Thursday, June 15, 1967: Minnesota 6, Tigers 1

Bloomington, MN- Dave Boswell twirled a brilliant two-hitter, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Tigers, 6-1, at Metropolitan Stadium.

The Twins earned a split of the four-game series by taking the third and fourth games.

Tony Oliva had four hits and an RBI, and Ted Uhlaender slammed a two-run homer to lead the Twins.

Boswell didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning, when Norm Cash tagged him for a solo homer with two outs. Bill Freehan followed with an infield hit, and that was it for the Tigers offense. Boswell walked four and struck out eight.

Joe Sparma (5-6) started and took the loss for Detroit (31-26), which ended its 15-game road trip with a 9-6 record.

Sparma pitched six turbulent innings, giving up four runs and nine hits. The Twins strafed Sparma and Johnny Podres for 15 hits.

Minnesota lefty swingers Oliva, Uhlaender and Rod Carew went a combined 10-for-14 with four RBI.

Game 57	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DET	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	0
MIN	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	X	6	15	0

WP- Boswell

LP- Sparma

Wednesday, June 14, 1967: Minnesota 7, Tigers 6

Bloomington, MN- Rich Rollins led off the ninth inning with a triple, and scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly one batter later, as the Minnesota Twins beat the Tigers, 7-6 on Wednesday.

Al Kaline had tied the game, 6-6, with a solo homer (10) in the eighth inning.

The Tigers saw their four-game winning streak broken, but they have still won eight of their past 10 games, and Detroit is 9-5 with one game left on their 15-game road trip.

Earl Wilson only gave up three hits in 6.2 innings for the Tigers (31-25), but the Twins managed to score six runs (two unearned) off those three hits, partly thanks to six walks issued by Wilson.

Harmon Killebrew hit a home run for the third straight game in the series for Minnesota. It was a two-run blast in the fourth inning and tied the game, 3-3.

Norm Cash's two-run homer in the sixth inning briefly gave the Tigers a 5-3 lead. But the Twins responded with two runs of their own in the inning.

Tony Oliva's double gave Minnesota a 6-5 lead in the seventh.

The Tigers jumped on Twins starter Jim Kaat for three runs in the first inning, highlighted by red-hot Bill Freehan's two-run double.

Freehan has 12 hits and 11 RBI in the series, which has one game remaining in it.

Jim Grant earned the win for Minnesota by pitching two scoreless innings of relief.

John Hiller (2-2), who took the loss, faced just two batters in the ninth. But the first was Rollins, pinch-hitting for Grant. Rollins lofted a fly ball deep to center field, and Jim Northrup over-ran the play, turning it into a triple.

The next batter, Cesar Tovar, hit a fly ball to medium depth in center. Northrup caught the baseball cleanly, but his throw home couldn't beat Rollins to the plate.

Game 56	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DET	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	6	11	2
MIN	0	1	0	2	0	2	1	0	1	7	5	1
One out when winning run scored.

WP- Grant
LP- Hiller (2-2)

Tuesday, June 13, 1967: Tigers 7, Minnesota 6 (10 inn)

Bloomington, MN- Bill Freehan, for the second straight night, slugged two home runs---including the game-winner in the 10th inning, and the Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-6.

Freehan, who had two homers and five RBI on Monday, added two more round trippers and four more RBI on Tuesday as he went 4-for-5.

Freehan, with two out in the tenth, drove a Ron Kline fastball deep into the left field stands.

Fred Gladding pitched a perfect inning to earn his 13th save. Mike Marshall (2-0) got credit for the win.

The key moment came in the Twins' half of the eighth inning.

Trailing 6-3, Minnesota scored three runs to tie the game without making an out. They then had runners on second and third with nobody out. Dave Wickersham, who walked the first two batters he faced, then settled down and retired the next three Twins to keep the score tied, 6-6.

Backup shortstop Dick Tracewski delivered a two-run triple in the seventh inning to put the Tigers ahead, 4-3.

Detroit (31-24), which has won seven of its past eight, added two runs in the eighth for a 6-3 lead.

Minnesota right-hander Dean Chance started the game strong, retiring the first 10 Tigers hitters, while the Twins jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Denny McLain. But Freehan clubbed his first home run, a two-run shot, in the fifth inning to make the score 3-2.

Harmon Killebrew had four hits, including a double and a two-run homer, for the Twins.

Game 55	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
DET	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	2	0	1	7	11	0
MIN	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	6	10	0

WP- Marshall (2-0)

SV- Gladding (13)

LP- Kline

Monday, June 12, 1967: Tigers 7, Minnesota 1

Bloomington, MN- Bill Freehan slugged two home runs, accounting for five RBI, and the Tigers stayed hot with a 7-1 win over the Minnesota Twins Monday night.

Freehan led the Tigers (30-24) to their seventh win in their last eight games by hitting a three-run homer in the first inning off Twins starter Jim Merritt. The Tigers catcher added a two-run shot in the fifth, which helped send Merritt to the showers.

Merritt gave up all seven Tigers runs in five innings of work.

Meanwhile, the Tigers got a complete game from Mickey Lolich (7-4). Lolich walked four and struck out 10. The only Twins run came when Lolich walked Bob Allison in the fourth inning with the bases loaded.

The Tigers are 8-4 on their 15-game road trip and are thus assured of coming home with a winning record on the four-city sojourn.

Game 54	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DET	3	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	7	7	2
MIN	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	0

WP- Lolich (7-4)

LP- Merritt

Sunday, June 11, 1967: Tigers 5, California 3

Anaheim, CA- Don Wert slugged a three-run homer, helping to back another strong outing from Joe Sparma, and the Tigers beat the California Angels, 5-3 on Sunday at the Big A.

Wert's big hit opened the scoring and came in the second inning off Angels starter Jim McGlothlin.

Sparma (5-5) has lowered his ERA to 4.65 after a miserable start to the season, which saw his ERA balloon to over 6.00. He pitched seven strong innings, striking out seven and allowing just four hits and no walks.

Two of those hits were solo homers, however, but the Tigers had just enough offense to survive those blasts.

Detroit (29-24) had just six hits, but Wert's homer and two runs in the eighth inning---one unearned---sealed the victory for the Tigers.

Dick McAuliffe continued his hot hitting with two hits, including a run-scoring single.

Three Tigers relievers kept the Angels at bay in the final two innings. Fred Gladding picked up his 12th save despite yet another shaky one-inning outing. The Angels scored a run in the ninth and got the tying run to the plate, but pinch-hitter Tom Satriano's fly ball to right field only made it to the warning track.

The Tigers have won six of seven games and are 7-4 on their 15-game, four-city road trip, which concludes with four games in Minnesota.

Game 53	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DET	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	5	6	3
CAL	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	7	2

WP- Sparma (5-5)

SV- Gladding (12)

LP- McGlothlin

Saturday, June 10, 1967: Tigers 8, California 0

Anaheim, CA- Dick McAuliffe went 5-for-5 and scored twice, Willie Horton had four hits (including a three-run homer) and Mickey Stanley burst out of a season-long slump with three hits, including a run-scoring triple, and the Tigers bats finally woke up with a lopsided 8-0 victory over the California Angels at the Big A.

McAuliffe's hits were all singles, but Horton's mammoth shot (10) helped pace the win.

The Tigers rapped out 15 hits off four Angels pitchers.

Earl Wilson (8-4)  tossed a four-hit shutout for Detroit (28-24), which has won five of six.

The Tigers jumped all over Angels starter Clyde Wright, nicking him for six runs in four innings.

In 97.1 innings this year, opponents are hitting just .196 against Wilson, who leads the Tigers staff in wins.

Horton's homer off Wright in the third inning made the score 5-0. He added three singles in his next three at-bats and finished with four RBI.

Wilson walked two and struck out eight Angels, earning his first shutout of the year.

Game 52	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DET	2	0	3	1	2	0	0	0	0	8	15	0
CAL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0

WP- Wilson (8-4)

LP- Wright

Friday, June 9, 1967: California 3, Tigers 1

Anaheim, CA- The Tigers' hitting woes continued in a 3-1 loss to the California Angels on Friday night.

Detroit (27-24) has scored 15 runs in its past seven games.

The Tigers put runners on second and third with nobody out in the ninth inning, but reliever Bill Kelso took over for starter George Brunet and struck out the next three hitters---Al Kaline, Willie Horton and Bill Freehan---to preserve the victory.

Kaline hit his ninth home run in the seventh inning for the Tigers' lone run.

The Angels struck early, plating two runners in the first inning off starter Denny McLain (4-6). Jim Fregosi's single drove home Jose Cardenal (walk, stolen base), and Don Mincher doubled to deep center to score Fregosi from first base.

Rick Reichardt's triple in the fourth inning scored Jimmy Hall to make it 3-0.

The Tigers are 4-4 on their current 15-game road trip.

Game 51	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DET	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6	1
CAL	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	X	3	6	0

WP- Brunet

SV- Kelso

LP- McLain (4-6)

Wednesday, June 7, 1967: Tigers 3, Kansas City 2

Kansas City, MO- Mickey Lolich pitched eight shutout innings, and Fred Gladding got a shaky save, as the Tigers completed a four-game sweep with a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Athletics at Municipal Stadium.

Given a 3-0 lead in the ninth, Gladding put the first three batters he faced on base, resulting in a run. A sacrifice fly scored another, and it was 3-2 with one out and a man on first base.

But Gladding, who has been shaky at times in garnering his 11 saves, knuckled down and got Dick Green and Phil Roof on ground balls to end the game.

The Tigers pitching staff held the A's to four runs in the series.

Willie Horton's ninth home run gave Detroit (27-23) a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Tigers added two insurance runs---one in the eighth, one in the ninth---and those runs proved to be needed.

Don Wert and Mickey Stanley each had a triple and a run scored. Horton had two RBI.

Game 50	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DET	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	10	1
KC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	8	0

WP- Lolich (6-4)

SV- Gladding (11)

LP- Lindblad

Tuesday, June 6, 1967: Tigers 6-2, Kansas City 1-1 (DH)

Kansas City, MO- Earl Wilson pitched a complete game on two days' rest, Joe Sparma went eight innings in his start, and the Tigers rode strong pitching to a doubleheader sweep of the Kansas City A's, 6-1 and 2-1.

In the nightcap, Dick McAuliffe's 11th home run in the top of the ninth broke a 1-1 tie. Fred Gladding got through the A's ninth for his 10th save.

In the first game, the Tigers used a three-run third inning to kick start their recently slumping offense, adding three runs late to give Wilson (7-4) more than enough runs with which to work.

Sparma (4-5) pitched his second straight strong start, lowering his ERA to 4.83, about a full run below what it was three starts ago.

Al Kaline had three RBI in the first game, two coming on a home run in the eighth inning that made the score 5-1.

McAuliffe's home run in the nightcap came with one out in the ninth, off A's reliever Jack Aker.

The Tigers (26-23) have won three straight, all in Kansas City. The series concludes on Wednesday.

Game 48	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DET	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	2	1	6	10	0
KC	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	1
Game 49	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DET	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	10	1
KC	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0

Game 48

WP- Wilson (7-4)

LP- Krausse

Game 49

WP- Sparma (4-5)

SV- Gladding (10)

LP- Aker

Monday, June 5, 1967: Tigers 1, Kansas City 0

Kansas City, MO- For the third straight game, the Tigers took a 1-0 lead deep into a game. The first two times, they lost in the opponent's last at-bat. The third time was the charm, as the Tigers held on to beat the Kansas City Athletics, 1-0 at Municipal Stadium.

John Hiller, relieving Denny McLain after the latter pitched eight shutout innings, allowed a lead-off single to pinch-hitter Mike Hershberger in the ninth. Hershberger promptly stole second, leading Tigers fans to think that another blown game was in the offing.

But Hiller set the next three A's batters down in order---two on strikeouts---to earn his first save and salvage the victory for McLain (4-5).

The Tigers (24-23) scored their run in the first inning when Bill Freehan doubled home Al Kaline.

Diego Segui pitched eight innings in taking the tough loss for Kansas City.

The Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak.

Game 47	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
DET	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	5	1
KC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	5	0

WP- McLain (4-5)

SV- Hiller (1)

LP- Segui

Sunday, June 4, 1967: New York 2-2, Tigers 1-1 (DH; 2nd game 10 inn)

Bronx, NY- The New York Yankees twice overcame 1-0 deficits in their final at-bat and swept a doubleheader from the Tigers, both by 2-1 scores.

The second game took ten innings, and ended when pinch-hitter Tom Tresh singled home Bill Robinson, who led off the inning with a double and was sacrificed to third base by John Kennedy.

In the opener, Mickey Mantle drew a bases-loaded walk off Tigers starter Mickey Lolich to force home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. The inning prior, Tresh hit a solo homer to tie the game, 1-1.

The Tigers (23-23) have lost three straight and have fallen to .500 for the first time since being 5-5.

Lolich lost the first game, while John Hiller took the loss in the nightcap in relief of spot starter Hank Aguirre, fresh off the disabled list. Aguirre pitched eight innings of four-hit ball. He walked two and struck out seven, giving up just one run.

The Tigers managed just two runs and nine hits in the two games combined.

Two lefties started for New York---Al Downing and Fritz Peterson. Downing pitched a complete game and won the opener, while Peterson went eight innings before giving way to Dooley Womack, who picked up the win.

Game 45	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
DET	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	5	0
NY	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1		2	4	1
Game 46	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
DET	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	1
NY	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	6	0

Game 45
WP- Downing
LP- Lolich (5-4)

Game 46
WP- Womack
LP- Hiller (2-1)

Saturday, June 3, 1967: New York 7, Tigers 2

Bronx, NY- The New York Yankees scored five runs in the seventh inning, four of them unearned, and broke open a close game in defeating the Tigers, 7-2 at Yankee Stadium.

The Yanks led 2-1 when the seventh inning onslaught occurred.

The inning started ominously for New York, however. Steve Whitaker led off with a double, but was promptly picked off second base by Tigers starter Earl Wilson (6-4). Tom Tresh followed with a solo homer, and the inning was furthered thanks to a Norm Cash error two batters later.

A walk, two singles and two doubles produced four more runs.

Mickey Mantle gave New York a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer in the sixth inning.

The Tigers (23-21) got on the scoreboard first, when Willie Horton's single plated Al Kaline, who doubled in the fourth inning.

Joe Verbanic pitched a complete game for New York, giving up just three hits, including a solo home run by Dick McAuliffe.

Mantle added a two-run double to his home run, for a four-RBI day.

Game 44	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DET	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	3	1
NY	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	0	X	7	8	1

WP- Verbanic

LP- Wilson (6-4)