (DET, 2)

WP: Arroyo (1-0)
LP: Fingers

Tigers record: 39-56 (actual 42-53)
Home: 20-31
Away: 19-25
Last 10: 6-4


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