This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons
.com for more sports history. On May 24, 1977,
the California Angels faced the Detroit Tigers
in a Tuesday night game under the lights at Tiger
Stadium. The Angels were managed by Norm Sherry,
who had taken over from Dick Williams midway
through the 1976 season. The Tigers were managed
by Ralph Houck, who had been struggling for three
years to get the team above .500 after the departure
of Billy Martin and their appearance in the ALCS
in 1972. In this game, the Angels sent 30 -year
-old Nolan Ryan to the mound to face the Tigers'
John Hiller, one of the game's earliest closers,
making a rare starting appearance. This audio
recording is from the Detroit Radio Broadcast
featuring announcers Ernie Harwell, Paul Carey,
and Ray Lane. John Hiller, who came out of the
bullpen to get his first start last Wednesday
at Texas, only the second start since 1972 for
him. He's getting his second start of this season.
Here tonight against the potent California Angels.
Killer, winner once, and loser four times. All
those decisions in relief this year. All right,
check that. The last one was the defeated Texas.
Ready to go. And here for the play -by -play,
Ernie Harwell. Thank you, Paul. Here we go. And
Torres deleted off Flores, and he takes the ball
outside. Ball one. Gil Flores, right -handed
batting outfielder. Wind up by Heller. He delivers.
There's a ball attempt, and it's missed by Flores,
and the count is even 1 -1. Flores batting .345
in 14 games. Young man from Puerto Rico, 24 years
old. That is the early career happened by injuries
last year at Salt Lake most of the year. Takes
the ball in too close. 2 -1 the count on Flores.
F -L -O -R -E -S. Heller ready to work. Here's
a sky again about the knees. The fastball. Larry
Barnett getting a dispute from the leadoff man
Flores about that call. Two -two the count on
him. Flores had a shoulder separation last year.
He batted .323, though, over the whole year at
Salt Lake. Swings at a bounding ball to first
base. Thompson knocks it down, picks it up. Touches
first base ahead of the batter Flores, and there's
one away. The very fine second baseman stepping
in now. R .E .M .Y. is hitting 287. Young man
from Massachusetts. He batted 263 last season.
This is the first look the Tigers have had at
the Angels. Didn't even see him in spring training
because they trained on separate coasts. Here's
the ball outside on Remy. Ball one. Keller delivers,
and the left -hand batter takes an outside pitch
again. 2 -0 the count on Jerry Remy. Jerry, another
one, the age of 24. Mankowski in close on him.
There's a strike call. Fastball across, 2 -1
on Remy. One out, nobody on. The game has just
started at Tigers Stadium. The lights are on.
There's daylight left around here, however, and
a good bit of it. Now Hiller winds and pitches.
Remy swings. A pop -up. Hit into short left field.
Going back for Reiser. The shot's out. Here's
Kemp behind him. And the left fielder, Kemp,
makes the catch. Either one's going to take on
that one. Dave Chalk will be the batter now.
Hitting .333. The third baseman in 36 games.
Angels have won nine of their last 13 and moved
up to fourth place. They were seven games under
.500 when they started that move. And now they're
.200. Here's the motion and the pitch. It's a
ball high on chalk. University of Texas product.
Right -handed batting infielder. He choked that
bat just a little bit. The 1 -0 pitch. Swung
on and hit high in the air. Into the infield.
Beriser and Fuentes are there. Fuentes back of
the mound. And he has it for the out. They go
down 1, 2, 3 in the California first. And at
the end of the half inning, the Angels nothing,
the Tigers are coming to bat. Well, the two Tiger
farm teams that played last night both had to
go into overtime and both were winners in extra
innings down on the Superdome in New Orleans.
Evansville, for the second game in a row, got
a game -winning home run from catcher Lance Parrish.
Lance hit a solo homer to give the triplets a
10 -inning, 9 -8 victory over New Orleans. But
John Valley has kept them in the ballgame with
a pair of home runs and five RBIs. Evansville
is now 21 -16 on the year, and they're in second
place in the Eastern Division of the American
Association. Montgomery was rained out of their
ballgame at Jacksonville. The Rebels are 26 -15,
and they rest in first place in their Western
Division of the Southern League. Down in the
Florida State League, Lakeland went 16 innings
before defeating Coco 5 -2. Lakeland is in first
place in the Northern Division with a 23 -17
record in the Florida State League. who throws
the baseball harder than anybody in the major
leagues getting rid of the pitch and out of the
Tigers in their first inning. The game is scoreless.
He has a 9 -4 lifetime mark against the Tigers.
He was 6 -4 against the entire league last year.
He won two and lost none against the Tigers last
season. First man to face him will be Phil Mancowski,
a left -handed batting third baseman. Still keeping
that average up there. He's batting .321 with
one home run and 10 RBI. Like to send Tiger get
well, which is to Janine Hand. The Saratoga Hospital,
she's up and at them real soon. No score first
inning. Nolan Ryan, young man from Texas, pitching
to Phil Mankowski. And there's that fastball
to tie it away, ball one. Terry Humphrey, the
former Tiger, is doing the catching. Chalk at
third, Griff at short, Remy at second, and Ron
Jackson at first base. Orion wheels and delivers.
There's a ball in close. That was a breaking
pitch. In the outfield, they've got Rudy in left,
Flores in center, and Boggs in right. Orion into
action. Pitches. It is a ball high. 3 -0 on Mankowski.
Kicks from the livers and a strike is called.
Empty inside corner with that one. One of the
great strikeout pitches in baseball history,
Ryan. He holds the seasonal record, 383 strikeouts
in one year. Here's a strike called. He got a
fastball through, 3 -2. Some of the other great
strikeout pitchers in baseball history, Rube
Waddell, Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax. And he's beat
them all. Here's the 3 -2 delivery. Swing, a
line shot, base hit, center field. Fastball up
in the letters, and Mankowski just gave it a
little tap and hit it over the infield for a
single. Good bat control he has, Paul. Yes, Phil.
getting his first taste of Nolan Ryan pitching
in this ballgame tonight. And he just simply
swung it very easily, just met the ball, and
Ryan provides so much momentum anyway. Here's
Tito Fuente stepping in. He'd be batting left
-handed now, hitting .311. This will be Tito's
37th Tiger game. Man out first, nobody out. Tigers
at bat first inning. The game's scored. The Tigers
stadium in Detroit. And for what he's awaiting,
this will be his first look at this pitcher.
Except perhaps an exhibition contest. And he
takes a strike. Let her high fastball inside
corner. Ryan has fanned as many as 19 in one
game. He did that in an 11 -inning game against
Boston back in 74. There's a cut on the miss.
One of the great games Dolan Ryan pitch was right
here. You remember when he was pitching his second
no hitter this season. And struck out a total
of 17 Tigers. That was in 73. He has four no
hitters in his career. There's a ball and close.
One and two. He and Koufax share the record for
that. One and two. The count on point is nobody
down. A man at first base. Ryan sets and delivers.
The swings and misses. Like it's breaking ball
down around the ankles. And the way he's went
for a bad pitch. One on, one out. And Rusty Saab
will bat next. Rusty, the Tigers' designated
batter. Hitting at a 242 clip. Last year, these
two teams were six and six against each other.
Tigers won four out of six here. The Angels won
four out of six out of nine. It's a strike call.
That leather high fastball blazing in from Nolan
Ryan. Ryan delivers. It's a strike inside corner.
That went in above the knees. Two strikes to
count on him. Outfield is straight up on Rusty
Staub. Last time out, Ryan beat the Twins 5 -3
and struck out 12. He delivers a curve law 1
-2. Struck out 12. Orion tried to wreck it for
Sam McDowell. 74 games in which he has fanned
10 or more. Here's the pitch. It's a ball and
in close. Ooh, that was almost there. 2 -2, the
count unstopped. He's got that wicked breaking
ball to go with that fastball. Just an unbeatable
combination. He pitched that no -hitter, too.
He had a real good slow curve working for him
that Sunday afternoon. Here's a 2 -2 pitch. Runner
goes. Swing and a miss. Humphreys throw to second.
He is eight at second base. It's a strikeout,
and Mankowski has a stolen base. Two down, and
now Kemp will be the batter. University of Southern
California coming up now to face the Nolan Ryan.
Black, we got three straight Californians hitting
here against California. All left -hand batters,
all youngsters, 22, 22, and 24 years old. Kemp,
Compton, and Cochran. And all not very far from
where the Angels are based. Same neighborhood.
Two out, a man at second base. Kemp at the plate.
He's hitting 300 now, right on the nose. Six
home runs, 23 runs batted in for Steve. Curve
over for a strike. Well, he started him off with
a breaking pitch. And the Kemp took it all the
way for a strike call. Now they set up Ryan.
He turns and throws to second. Back in time is
the runner Mankowski. Bobby Grich ducking behind
him and taking a low throw to the right field
side of the bag. Seems strange to see Grich at
shortstop. Played it before, but I think he would
probably prefer second base. Here's the pitch.
It's a strike on the inside corner. That was
Ryan's fastball. Well, the last few hitters,
he's been getting ahead. He got behind on Mankowski
and then got to a 3 -2 count. Mankowski's single.
But on Poitiers and Staub, he worked on them
pretty good with two quick strikes. Now he's
got two strikes on Kemp. Let's see what it'll
give him. It's been a curve and a fastball so
far. Fastball very wide. He wasted that one.
High and away on Steve. Only one year in the
minors to Steve Kemp. And he's right up here
hitting that big league pitching. And very near
the plate. Wait till a one -two serve from Ryan.
It's a breaking ball. Oh, gets by Humphrey. Mankowski
will make it easy to third. That ball hit in
the dirt right near the feet of Kemp in the batter's
box. Humphrey blocked it a little bit to his
right. It'll be a wild pitch. Peter Gallons of
Sports Illustrated is here at Tigers Stadium
tonight. He's come in to do a story on Mark Fittrich.
Now two out. No score. First inning at Tiger
Stadium. Thompson waiting on deck. Kemp the batter
against Nolan Ryan. Here's a wide one now by
the California right -handed. The pitch is a
strike. God, he struck him out. Got a curve on
the inside corner. And Kemp strikes out. So there's
a single. A stolen base on the wild pitch. But
three strikeouts along the way. No runs. One
hit. No errors. And one man left on base at the
end of one. California nothing. Detroit nothing.
Hi, I'm Ernie Harwell, and I'm here with a couple
of competitors in the Chrysler Plymouth Dealers
Honorary Tiger Bat Boy Contest. Paul, how does
this thing work? Well, any boy or girl between
8 and 14 can sign up in any participating Chrysler
Plymouth dealer. Provided they're accompanied
by a licensed driver 18 or older. That's right.
And there's no obligation for signing up. Then
22 Bat Boys will be picked on June the 2nd. Right,
Katie? Right, 22 Bat Boys. One for each Chrysler
Plymouth dealer. And everyone who signs up gets
a free Tiger ION patch. Great. Well, that about
does it. So kids, grab your parents and stop
into any participating Chrysler Plymouth dealer
between April 18th and May 27th. And sign up
for the Tiger Bat Boy contest. Thank you, Katie
and Paul. And this is... And there's one more
thing. Yes, Katie? Shouldn't that be that person?
Well, anyway, see your participating Greater
Detroit Chrysler Plymouth dealer soon. It's difficult
in this busy world to keep up with everything
that transpires on a given day, but we at WJR
News summarize your world for you, evenings at
6. This is Jennifer Moore. Join us. No score
second ending. It'll be Joe Rudy to lead it off
for the Angels, considered... As one of the outstanding
all -around players in the American League. The
former Oakland A, now the property of California.
Thanks to the heavy shelling out of the old cowboy
Gene Autry. Rudy has reached the ripe old baseball
age of 30 and still moving along in great style.
Batting .259 this season, he takes the strike
on the outside corner. 38 RBIs for Rudy, an eight
-home run. First play for the Kansas City A's
and then move with them to Oakland finally. There's
a swing and a miss on a dipping left -hand curve
by others. Strike two on Joe Rudy. One of the
several ballplayers has taken a weightlifting.
To condition him. Here's a pitch. He swings and
fouls it away. This one will be back toward the
screen. And then right down below. Strike two
on Joe. Seattle leads Cleveland 1 -0 at the end
of one. Milwaukee and Baltimore, no score. They've
completed two. Montreal beat the Cubs today,
5 -4 extra inning. Pittsburgh leading the Mets
at the end of two. It's Pittsburgh, the 1 -0.
No other scores yet. Hiller winds, delivers.
Rudy swings, fly ball. Hit into short right center.
Here comes Stanley. Won't get there. Drops in
front of him. And Rudy has the first hit for
the Angels. Little Texas League single dropping
at the right center field. That'll bring up Bobby
Bonds. Hitting 274. Eight home runs and 24 RBIs
for Bobby. Got his start with the Giants and
had a fine career there. They traded into the
Yankees in 75. He stayed there one season and
then went to California. Bobby, troubled by injuries
last year, had a hand operation finally in August.
Dullo hits with power and he has fine running
speed. Bobby Bond, he swings and misses on the
Hiller changeup. Bob Dabb is a professional boxer.
Another looper hit the right field. May drop
in. And here comes Cochran. Can't get it. Drops
the ball after picking it up. He fires it back
at the Puentes. He dropped it on one hop. And
two singles very much alike. Rudy and Bonds have
hit a couple little Texas leaguers. And here's
Don Baylor, who's hit a lot more than Texas leaguers
in this ballpark. You remember a few of those,
don't you, Paul Carey? Oh, you bet. Has great
power. He's not hitting all that well so far
for the Angels. He's been a little disgruntled
over the fact that he's been having to play the
role of the D .H. But he's got that power and
speed. Batting 2 -0 -3. Seven home runs for Baylor.
19 runs better than former Baltimore Orioles.
And he takes a strike call. Baltimore dealt him
off to Oakland last year where he hit the 2 -47
and had 15 homers. In field and double play depth.
Miller in early trouble now. Two men on and nobody
down. No score. Second inning. Set to kick the
pitch. He swings and fouls it on the screen.
Got that fastball in on the hand from John. Baylor
got started early in baseball. He broke into
the age of 18. He's still only 27. And he's been
around since 67. Baltimore kept him in the minors
quite a bit because of all the talent they had
in outfield and at first base. Now to set the
pitch, he starts the bunt and takes the ball
outside. California broadcast team across the
way. A couple of Michiganders beaming it out
for California. Dick Enberg and Al Wisk. Don
Drysdale taking a few days off. Here's the set
-down by the Tiger left -hander Hiller. High
foul fly. May go out of play. Thompson coming
over near the seat. He has the room, but he overruns
the ball. It was about three or four yards away
from the barrier. Not real high, and Thompson
ran under it, went to the fence, and then he
couldn't go back and retreat. Oh, it falls in
safely. A foul fly. One and two to count on Baylor.
that he not only has power, but he has good running
speed. Well, the outfield straight up on Don,
and Hill has got to go to work on him again.
John sets and delivers. There's a little pop
ball over toward first base. Here's Thompson.
He has it for the out. Check swing foul ball,
and Thompson had a little trouble getting around
the runner at first base, Bobby Bonds, but he
made it over there in foul territory to make
the catch. Now we'll see Ron Jackson come to
bat the right -hand batting first baseman from
Bessemer, Alabama Jackson hitting 250 in 21 games
other big Huskies strong hitter This past is
the 24th birthday about a week or two ago He's
been up with the Californians a couple of times
swings and misses on the other changeup Jackson
last year and the year before was at both Salt
Lake and at California. Finally made it last
year as a regular with the Angels. Getting into
127 games. They've had him at third base, the
outfield, first base. He swings and misses. Breaking
ball, and Hiller took a little off that one,
too. A little bit of a breeze blowing out from
the right field corner toward the left. Coming
out of the south of the southeast. Miller checks
his time with his catcher, Milt May. No score.
Here's the fit. Watch out. In close. And he backed
off and lost his helmet. Del Crandall is the
first base coach. Dave Garcia coaches. The third
day was at Cleveland, you remember, coaching.
Crandall is the manager at Milwaukee. Here's
the pitch. He takes the ball low. Good stop by
May. He shot off one that hit in front of the
plate. 2 -2. Crandall spent all last year at
Salinas, I believe, in the California State League.
Out there in his home territory. Well, Garcia
from out that way, too. Now waiting on a 2 -2
pitch is Jackson. He swings and fouls it away.
Down the right field side it'll reach the seat.
The story's out of Cleveland concerning the imminent
dismissal rumored by Frank Robinson. Several
admits mention the fact that Garcia was off of
the job and turned it down. He didn't want to
leave California or leave the coaching ring.
Heller, check it, it's fine. It's a 2 -2 pitch
again to Jackson. Ron Twinker, the bounding ball,
hit off the middle, base hit, that'll get a run
in probably. Rudy rounding third, coming home.
Bonds takes third on the single, and California
moves in front, 1 -0. That was a hard one -hopper
to the glove side of Barraza. He couldn't get
over towards second to stop it, and it got through
for a single. Man on first, man on third, one
run in, one man down, and Bobby Grits, the batter,
1 -0 California. Rich hitting 267. Five home
runs and 17 RBI. The first well -hit ball of
Miller tonight. Yep, the other two were just
a couple of Texas leaguers that set the table
for Ron Jackson. The Tigers will keep their infield
and double play depth in this situation. 1 -0
California. Rich with that short stroke of his
at the plate. Takes the ball in two blows. Bobby,
back in the state where he grew up, although
he was born in Muskegon, Michigan. Thompson holding
on the back with Jackson at first base. 1 -0
Angels. Here's a ball outside from Hiller. 2
-0 the count. Tells you a little bit about the
power and speed of this Angel lineup when they've
got a Gritch batting in the eighth position.
Pretty indicative. Hiller ready. Here's a fly
ball at the center. About medium depth. Stanley
comes in a little bit. Makes the catch. Here's
the tag at third. And Barnes is coming home to
score. The ball gets by Fuentes. Jackson breaks
the second. Throw to Verizon. Not in time. Two
to nothing. California. And now they've got a
man at second and two out. So Gritch will get
a sacrifice. On the fly to Stanley. And then
Stanley will be charged with an error. And the
ball. Got away from the infield. And here is
the former Tiger, Terry Humphrey, who's won himself
a regular job out there in California. About
a .227. He's been in 32 games. He's the catcher.
Here's a strike called on Terry, the lean man
from Oklahoma. Killer pitches and Humphrey looks
at a ball low. Ron Jackson on second. Two out.
California two tight. Nothing. Swing and a tip
to the mid of May. Angels two runs and three
hits coming in this inning. Here's the set by
heller the left -hander kicks and deals There's
a bounding ball to short verizer short hop tip
the total top citizen time and the side retired
However, the Californians pick up a couple two
runs three hits one arrow one man left At the
end of an inning and a half California to Detroit
nothing Hazy, hot conditions will hold through
the week as the WJR weather forecast from Mount
Sillard to Detroit reads fair to partly cloudy
with widely scattered afternoon and evening thundershowers
through Thursday. Low temperatures tonight, 62
to 65. Tomorrow's high and Thursday as well,
86 to 89 degrees. Right now, winds are southerly
at 7. Humidity is 53%. And under partly cloudy
skies, it's 80 degrees at Detroit's Metro Airport.
In town, 80 and mostly clear at Detroit City
Airport. Pontiac reporting in with 77. It's 78
and mostly clear in Ipsy. And Lansing has clear
and 79 degrees. Repeating again at 8 .30, it's
mostly... Clear and 80 degrees at Detroit Metro
Airport. And MEP reporting no trouble at all
on any freeway or Detroit area surface street.
From Ty Cobb to Mark Fidrich, Radio 76 has been
part of it all. It's sports information you've
come to expect from WJR Detroit. Let's pause
briefly for station identification. This is the
Detroit Tiger Baseball Network. You're just three
hours away from the captain, Jay Roberts, on
Radio 76 at 11 .30 tonight on America's great
radio station, WJR. Jason Thompson will lead
it off against Nolan Ryan now, the flamethrower
from California. Compton hitting .268. He has
27 RBI as a team leader. And he also leads in
home runs of seven. Ryan Reddy delivers. And
Jason takes a high hard one. Very wide ball one.
Here's a curve dipping down around the feet.
2 -0 the count on Jason. Tomorrow night is Irish
-American night. They'll have some colorful pregame
ceremonies beginning at 7 .30. The game itself
gets underway at 8 o 'clock. It'll be Roberts
against Tanana. We hope you'll be out for that
one. Now the 2 -0 delivery. It's a ball very
high. 3 -0 on Jason Thompson. Repeat the announcement
we made a little bit earlier that Vern Rule has
been placed on the 21 -day disabled list. He
has a little stiffness in his right shoulder.
Fidrich comes on the active list. There's a ball
outside. He walked him on four pitches. Thompson,
the second Tiger runner. The first one was Mankowski
who let off the first inning with a single. And
now Tim Cochran, another Californian, stepping
up. Batting .467 at 7 for 15. One home run and
four runs better than. Jim getting a nice hand
from the home folks here and his first appearance
against them. Not against them, in front of them.
Ryan on the mound, pitching to Corcoran. Here's
the pitch. He takes the ball outside and Humphrey
wants a little comfort. Now they're going to
pass out the all -star ballot here at Tigers
Stadium. So you folks better cast your ballots.
Five Tigers are on that computer. Punch card
ballot this year. LaFleur may stop Thompson and
Rodriguez. Now the conference over. Corcoran
back in the batter's box. One and all to count
on him. Ryan Sesson pitches. It's a strike call.
Leather high fastball. Incidentally, had a little
talk with Rodriguez before the ball game. Aurelio
says he's working out now, taking batting practice,
stealing practice, running, doing everything
to get ready and get back in the lineup. Here's
a 1 -1 delivery, and Tim swings and misses on
the curve. Aurelio was out here early today getting
a lot of work out of third base. They were hitting
a lot of ground balls at him. Seemed to be treating
the leg a little gingerly, perhaps. Well, it'll
take a little time. One and two, the count on
ten. Ryan to the set position. There's the fastball
high and outside. Two -two, the count on Corcoran.
We've got a report now from New York. Boston
leads the Yankees two to one at the end of one
at Yankee Stadium. There's a curve. It is a little
bit high. Full count on Tim Corcoran. Bryant's
going to that curve quite a bit here in the early
inning. Tim sets himself in there. He stands
very deep in the batter's box. Full count pitch.
Swung on it high in the air to left field. Not
deep at all. Rudy is under it. Waiting, waiting.
And it's in his glove for the out. Thompson retreats
to first base. Here's Milt May stepping up the
Tigers' schedule with a 2 .62 average. Milt has
three home runs. He's driven in 13 runs. After
Dave Roberts and Tanana duel tomorrow night,
there'll be an off day for the Tigers. On Friday,
Mark Federich comes back to action. He'll be
pitching against Glenn Abbott on Demolay night.
The Tigers versus Seattle. Saturday, it'll be
Rosemar against Paul. And Sunday, Arroyo against
Undecided. Tiger Day Saturday, Autograph Day
Sunday. May looks at a strike call from Nolan
Ryan. Thompson, not much to believe at first
base. Jackson holds with him. The fastball is
in too close on Milton. May, one and one to count
on Milton. California picked up two in the second.
They laid the Tigers 2 -0, but the Tigers trying
to get back in the second inning. May swings
and misses. He took a big ripple. And the fastball
came in right through the letters. Two of the
hitters who led the hitting against California
not in the lineup today for the Tigers. Here's
a foul back on the screen. One and two on May.
Those two are LaFleur and Rodriguez. Rusty Staub
was another one of the leaders last year against
California pitching only. Hope you'll be out
here tomorrow night, fun at the ballpark. Here's
the pitch. Swing and a foul. It'll reach the
seat back a third. That's the trouble with having
only a two -game series with the Angels and a
day off for four. You figure your odds are you're
going to get to Nana and Ryan. It's a four -game
series, so you can spread it around a little
bit. That's a potent one -two punch, too, to
run up against. Now May digging in, waiting on
another one -two serve from Nolan. Here it is.
He takes the high fastball. That one seemed to
sail a little bit for him. 2 -2 the count on
May. Doesn't appear that Ryan has really found
his rhythm yet in this game. He's struggling
a little bit. He seems to be getting his curveball
over better than the fast stuff. Now the 2 -2
delivery. There's his curve. It missed the mark.
He's thrown a lot of pitches here in the early
part of the game. He had an arm operation in
late 75. September 75. And 76 was not an outstanding
year for Nolan, not by his standards. Outfield
around the right on May. Almost no breeze right
now. Here's a pitch. He takes a walk. He didn't
get the curve in that time. And the Tigers have
two runners both on bases on balls. Mickey Stanley,
veteran center fielder, getting a nice round
of applause. Nick batting 265. One of the most
popular of the Tigers, Mickey Stanley. Thompson
on second. May on first. Tigers trail by two.
Two -nothing in the second inning. And the pitch.
He takes the ball outside. That was a fastball.
High and away. Good turnout in the bleaches tonight.
You can come out and see a baseball game for
a dollar and a half. That's hard to beat. Cup
of coffee costs almost that much now. Here's
the strike call. Fastball in above the knees.
Got about a fourth of a shrimp cocktail for that.
2 -0. Angels lead the Tigers in the second inning.
Stanley waits. The 1 -1 pitch is outside. Ryan
going to that fastball a lot now. 2 -1 the count
on Mickey. Tigers did some lusty hitting in Comiskey
Park when they swept that series of Chicago.
They'd like to continue that hitting pace. Stanley
at the plate. 2 -1 pitch. Swing and a top. He
just kicked that one off the net of Humphrey.
And the count on Mickey, 2 -2. Outfield plays
Stanley not to be able to get around on Ryan.
Yeah, they've got Flores over there in right
center. Let's see what he will give him on 2
-2 now with one out and two on 2 -0. California
leading in the second. Ryan takes his time. Mickey
digging in waiting. Here it comes. He takes a
strike, a fastball across. Hits that outside
corner. That is a really tough pitch. Right -hander
against the right -hander. He gets that fastball
on the outside corner. Just a little bit above
the knee. Not too much you can do. That's the
fourth strikeout for Ryan. and he's retired five
men and banned four of them. Here's Tommy Barraza
with two on and two out. Tommy batting 160. This
is his 25th game. Takes a wide one, ball one.
Dick Krzyzewski coaching at first. Fred Hatfield,
the third base coach for the Tigers. Barraza
looked at a ball outside. Two at 0. Another fastball.
Now Seattle and Cleveland are tied. They're 2
-2 at the end of three. Baltimore second lead
over Milwaukee at Baltimore. 1 -0. They've completed
three over there. Now the 2 -0 pitch and Verizon
takes the strike outside corner. Tiger fans trying
to clap up a little rally here in the second
inning with the Tigers trailing 2 -0. Now the
set by Nolan Ryan. The right hander fires. It's
a fastball. Swung on. Popped in the air to short
left. Rudy is there. He's waiting. He has it
and the side retires. The Tigers get two walks
and that's all. No runs, no hits, no errors.
Two are left. And it's the end of two. California
two, Detroit nothing. We got together to do it
better. And that's what we did. You know, when
things go right, it really feels good. And that's
the way it feels around the Marathon Oil Company.
Because Marathon isn't just a name. It's a lot
of people who got together because they think
doing it better is the only way to do it. And
if you ask me, I think they're absolutely right.
We got together to do it better. That's what
we did. We're Marathon. We got together to do
it better, and we did. Jay Roberts here to remind
you that I stay up late to provide a little night
music and conversation on a program called Night
Flight 76. Join me evenings at 11 .30 on WJR.
Bill Flores, the lead off man, coming up now
to start things in the third against John Hiller.
California picked up a couple in the second.
That's the difference in the game. They had singles
by Rudy and Bond. Single by Jackson and a sacrifice
fly by Gritch. Got the second run home. Heller
delivers and Flores looks at a curve over. Strike
one. He bounced that assist to Thompson the first
time it's passed. Here's a pitch at law. One
and one to count on him. in the dirt. The county's
two and one. John Rock kicks the livers. Little
pop fly back towards short. Verizon's there.
He has it. And that's one away. Torres popping
to Tommy Verizon. Jerry Remy will be the batter.
John Sanderson is a great Tiger fan. Has been.
And still is. Been in the hospital for a long,
long time. Still rooting for the Tigers. We send
our very best to him. He's at St. Joseph of Mount
Clemens. There's the ball low. Ball one. Remy,
a very fine competitor and highly regarded all
around the league. He flied to left his first
trip. Swings and misses on a Hiller curve one
and one. other tomorrow night at 8 o 'clock.
Hope you'll be out with us. Bounding ball to
first. Thompson very wide of the bag. Has it
raised to the bag. Won by Jason. Remy is out
to Jason Thompson unassisted. Two up and two
away. Dave Chalk. Dave popped to second base.
His only trip. The right hand batter takes a
strike on the outside corner to strike the comedy.
California to Detroit nothing. The angels are
batting in the third the first of a two game
set. First look these two teams have had at each
other this year. He takes a half cut but it's
ruled the ball didn't go over. Piper net checking
with Jim Evans at first he says you're right.
He didn't go across. So I want to count on Dave
Shaw. Here it is. Swing and a bounding foul.
It's down past the coach, Dave Garcia. Dave managed
in the Mexican ball. Same league that Rodriguez
has often played in the wintertime. Here's a
high pop -up over back of Mankowski. Verizer
is in left field. Here comes Kemp behind him,
and Verizer makes the catch for the out. They
go down one, two, three, and the third. Here
come the Tigers to bat in the last half. The
third it is. California 2, Detroit nothing. When
it comes to racing, motorcycle champions have
one thing in common. Champions spark plugs. Last
year, for instance, champions sparked all 16
major U .S. and world motorcycle championships,
including motocross and road racing. Is it any
wonder when most factory teams go racing, champions
spark plugs go along? So when your bike needs
a new plug, do what racers around the world do.
Fill her up with champions. Tigers coming about
against Nolan Ryan. It is 2 -0 Angels. Two runs
three hits for California. No runs, one hit for
the Tigers. And here's the man who's had the
only hit, Mankowski. He'll be leading off in
the Tiger third against Ryan. Ryan has walked
two. And he picked up four strikeouts in the
first two innings. On the left -hand batting,
Mankowski at a 3 -2 pitch for a single into center
field. A first -time up bats again. Right -hander
Nolan Ryan into action. But it is, and Phil takes
a ball in close ball one. Still daylight here
at Tigers Stadium. It is 8 .48 on the stadium
clock. Ryan wheels and deals. There's a curve
across above the knees. One and one. Hear the
voice of Mark Fedrich from the far corner of
the dugout over there at third base. Fastball
onto the chin. Two and one. They got him. Mankowski.
Chopkin close at third on Phil. 2 -0 California
in the third. Low inside curve. 3 -1 from Nolan
Ryan. Here's a ball outside. He walked in. That'll
be the third walk off Ryan. Ryan really seemed
to find himself back around 72. Tom Morgan got
a hold of him when he was a pitching coach out
of California. Worked him out between starts.
Got him to take a little off his fastball once
in a while. And it seemed to get Ryan in the
correct groove. He's walked three. He struck
out four and a lot of hit. Here's his first strikeout
victim. Fluenti is coming up again. Batting left
-handed. Tito takes the strike. Started the bunt.
Hit the outside corner on him. Baltimore still
leading Milwaukee there in the fifth inning now.
Baltimore 1 -0 the Orioles ahead. Set by Ryan
in the pitch. It's a ball outside. A one -and
-one on Tito. Boston leading the Yankees there
in the third. Two to one at New York. Minkowski
getting a little bit of a lead at first. Ron
Jackson holding on the bag with him. The one
-one pitch coming up to Tito. Very high and wide.
Two and one. Ryan throwing a lot of pitches here
in the early inning. Here's a cut and a miss
on a pitch that was in close around the knees.
2 -2 the count on Palletti. Tito saying something
to Barnett and Humphries. He stepped back into
the batter's box. 2 -2 the count on him. Waiting
on deck rusty stop. Here's a bit. It's a ball
outside. There's that book out again. That's
been up on the board quite a bit already. Kowski
edging off a little bit at first base. Jackson
holding with him. 2 -0 California. Tito swings
and fouls it on the screen. Just got a piece
of that fastball. Ryan deals that fastball. Tito
doesn't have time to slide that left hand down.
Yeah. Got to just get the bat across the plate.
Waiting on another 3 -2 delivery from Nolan Ryan.
Here it is. He swings and fouls another one on
the screen. He took a little off that one. That
didn't have the zip that the last one had. Sixty
feet, six inches from the plate. The ball comes
up 95 to 100 plus miles per hour. You don't have
much time. About two -fifths of a second to hit
the ball. Here's a swing and a miss. He didn't
hit that one. It's the fifth strikeout for Ryan.
And Rusty Staub will be the batter. He struck
out his first time at bat. They moved the pitching
mound back from the plate in 1893. It used to
be only 50 feet from the plate. New York had
a great pitcher named Amos Rusi. And they figured
he threw too hard. They'd move it back. There's
a ball outside. Well, all it did made his curveball
a little more effective. And he was even a better
pitcher after they moved it back to 60 feet six
inches. Paul won the count on Rusty Staub. Man
on first. One man down. 2 -0 California. Ryan
sets and pitches. There's a strike call. The
fastball in. 1 -1 they count on him. Staub steps
out as we told you. He was one of the leading
Tiger hitters against California pitching last
year. Minkowski not getting much of a lead at
first base. Stob takes the ball outside. Two
and one they count on him. Now Rusty choking
the bat. Leaning and waiting is the 2 -1 there.
He swings fly ball at the drop left field near
the line. Rudy coming over to his right is there.
He makes the catch and holding it first is Mankowski.
All the outs have either been strikeouts or fly
balls to Rudy in left field. Rudy's had three
put outs and then five Tigers have gone down
on strike. Here's Steve Kemp who took a call
third strike to win the first inning. Man Humphrey's
gone out of the mound to talk with Nolan Ryan
by digging in the conference is over now on the
right hand Orion sets and pitches a left hand
about it takes a strike outside corner he didn't
like that call by Barnett gave him a little bit
of the old family look there Ron Jackson holding
on the bag with Mankowski at first base here's
the pitch it's a ball high one and one We've
told you from time to time that Kemp is a very
aggressive hitter. Anybody to keep you from being
aggressive, it would be the pitcher of the type
of Nolan Ryan. Here's the set and the pitch.
He backed him off with an inside fastball. 2
-1 the count on Steve. Jason Thompson waiting
on deck. We're in the third inning. The Tigers
and the California Angels. The Angels have the
lead 2 -0 at Tiger Stadium. Man on first, two
down for Detroit. A 2 -1 pitch to Kemp. He swings
and fouls it away. He got a good ripple at that
one. That was the let -up curve. But he beat
the ball down on his foot. 2 -2 the count on
Steve. I don't think I ever saw a more impressive
pitching performance than when Ryan pitched his
second no -hitter in that 73 season against the
Tigers. He struck out 17. Probably would have
fanned more, but he had a big rest in the eighth
inning when California got a lot of runs. Here's
a 2 -2 pitch now to Kemp. Swing and a miss. He
struck him out. He tried to hold up, but he'd
gone across. That is six strikeouts on Olin Ryan.
No runs, no hits, no walks, no errors. One man
left at the end of three. California 2, Detroit
nothing. You're at the plate in the Labatt's
baseball trivia game. Here's the pitch. Who drew
the most votes in the first selection of players
for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York?
Call Time Out to think about it over a cool,
refreshing Labatt's Blue. The answer, Ty Cobb.
Ty Cobb gained 222 votes, seven more than the
great Babe Ruth or Honus Wagner. Great baseball
calls for great beer, Labatt's Blue. Call for
Labatt's, brewed in Canada since 1828. Distributed
by Labatt & Poors Incorporated, Buffalo, New
York. Labatt's Blue is available in selected
markets throughout Michigan. Getting it together
in the morning. to use the vernacular. That's
what we do in the morning here on WJR. I'm doing
my job. I'm J .P. McCarthy. Join me from 6 to
10. California got two in the second off John
Hiller. They lead Hiller and the Tigers now 2
-0. We move to the fourth inning. Let's all enjoy
hearing from Paul Carey. All right, Ernie, thank
you very much. It's Joe Rudy to lead it off for
the Angels here in the top of the fourth inning
against Hiller. It was Rudy who started things
going for the Angels in the second inning with
his loop single to right field. Hiller looking
in, getting the side from Milt May. Into the
windup, the left -hander delivers. The curve
stays high for ball one. Rudy backing out. Eight
home runs, 38 RBIs this year for Joe. As you
know, most of them behind Frank DiManna. There's
a foul into the upper deck behind the plate.
Ball and a strike on Rudy. One of the three long
-term contract -rich new players possessed by
the California club. Out of that. re -entry free
agency draft. The pitch to him. Strike called.
Joe had an idea and then decided to not go after
it. Hiller with his second start of this season,
his second straight start. Did not survive the
fourth inning at Texas, his first outing last
Wednesday. Here's the pitch to Rudy. It's high
with a fastball. That'll even the count of two
balls and two strikes. The Angels getting two
runs in the second inning. A couple of loop singles
by Rudy and Bonds, and then the one -off single
hit very sharply beyond the reach of a riser
into left center field by Ron Jackson. Sacrifice
fly by Gritch Fowler. There's a swing and a miss.
Rudy goes down swinging, and that's the first
strikeout for Hiller. Let's pause for station
identification. This is the Detroit Tiger Baseball
Network. Here's the weather for greater Detroit.
Cloudy, widely scattered afternoon and evening
thundershowers through Thursday. Low tonight,
mid -60s. High tomorrow and Thursday, upper 80s.
At a minute past 9, it's partly cloudy and 80.
This is WJR Detroit. A cutter to miss by Bobby
Bonds on the first offering from Hiller. Now
Bonds had looped his single to right field his
first time up. Well, Hiller, with his first strikeout,
getting Rudy to open the fourth inning. A little
bit low that time, near the outside part of the
plate, and it took patience on Bond's part not
to go after it. One and one on Bobby. Hiller
winds, delivers. Swung on and missed. He was
over the top of that off -speed pitch. Ryan is
spanning them at the rate of two per inning with
a total of six. Nobody on, one down. Top of the
fourth inning. A one -two pitch. He struck him
out. Back -to -back strikeouts by Hiller. And
Bonds going down swinging. John has pitched well
here tonight. He got hurt by those two little
soft fly balls that dropped in in the second
inning by Rudy and Bonds. Only well -hit ball.
One hopper into left center by Ron Jackson. So
there are two down. Nobody on, and Don Baylor's
at the plate. The pitch to Don. He checks. It's
low and inside. The Oakland A's last year, previous
to that with Baltimore, on the inside corner
for a call strike. Miller has the sign. The 1
-1 pitch. Taken inside. Ball two, strike one
on Baylor. Power and speed owned by this man.
The one who just struck out, Bobby Bond, is a
good example of that. On the inside corner of
her called strike. That's a pretty pitch. In
around the knees. Now the line up by Hiller,
the 2 -2 pitch. Line shot foul. That'll reach
the facing of the upper deck and get into the
first couple of rows in the upper deck and right
field. Hope they were ready for that one out
there. 2 -0. The Angels lead the Tigers here
in the top of the fourth inning. Two down, nobody
on. The 2 -2 pitch. There's a pop -up toward
third. Mankowski calling for it, straddling the
line. Now Verizer calls him off. He makes the
catch in foul territory. And the Angels are retired
in order here in the top of the fourth inning.
Tigers come to bat in their half with a score,
California 2, Detroit nothing. You may have been
thinking that a car with the comfort and gloominess
of a lorry might be priced beyond reach. That's
why we'd like you to know that our six -cylinder
Ferrari two -door coupe... carries a manufacturer
-suggested retail price of only $3 ,570, excluding
all taxes and destination charges. $3 ,570 for
Volari styling, Volari roominess, and that smooth,
steady Volari ride. The kind of ride you'd expect
from a big car. Volari, the small car with the
accent on comfort, has a comforting price tag,
too. Just $3 ,570. See your Greater Detroit Chrysler
Plymouth dealer today. I'd like to take the opportunity
right here before the Tigers bat on the bottom
of the fourth inning to pass along my sincere
happy anniversary wishes to my... Father -in
-law and mother -in -law, Pete and Mary Westlock
in Saginaw, Michigan, on the occasion of their
56th wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary,
Pete and Mary. Here's Jason Thompson to lead
it off for the Tigers in the bottom of the fourth
inning. Nolan Ryan has struck out six Tigers,
but he's had a little problem getting his rhythm.
At times, had problems with a... Breaking ball,
others with a fastball getting it over, and he's
walked three and uncorked one wild pitch. Tigers
have had base runners, but haven't been able
to move them around and on in. Thompson walked
his first time up. There's a wild one almost,
high and wide to Jason. Ryan shrugging his shoulders.
Nolan has slowed his delivery. He feels it's
helped him a bit. Now they wind up the pitch.
Breaking ball gets in. A ball and a strike on
Jason. On the windup. And the pitch. It's a ball
outside. Two and one now on Thompson. Thompson
had a big day Sunday against the White Sox with
those five RBIs. The pitch to him. Swung on.
Ripped up the middle of the center field. A base
hit for Thompson. Met the fastball and just sent
it out over second base. Hit number two for the
Tigers. They trail 2 -0 here in the bottom of
the fourth inning. That brings up Tim Corcoran.
Tim is playing his first game ever in Tiger Stadium.
Joined the Tigers on the trip at Texas. Called
up after a sensational start for the Evansville
Triplets where he played first base almost exclusively.
He's been used as the D .H. in one game and then
in right field for the Tigers. Slightly open
stance. Feet spread wide apart. The pitch to
him. It's a fastball outside for ball one. Him
got off to a slow start in Texas. Picked up a
hit in his first game in Chicago, and that was
a long one, a home run for him. And he wound
up with three for four and three for four. The
pitch to Tim. Strike. Got that one across the
letters near the outside of the plate. Thompson
at first. with a leadoff single here in the Tiger
fourth inning. 2 -0 Angels. Tim Ply to left.
His first time up against Ryan. Leans back. The
pitch is swung on. A little looper towards center
field. It'll drop in for a base hit. Thompson
holds at second base as Flores, with excellent
speed, comes in to pick that ball up very quickly.
Ball died in the outfield, but Thompson didn't
have a chance to go to third. Runners at first
and second with nobody out. The batter will be
Milt May. May walked his first time up. So he
got a conference at the mound. Ryan, along with
Terry Humphrey, the catcher, and Chalk, the third
baseman, in to talk. Tigers with back -to -back
singles here in the fourth inning. The Angels
have the same thing in the second and cashed
in a couple of runs. Protecting the baseball.
Larry Barnett keeping it in play. May hitting
3 -10. Three home runs, 13 RBIs for Milton. With
Buentas batting left -handed, there's a string
of six straight, seven straight Tiger batters
left -handed against Ryan. There's a wild one,
gets off the glove of Humphrey, and the runners
will move up. That was a high fastball as Terry
didn't quite get out of the crouch quickly enough
to grab. It's being ruled a wild pitch, the second
by Ryan. He uncorked one in the first inning,
allowing Mankowski to get to third base, but
that's where he died when Kemp struck out. Now
there is nobody out. Thompson is at third. Corcoran
at second. trouble with the ball game. Oh, he
had some trouble in the second inning, too, and
the Tigers got two on by way of walks. One ball,
no strike count. The pitch to May. Swung out,
lined down the right field line. It is a foul
ball by a foot and a half. That had extra bases
written all over it. Well, that time, Milk got
out in front of a delivery by Nolan Ryan. A little
too far. Normally you don't get around on Ryan
that much. Oh, that was going to tie the game
right there. Now the outfield has moved. They're
beginning to move. Flores have been playing straight
away on May, who is known as an up -the -middle
hitter. And they're moving to the right on him
now. They've opened up the gap in left center
field. Actually in center field for Mills. A
1 -1 count on him. And set the pitch to May.
He swings and misses. An off -speed breaking
pitch that time. May now behind with a one -two
count on him. Ryan, even with men not on base,
has become a more deliberate pitcher this year.
Here's the one -two pitch. Fastball is high.
Two and two. Tigers seeing two of baseball's
best, opposing them on the mound in this series.
Ryan tonight, Tanana tomorrow. Tigers will counter
with Dave Roberts tomorrow. Here's the 2 -2 pitch
to May. Bends him back, ball three. Last ball
around the nose. Mickey Stanley on deck. Last
in the string of left -hand hitters that Ryan
has to face in the Tiger batting order. Runners
at second and third. Nobody out of three. Two
count on Mills. The pitch from Ryan. Swung on
and hit off the end of the bat toward third.
Chalk charges. Looks at home. Can't go. There
goes the first to get May. And the Tigers get
a run home. Staying at second was Corcoran. The
play right in front of him. Chalk took a look
at the plate. Saw he didn't have a shot at Thompson
who was going to score. And took a look over
his left shoulder at Corcoran to make sure he
wasn't trying to advance to third. Gritch was
covering for him there. And he went to first
to just nip May by a step. So Milk gets an RBI.
The Tigers narrow the gap to 2 -1 and get on
the board against Nolan Ryan. Corcoran still
at second now. With one out on the batter is
Mickey Stanley. Finally struck out, swinging
his first time up. Grounder by May was just hit
off the end of the bat. Here's the pitch. A little
high to make you ball one. May looking for something
with a little more speed that time, and he just
barely caught the end of the bat with it. Dribbled
it in the high infield grass. It's a brand new
infield here at Tiger Stadium that the Tigers
are coming back to. The set, the pitch, piled
upstairs. It'll be behind first base in the upper
deck. On the batting cage before the game, some
of the Angels were commenting about the length
of the grass on the infield, and I explained
to them that it's a brand -new infield. The other
had been taken out completely when the Tigers
went off on their 10 -day road trip. balls down
in the infield here. Outside for a ball. Two
balls and a strike on Stanley. Corcoran at second.
Thompson let off the inning with a single. Advanced
to second on the single by Corcoran. Both moved
up on a wild pitch. Mays bounce off the third.
Brought in a run. a bit tonight with that strike
zone. Got those good pitches that will keep the
batters off balance. But he's also been a wee
bit inconsistent. And patience is the order at
the plate. There's ball four. Stanley draws the
walk. Well, Mickey moves to first. Corkbridge
is at second with one up. That's the fourth walk
issued by Ryan. Tommy hit a soft fly to left
his first time up. Stanley gets a good size lead
at first. Jackson playing behind the runner there.
One in the dirt. Good block by Humphrey. That
one just simply was badly released by Ryan. It
hit out in front of the plate, to the side of
the plate. Humphrey made sure he blocked it.
Now the pitch from Ryan. Reiser takes outside
ball two. Time called. Humphrey is going to go
out to have another word with his pitcher, Nolan,
who is having trouble. That plate is swimming
around on him in here. Comes Norm Sherry, the
manager of the Angels, out to talk to Nolan as
well. Well, Ernie passed along a card. Cosmo
Potts out of Warren High School. He's got 58
members of the Big Orange Warren High School.
varsity club on hand tonight. The card on the
card comes from George Steele. Good friend is
the basketball coach out at Warren High. And
now he and the old college spots are on hand
with a large group of Warren High. Conference
is over now. Norm Sherry's gone back to the dugout.
Humphrey winding his way behind the plate. Tigers
have runners at first and second. With one out,
they've scored a run. A couple of singles. They
bounce out on a walk so far in this inning. An
activity now on the Angel bullpen. Scott and
Drago. The pitch is taken for a strike. That
one was right across the letters. It looked like
Tommy was going to take all the way. Scott's
a left -hander. Drago a right -hander. Loosening
in the bullpen for California. The 2 -1 pitch.
Swung on and popped up. Foul. It'll drift. back
out of play. This one will reach the upper deck
behind first base. Ron Jackson coming over to
watch it disappear. Alvarizer waiting on Nolan
Ryan. A 2 -2 count on him. One down. Two runners
on the infield and double play death. Ryan Reddick.
The pitch to Tommy. He swings and pops a foul
into the upper deck behind the plate this time.
A war between the mound and the plate continues.
We're all looking forward to that big... Tonight,
coming up Friday night, the 1977 debut of the
bird, Mark Fidrich, against the new Seattle Mariners.
Now a 2 -2 pitch to Beriser. Almost hit him inside
with a floater. Foul count again. He has gone
to that 3 -2 count so much tonight. On deck is
Mankowski. One out. Runners at first and second.
Here's the 3 -2 pitch. Ball four. The bases are
loaded. A fastball up around the shoulders. It
took off on Ryan. That's the fifth strikeout
for Ryan. Tigers trail two to one. They've had
the base runners. The Tigers have left four on
base in the first three innings. Got a single
from Mankowski in the first inning and a couple
of walks in the second inning. Both runners stayed
there. A walk in the third. has been able to
be part of the batters just enough. Picking up
six strikeouts here in the fourth. Singles by
Thompson and Corcoran and the bounce off by May
get a run home and the two to Stanley and Verizon
load up the bases for Mankowski. A single and
a walk for Phil tonight. Here's the windup by
Ryan and the pitch. Strike. Call. Pitch by Ryan.
Phil would like to see that one again. This is
loaded with Tigers. They trail 2 -1. The pitch
to Mankowski. Bends him away. 1 -1. Ryan doing
a little scraping around. Taking plenty of time.
Now leaning on the knees. Into the motion. Here's
a 1 -1 pitch. Wide. into talk now with Ryan.
And Draco and Scott continue to loosen the bullpen.
Ryan had a one -hitter earlier this year. That
was against Seattle. Bob Stinson got the only
hit off him, a fifth -inning single, as I recall.
Here's the 2 -1 pitch. Way out. Have that one
to swing at, but by the same token, you've got
to play the percentages. Chance to get a run
in if he's just a little off. And he has been
more than a little off here tonight. Here's the
full count pitch to Lankowski. He swings and
pops a fly ball foul down the left field line.
It's slicing and no one will get it. It'll drop
on the bullpen. Rudy and Gritch both giving chase
down there. Neither could catch up to it. So
we come. back again to load those bases up. Mankowski
may have broken his bat on that one. He's blocking
the handle in the dirt. Yep, Phil's going to
need a new bat. Exciting moment here at Tiger
Stadium. Tigers trailing at 2 -1. One out with
the bases loaded. Ready to go again. Ryan Wines.
Here's the pitch. Swung on. A ground ball. They
make it two. The grits for one. They relay. Double
play. And that's all for the Tigers in the fourth
inning. A one -hopper ready -made to Jerry Remy.
And they turn the double play 4 -6 -3. For the
Tigers in the fourth inning, one run on two hits.
They had a couple of walks. No errors. And two
runners were left on base. So after four innings
of play, it's now the Angels 2, the Tigers 1.
Here's a WJI news update. Veteran Detroit talk
show host and columnist Lou Gordon is dead at
the age of 60. Gordon was found dead in his bed
this morning by his wife. Cause of death appears
to have been heart -related. The struggling American
Motors Corporation has a new president, Gerald
Myers, who had been an executive vice president,
succeeds the retiring William Lunenberg. President
Carter discussed the Middle East with Prince
Fahd of Saudi Arabia at the White House today.
In Russia, Soviet President Podgordny has been
effectively stripped of all but ceremonial power.
The Communist Party Central Committee dropped
the 74 -year -old Podgordny from the ruling Politburo.
A three -judge federal appeals court in New York
City has extended until June 1st a ban against
landings by the Concorde jetliner at Kennedy
Airport. The court scheduled on that date a hearing
on the merits of the issue. On Wall Street, the
Dow Jones industrials were down 4 .66 today,
closing at 912 .40. The Detroit temperature,
78 degrees. I'm Jim Fogle. Just so you'll know,
WJR presents Town and Country, the first thing
every morning at 5. This is Jim Garrett inviting
you to join Tom Campbell and me on Radio 76.
It's the top of the fifth inning here at Tiger
Stadium. John Hiller set to face the Angels.
They score 2 -1, Angel. Ron Jackson, who drove
in an Angel run on the second inning to lead
it off. A wind -up by Hiller. Here's the pitch
to Jackson. He takes a strike. A change -up by
Hiller right off the bat. Right -hand batter.
The pitch to him. Swung on and fouled up. Stairs
behind the plate. Two quick strikes on Ron Jackson.
It was the number two pick in the pre -agent
draft back in 1971 by the Angels. Worked his
way up through their system. Played outfield
and third base primarily, but is now playing
some first base for the Angels as he is tonight.
A pitch to him. Swung on. Lined at Verizer. A
stab by Tommy. A good catch. At the time of just
right, that ball was taking off. Like a golf
shot. And it was beginning to hook, too, so Tommy
had to make quite a play on it. One down in the
fifth inning. Here's Bobby Gritch, who sacrificed
fly to center, drove in the run that is the difference
in the game right now. The pitch to Bobby takes
low and inside. Ball one. to the member of the
California Ball Club. Shot and a miss. Understood.
The Angels extended him, but he wanted to play
in Southern California. High for a ball, 2 -1
on Gritch. Ah, Hiller winds the 2 -1 pitch. It's
low, 3 -1 on deck for California's Terry Humphrey.
The Grinch won his fourth straight gold glove
at second base last year, now making the conversion
to shortstop this year. 3 -1 pitch to him, swung
on, a fly ball lifted to center field. Stanley
starts back. He's under it now. Mickey pounds
the glove. He has it. Two down in the fifth inning.
Nobody on, and in the batter will be Terry Humphrey.
have been out. Heller settled down after giving
up those two loop singles by Rudy and Bond for
one solid hit by Jackson. After all, they've
been able to touch killer four. But they have
a two -to -one lead. The man from Chickasaw,
Oklahoma, Terry Humphrey, waits and takes a called
strike. The pitch to Terry. Check swing. It's
low for a ball. A couple of seasons ago, you
recall that Humphrey was seeing some action for
the Tigers and had his season destroyed by George
Brett in the collision at home plate. It's low
for a ball. tiger right -hander has been placed
on the 21 -day disabled list because of that
bothersome stiffness in his right shoulder the
date of the disability retroactive to may 20th
that was the day after he started the exhibition
game in cincinnati that was last thursday at
cincinnati and mark pedry thus uh was made room
for and mark is now an active member of the tigers
he's been with them and very active but not officially
so But he is now back on the 25 -man roster and
ready to go. And his debut of the year is coming
Friday against the Seattle Mariners. There's
Tito Puentes, the leadoff for fifth inning for
Detroit. Tito's been a little befuddled by Ryan
so far, batting left -handed against Ryan. He
has struck out both times. His old teammate at
San Francisco, Bobby Bonds, was chiding him before
the ballgame about it. High and wide for a ball.
He said, how do you expect it? Pull the ball.
He said he couldn't do it against Dick Krasuski,
who was throwing batting practice. I expect to
do it against Nolan Ryan. The pitch from Ryan.
Punted towards third, but charged by Chalk. He's
got it to throw the first, and he got it. Now
that was punted right at Chalk, who was suspecting
a punt. Charged in, and despite the high draft,
was able to make an easy play out of it. He now
has good bat control and has been able to get
several punt singles. Between the third baseman
and the mound. One out on the Tiger fifth. It'll
bring up Rusty Staub. Rusty has struck out and
hit a pop fly to left. Against Ryan, the wind
-up by Nolan. He kicks and fires. Inside, around
the knees. Ball one on Staub. on the mound. The
pitch swung on a bounce to the first. Jackson
waits for it, scoops it up, and trots to the
bag to make the put -out unassisted on stop.
There are two down. Let's pause for station identification.
This is the Detroit Tiger Baseball Network. Checking
the weather for greater Detroit. Fair to partly
cloudy with widely scattered afternoon and evening
thundershowers. Through Thursday, low to night
in the mid -60s. Tomorrow and Thursday's high
in the upper 80s. At half -past nine, it's partly
cloudy and 75. This is WJR Detroit. There's Steve
Kemp. Well, Steve has been a strikeout victim
both times against Ryan. You saw a lot of Ryan
when he was a youngster out in Southern California.
Now he's batting against him high and wide for
ball one. This is the first time he will have
hit against Nolan Ryan. This ball game, that
is. So far, he's been unsuccessful. Wiggling
the bat to pitch to him. Low and inside, 2 -0
on Kemp. Steve has really been swinging the bat
well, upping his batting average to an even 300
coming into the ballgame. 2 -0 pitch to him.
He checks on a breaking ball inside at 3 -0.
He's not given Steve much to really take a cut
at. A lot of breaking balls and off -beat material.
The pitch to him. It's low for ball four. So
Kemp draws the walk, and that's the sixth base
on balls issued by Ryan. He's also struck out
six. And it'll bring up Jason Thompson with a
walk and a single. Each club with three hits,
but the Angels lead it 2 -1 here in the bottom
of the fifth inning. They made a little better
use of their scoring opportunities in this game.
The only opportunities they had came in the second
inning and made the most of them. A stretch by
Ryan. Here's the pitch to Jason. Fastball is
high. Ball one. Seattle now leads Cleveland 5
-2 in the sixth inning across the lake in Cleveland.
Boston ahead of the Yankees 4 -2 in the sixth
inning in New York. A pitch to Thompson. There's
a strike. A defender that caught the outside
corner. Thompson didn't agree. Game moving along
at Baltimore tonight. 1 -0 Baltimore over Milwaukee
in the eighth inning. Jim Palmer working for
the Birds. Strike two called. He worked him outside.
That one was inside. Around the knees. Caught
the inside corner. Moving it around on Jason.
Ryan ahead of Thompson with a one -two count.
Kemp at first, two down. And they tie your fifth
inning. The pitch to Thompson. Swung on. A little
pop -up in behind short. Gritch is calling for
it on the edge of the grass. Makes the catch.
That retires the side. No runs, no hits, a walk,
no errors. One left after five innings of play.
California 2, Detroit 1. Herbie delighting the
audience after five innings here at Tiger Stadium.
Ready to go in the sixth inning. Top of the batting
order. The first pitch from John Hiller to Gil
Flores. Taken for a called strike. And one trouble
to many for Hiller. There's a tap foul rolling
behind the plate. Two quick strikes on Flores.
The second inning. Luke singles by Rudy and Bonds.
Leave it off. Baylor is out on a pop -up. And
Ron Jackson with a one -hop drive in the left
center field to score a run. A sacrifice fly
by Grich. Got another one home, and that's been
it. A pitch from Hiller. Swung on. A fly ball
to center field. Stanley starts back. Now drops
in and makes the catch. One out in the Angels'
sixth inning. That'll bring up Jerry Remy. Hiller
has set down the Angels in order in the first,
third, fourth, and fifth innings. Oh, except
for that second. He's been letter perfect. Hiller
winds, pitches to Remy. He shortens up, takes
the strike. Got an offer on it. Got excellent
speed, Remy does. Caused Mankowski to play in
real tight, charge the ball. He's on the edge
of the grass right now, actually. Sneaking in
on the grass. Strike two called on Remy. 0 for
2 for Remy tonight. Left hand batter. Feet close
together. The pitch from John. Swung on. Hit
on the ground to the left side. Cut off by Mankowski.
Guns the first he got in. That high grass of
the infield slowed that one down just enough
for Mankowski to get over and be able to cut
it off in front of the riser. Almost needed to
make the play that way because of the speed of
Remy. Oh, they're two down, nobody on, and Dave
Chalk at the plate, a right -hand batter. He's
popped to second and popped to short. Killer
ready, delivers. Little high that time, ball
one. John's control has been excellent. He delivers.
Strike called. Mixing his speeds well. Around
that plate all the time. 1 -1 pitch to Chuck.
He takes strike two calls. Here's the wind -up
by Hiller. The 1 -2 pitch. Bounce foul. 13 straight
batters have gone down against Hiller. Beginning
of the string was the sacrifice fly by Grich.
Cut and a miss, he struck him out. Third strikeout
for Hiller, and again for the fourth straight
inning, he sets the Angels down 1 -2 -3. Here
come the Tigers to bat to give it a try on the
bottom of the sixth inning with a score, California
2, Detroit 1. Ryan loosening up to face the Tigers
here in the bottom of the sixth inning. John
Hiller has pitched a superb ball game for the
Tigers, with the exception of that one tough
luck inning in the second where the Angels got
their two runs and they lead it 2 -1. Ryan has
been ultimately wild and accurate. He's kept
the Tiger hitters off balance for the most part.
The Tigers have left men on base in every inning.
One in the first, two in the second, one in the
third, two in the fourth, and one in the fifth.
Here's Tim Corcoran, who's single in the fourth
inning. He's one for two tonight against Ryan.
First pitch of the inning to Corcoran is a fastball
high. Ball one on Tim. One more with the Angels,
and then Seattle will come in for three this
weekend, followed by Oakland and Cleveland, a
nine -game homestand. Strike. That one called
on Tim. It came in above the knees of the basketball.
Not much wind here at the ballpark tonight. The
Tim is taking a little though. Two and one. Ryan
thought it was in. Had some rain this afternoon
in the ballpark area. A little brief shower.
Unloaded and moved on. 2 -1 pitch to Tim. He
swings and fouls it against the screen behind
the plate. Corcoran will be followed by May and
Stanley here in the Tigers' sixth inning. The
Angels came into the game tied for fourth in
the Western Division with Oakland and Kansas
City six and a half games behind the leader,
Minnesota. The 2 -2 pitch to Corcoran. Inside
and it bounced off the plate and up against the
chest protector of Humphrey and bounced away.
One of those full counts again. Irish -American
night tomorrow night. There will be some special
ceremonies prior to the game. We'll have Demolay
night on Friday night when the bird makes his
debut. The 3 -2 pitch to Corcoran. Swung on and
fouled with the green. He spoiled one off. doesn't
like the ball he got. Let me get a new one. Cochran,
one for two tonight. Tigers will throw another
left -hander against the Angels tomorrow night
in Dave Roberts. And the Tigers will see one
of the best left -handers in the business, Frank
Tanana, on the lob against them. He's won seven
times, lost but once. The pinch to Cochran. Swung
on and fouled off the face mask to plate umpire
Larry Barnett. That sent him staggering about
three steps backward. Ooh, it jammed the mask
up against his chin. Orion's fastballs and Cochran
just barely kicked it. Enough to send it over
the shoulder of Humphrey. Barnett not quite ready
to be the arbiter yet. He wants to look around.
See how things look before he puts that grill
work back on his face. Check on the mask. Make
sure it's all in one piece. Three balls, two
strikes on Corcoran. Nobody out here in the sixth
inning. Nobody on. Here's the pitch to Tim. All
four. He walked him. There's the seventh walk
given up by Ryan. Oh, the Tigers have had the
runners. Are they at least walkers, maybe we
should say. Seven of them. Ryan's had a couple
of wild pitches. There's Milt May. Third baseman
Dave Chalk is looking for the sacrifice. They
pitch to the plate, taken for a called strike,
and Milk gave no indication that he was going
to bunt. Milk often takes that first pitch. Must
have looked at what's being thrown. Now they
pitch to him. Strike two called. And again, he
didn't shorten up. The poke on May, according
to the opponents, say that Milk will not bump
very often. The stretch. There's the set on the
two -strike pitch. Swung on a bouncer to the
right side. Up with it is Remy. The second for
one. The relay to first. Gets away from Jackson.
Not far enough for May to advance. It was a poor
throw by Grich. Hit in the dirt, so it'll go
as a simple force out at second base at Corcoran.
Well, there's one out with May at first base,
and Mickey Stanley will be the batter. Baltimore
2 -1 over Milwaukee now in the ninth inning.
The Brewers with their last chance at Jim Palmer.
And the seventh at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox
leading the Yankees 5 -2. Seattle ahead of Cleveland
5 -2 in the sixth, but that's been out for some
time. There's the set by Ryan. The pitch to Stanley.
He cuts and misses. Strike one. Only three other
games going in the American League tonight. Montreal
involved in another long game today. The Expos
winning it in extra innings in 13 innings over
the Cubs 5 -4. The pitch to Stanley. Swing and
a miss. He couldn't find that one. At Pittsburgh,
the Pirates lead the Mets 5 -1 in the seventh
inning. Philadelphia won the Cards nothing in
the fifth inning at St. Louis. A couple of late
starters on the West Coast in the National League
this evening. Here's the stretch. The two -strike
pitch to Stanley. It's outside and low, and Mickey
held off. Tigers just four and a half games off
the pace in the American League East behind Baltimore.
Coming into the series with the Angels, who set
the pitch to Stanley. He checked in time, fastball
just outside, 2 -2 on Stanley. Now the stretch
by Ryan. Here's the pitch to Mickey. Swings and
lifts a foul into the upper deck on the right
field side. Ernie got a letter today from Laura
Kirchow of Saline, Michigan. She and the whole
Kirchow family want to know who played third
base and shortstop during the 68 World Series
for the Tigers. Said to answer on the air. It
was Don Word at third base, right? And Ray Euler.
Well, Mickey Stanley played short during the
series. That's right, during the season. Dick
Krasuski and Ray Euler played it. There's the
pitch from Ryan. Check swing by Stanley. Did
he check in time? They're going to appeal, and
he did check in time. Jim Evans, the first base
umpire, supporting Larry Barnett's call behind
the plate. Ooh, that was close. Stanley almost
breaking the wrist on it. It's a 3 -2 count on
Mickey. Ryan had had him swinging, missing on
the first two pitches, and it's another full
count. May at first base, one down. The pitch
from Ryan, swung on, ground ball towards second,
picked up by Remy. He'll tag the runner, May,
for the first double play. Throwback to second,
safe at second. Apparently they'd missed the
tag of May. Flit, went down on the ground, did
not go out of the base path. Remy could not make
the tag and went on to first to get that one.
They had to go back. The force was off. They
had to go back and make a tag at May at second
and missed him as he dove in safely. What happens
is that it becomes simply a 4 -3 put out of Stanley
at first base. Moving May to second. May did
a good job. He was right on the base path. The
ball fielded right there by Remy. And May came
to a skidding halt, kind of went down low. The
throw to first got Stanley in good shape. Here's
Tom Beriser, the Tigers, with a runner at second
in May. Trailing at 2 -1 here in the bottom of
the sixth inning. Nolan Ryan looks back at second.
The pitch to Tommy. Takes outside. Ball one.
Beriser is fly to left and walked. Tigers have
only three hits. So have the Angels. They've
all been singles. The pitch. Strike. Fastball
on the outside part of the play. Ryan into the
stretch. The pitch to Verizer. He swings and
fouls one into the upper deck behind first. Oh,
it's a one -two count. The ball popping down
toward the Tiger coaching box at first base.
A ball and two strikes on Verizer with May at
second and two away on the Tiger six. The pitch
to Tommy is a curve on the outside corner. He
struck him out. The first strikeout for Ryan
since the third inning. But it ends the sixth
for Detroit. No runs, no hits, no walks, no errors,
and one left. After six innings, it's still the
Angels two and the Tigers one. Well, we've got
a tight one going here at Tiger Stadium. It's
been interesting. It's primarily been pitching.
They strike out from the walks of Nolan Ryan.
And the excellent pitching of John Hiller, who
got a little tough luck in the second inning
when the Angels got both their runs on three
hits, two of them rather tainted, and the sacrifice
fly. It's the seventh inning for California.
Joe Rudy will lead it off and back to the play
-by -play. Here's Ernie Harwell. Thank you, Paul.
This has been a good one. The Angels lead it
2 -1. Here's Rudy, who started the scoring in
the second. And he swings and misses on the low
outside fastball from the left -handed hitter.
Only in that second inning have the Angels done
anything. They got their three hits in that inning.
And they scored their two runs. Everybody else
has gone out in order in all the other innings.
We put their three hits together. Here's a high
-popped ball off the first base. Here comes May.
Here comes Thompson near the seat. And it is
just out of reach. Two rows in. Right at the
corner of the angel dugout. One ninety four is
the paid attendance just announced by Mr. Bill
Brown on our intercom. Rudy waiting on a strike
to pitch. Swings and fouls. One out of play.
Well sometimes the pitcher the next day is charting
pitches. I noticed Mr. Tanana is over there talking
to a young lovely. In the corner of the dugout.
He's not charting any pitches right now. There's
a strike called. He struck him out. Rudy called
out on strike. That's the fourth strikeout for
Hiller. Bobby Barnes stepping in. He had one
of the three hits in the second inning. A single.
He also struck out on the fourth. It's a close
one, 2 -1 California. The Tigers scored their
only run in the fourth. Singles by Thompson and
Corbin. A wild pitch moved them up. And then
a bounce -off by May got the run in. There's
a foul off the bat of Bobby Barnes. Back to the
screen, strike one. Well, we'll see Dave Roberts
and Frank Tanana here tomorrow night in the finale
of the series. It's a curved low from Hiller.
One and one. John has pitched a very fine game.
But the Angels have to lead two to one. Swing
and a miss by Bobby Bond. One ball and two strikes
to count out. Milwaukee and Baltimore traded
home runs in the eighth inning. Money hit one
for Milwaukee for their first run and then Stingleton
hit one for Baltimore. There's a little roll
of foul over to Dave Garcia, the third base coach.
Great history ahead on that game in Baltimore.
The Orioles led 2 -1 in the ninth inning with
Milwaukee batting in the first half of the night.
Boston leads the Yanks 5 -2 there in the seventh.
Cleveland has tied to Seattle. That's 5 -5 in
the sixth. Here's a ball in close on Bonds. 2
-2 the count on him. All three hits off Hiller
have been single. Here's a bonding ball to short.
Big hop for Verizon. They throw to Thompson.
Plenty of time, and they are two down. Don Baylor
will be the next man to bat now for the California
Angels. Right -hand batting designated batter
with a foul off the first with a pop -up to John
Stopp. He took the ball to the air twice. Here's
a little looper foul up this way out of play.
Into the upper deck. And a gentleman from Toledo
will take that one home with him. Baylor takes
high for a ball. One and one the count of it.
Two runs, three hits for the Angels. One run,
three hits for the Tigers. One error to the Tigers.
Didn't think in the store and there's a strike
called he gets the fastball and above the knees
wanted to unveil her Digging in standing deep
waiting on Hillary's the next deliver here it
comes. It's a change -up law on the account to
do Mancowski defensive third the infield all
the way back He takes the ball at the shoulder
and close both down like a Britain ball And I
didn't like that ball he wants another one from
the umpire Barnett And we've seen this court
that this year Barnett Evans got you on Springstead
Here's the pit page up in the air Foul back a
third. Mankowski racing. So is Barraza. Still
going and nobody can get it. It falls into the
bullpen. Barraza had the best shot, but it was
just out of his reach. Over there where the ground
crew sits. Long run for Tommy. He couldn't quite
get there. Kemp had an even longer run. And it
was tougher for Mankowski because he had to go
straight back. At least Barraza had sort of an
angle on the ball. And it fell among the three
of them. Three -two, the count on Baylor. Wind
up in the pit. Swing and a foul out of play.
That one came back and hit May. Pittsburgh leading
the Mets 5 -1 in the seventh. The Cardinals over
the Phillies 5 -1 in the sixth. Montreal beat
Chicago in 13 innings at Wrigley Field today,
5 -4. Other games are late starters. Here's the
pitch. Taylor takes a walk. That's the first
walk off Hiller. That one got away from him and
hit in front of the plate. 16 in a row had been
retired by John Hiller before that walk. They've
not had a runner since Jackson is coming up now.
But singled in the first run in the second inning.
Baylor's a good base runner. He's got a team
-sized lead over there right now. And it is a
ball in too close on Ron Jackson. Up until this
inning, the Angels had left only one man on base.
Baylor's set, delivers. It's a ball outside the
fastball. 2 -0 the count on it. Almost no breeze.
Now it has died. Good night, the baseball. This
is set. Run it goes. Pitches a ball. Oh, for
the second. He is out at second base. Now he's
called safe as Fuentes didn't hold the ball.
They had him. And then Fuentes didn't hold the
ball. Otago. gave the outside and then the safe
side. It'll be an error charge to Tito Palletti.
No stolen base. Jackson at the plate. Three and
all the count. There's a let -up pitch to tie.
It'll be two walks in a row now off Hiller. It'll
be the second Tiger error. On that play, May
will get an assist. And it goes to the record
books as caught stealing. Doesn't make sense
to me because he wasn't caught stealing. That's
like giving a guy an out at the first baseman's
office. Give him a... Here's Bobby Gritch up
and he takes a strike call. But that's the way
the rules are. Yeah, and I guess what they're
doing is... Saying that may had him because the
call was out. They don't want to have may charged
with a signal Well, that's right. That's that's
the logic of it. Sure. There's a strike called.
He got a curve over Yeah, if you didn't have
the problem of the catcher's record of stolen
bases and caught stealing it wouldn't be there
So that's a good explanation Two on, two out,
and it's a strike. Cody stood there and watched
that one go by. Struck him out. It's the fifth
strikeout for Hillers. No runs, no hits. One
error, two left. We go to the last half of the
seventh inning. The Tigers come in the back.
The Angels 2, Detroit 1. Hi, I'm Ernie Harwell,
and I'm here with a couple of competitors in
the prize for Plymouth Dealers Honorary Tiger
Bat Boy Contest. Paul, how does this thing work?
Well, any boy or girl between 8 and 14 can sign
up in any participating personal permit dealer.
Provided they are accompanied by a licensed driver
18 or older. That's right. And there's no obligation
for signing up. Then 22 Bat Boys will be picked
on June the 2nd. Right, Katie? Right. 22 winners.
One for each Chrysler Plymouth dealer. And everyone
who signs up gets a free Tiger iron -on patch.
Great. Well, that about does it. So, kids, grab
your parents and stop into any participating
Chrysler Plymouth dealer between April 18th and
May 27th. And sign up for the Tiger Bat Boy contest.
Thank you, Katie and Paul. And this is... There's
one more thing. Yes, Katie? Shouldn't that be
that person? Well, anyway, see your participating
Greater Detroit Chrysler Plymouth dealer soon.
For station identification, this is a Detroit
Tiger baseball network. At 2 past 10, here's
the weather for greater Detroit. Fair to partly
cloudy with widely scattered afternoon and evening
thundershowers through Thursday. Low tonight,
mid -60s. High tomorrow and Thursday, upper 80s.
Right now, it's partly cloudy and 75. This is
WJR Detroit. Mankowski will try to get going
for the Tigers here in the seventh inning. They
trail 2 -1, each team with two hits. It's been
a close one, a pitching deal between contrasting
pitchers. Nolan Ryan and John Hiller. And each
has done an excellent job. Ryan's been hobbled
by control troubles, but he's overcome them.
He's walked seven and struck out seven. Here's
Mankowski. And he looks at a strike. Bill has
a single. He's walked and hit into a double play.
He double played in the fourth inning. Baltimore
hung on to beat Milwaukee 2 -1, Palm of the Winter
and Augustine to lose it. Here's a foul out of
play. Got that pitch down on the hands and fouled
it upstairs in section 16. Strike two, the count
on Mankowski. Don't forget, the same two teams
go at each other tomorrow night. Dave Roberts
against Frank Tanana. Battle of left -handed.
Hope you'll be out here with us. Here's the pitch.
It's a ball in too close. Off day Thursday, the
Tigers resume action Friday and do they resume
it with the Bird making his 77 debut. Hidrits
against Abbott. It'll be DeMole night. Tomorrow
is Irish -American night at the ballpark. Ryan
was ready, then he backed off the slab. Wanted
to do the count on Mankowski. What a job he's
done filling in for the injured Rodriguez. Both
with the bat and the glove. Ryan making him wait.
It's the one -two pitch. In too close to the
hard curve. 2 -2 the count on Phil. Tiger three
hits. Mankowski, Thompson, and Corcoran all singles.
California three hits. Rudy and Bonds and Jackson
all singles. Here's a fly ball, hit back at shortstop.
Little pop by Gritsch going back. Rudy coming
in behind him. It's Rudy, the left fielder, to
make the catch. The Tigers have hit a lot of
balls weakly up in the air. Popping into short
left field. Not getting around on that fastball.
And the left hand is hitting the opposite field,
popping to short of the short left. Here's Fuentes.
He struck out twice and bounced to third on the
box. Left -hand batting Tito Fuentes against
the hard -throwing right -hander Ryan. There's
a strike. Looked as if he wanted the bump but
didn't go for it. Chalk is charging in from third.
Nolan Ryan, the young Texan, kicks and deals.
It's a curve over but low. 1 -1 on Tito. Scoreboard
Joe will follow our broadcast. Paul Carey will
be here with all the scores. Be sure to stay
tuned. Ryan in the motion. Catches. It's a ball
and close. He's driving that curve again around
the ankle. Two and one on 20. Ryan has walked
seven and struck out seven. Miller has walked
two and struck out five. He didn't walk anybody
until the seventh when he walked two in a row.
There's a fly ball to the center field. Backing
up Flores. Still going. Still going. Reaches
up and makes the catch on the run. Good. Good
running catch by Flores. He was playing shallow.
Tito got good wood on it and hit it fairly deep.
So there are two down and that will leave it
up the rusty star of the Tigers seven. Angels
lead the Tigers two to one. That's about the
longest ball the Tigers have hit tonight. Struck
out. Hit a short par to the left and bounced
the first base unassisted. Now Ryan checks his
time with his catcher Humphrey. And Rusty takes
a strike. Fastball over. Here's another strike
that'll hit the inside corner on a check swing.
California, a couple of games under the 500 mark
overall, but at night, they are five over the
500 mark, 17 and 12. Now, two -strike count on
rusty stop. Two out, nobody on in the seventh.
He takes a half -cut and holds it. It's a ball.
The curve dipped in around the ankle. California
two, Detroit one. We're in the seventh inning
at Tiger Stadium. Angels got two on the second.
Tigers got one on the fourth. All the six hits
in the game have been singles. Three per side.
There's a ball in close. Another curve. Two -two.
The count on Rusty. Rusty trying to get over
those back ailments. Still not 100%. Ryan checks
his sign again. The 2 -2 pitch is on the way.
He swings and strikes out. Curveball pulled in.
That is the eighth strikeout for Nolan Ryan.
No runs, no hits, no errors, and nobody left.
At the end of seven, the Angels 2, Detroit 1.
When Doug McAnally goes to work as a roustabout
in the Yates -Oral Field in West Texas, he doesn't
work alone. He gets together with other marathon
men like Leon Gentry, Phil Lemons, and Ernie
Galindo, and together they go about the business
of getting crude oil out of the ground. Doug
McAnally could work alone, but the job wouldn't
get done as well, or at all, without the help
of Leon, Phil, and Ernie. Because each of them
can do something the other one can't. So they
get together to do it better. A company's like
its people because it is people. When Marathon
found oil, our oil people got together with some
pipeline people who got together with some refining
people who got together with some service station
people so we could do it better. Marathon Oil
Company. We got together to do it better. Hi,
this is Frank Beckman. Glad you joined the club
on Radio 76. Just a reminder that whether it
happened on or off the field, we'll have it for
you on the sports final. Evenings at 11 .15 on
WJR. Here come the Angels to bat now. The eighth
inning, they're leading the Tigers 2 -1. It'll
be Humphrey, the former Tiger, batting number
nine in the California order now. He's 0 -2 tonight
against his old battery mate, John Hiller. Bounced
to short and bounced to third in his two trips.
Angels are 3 -7 this year against left -handed.
Here's a bottom attempt by Humphrey at the back
of the plate foul. However, they've won three
out of the last four against left -hand pitching.
In theory, you'd think that a catcher could hit
an old battery mate about as easy as anybody
because he's caught in. Very familiar with his
repertoire, what he might throw up there and
how he does it. Here's a bounding ball to third.
Mankowski gobbles it up. They throw to Thompson.
Gets him. And there's one away. Coach is working
in the bullpen now and so is Drago. Going on
the same theory we mentioned. He might think
while the catcher could hit that on anybody because
he sees the ball come up there the same way all
the time. Same way as the batter would. But it
doesn't seem to work that way. Here's Flores,
the leadoff man. And he backed off from a changeup
ball one. Flores has bounced the first, popped
it short, and hit a fly ball to Stanley in center.
Two to one, the Angels lead. We're in the eighth
inning. There's a check swing. Let's see if it's
a strike or ball. Yep, the first base up for
Evans as he went through on that one. One and
one to count. Here's a foul fly out of play.
It'd be interesting to know how many. Times out
of ten, for instance, that an umpire first to
third rules the striker ball. I'd say most of
the time he doesn't say he goes across. Here's
a one -two pitch now coming up to Flores. It
is in the dirt, bouncing away from May. Two -two,
the count on Gill. Well, the Yankees bumped in
with four in the seventh inning. We now need
six to five over Boston at the end of seven.
Here's a ball low. Three -two pitch. Swung on,
base hit, left field. Soft line drive over shortstop,
and that will be the fourth hit for the Angels.
And the first one off Hillers. He allowed three
in the second inning. Jerry Remy, left -handed
batting infielder, stepped up now. Seattle and
Cleveland in the eighth inning. They are deadlocked
at 5 -5 over there. by Hiller over the first
base. The runner back in time. Steve Gurley starting
to heat up in the Tiger bullpen. In close to
the curve. Backed him away. Mankowski playing
inside the bag at third. Almost to the intergrass.
Well, he's really to it, but they've got it cut
out over there at third base. On this diamond.
Brown crew's done a good job on the newly made
infield. There's a little pop. ball off a third.
Mankowski backing up. He's there. He has it.
And a runner goes back to first base safely.
Flores. He was way down the line. I don't think
Mankowski realized that. And I really don't know
what Flores is running for anyway. The ball was
fouled and he didn't die. I don't know what he
was doing down for close to second base. anyway,
got back and they're two out. And the batter
will be Dave Chalk. Chalk over three against
the left -handed heller. He's popped the second,
popped the short, and the last time up, took
out. There's a ball, though. Good stop by May.
That ball hit in front of the plate. Houston
and LA, no report on that one. Atlanta and San
Diego, no report on that one. And the pitch.
He takes ball high for the first. They've got
him in a run down. Flores. Thompson throws into
Fuentes and makes the tag and he's out. The catcher
to the first baseman and second baseman retiring
to the side. No runs. One hit, no errors, and
nobody left on base. And at the end of seven
and a half innings, California 2, Detroit 1.
Okay, let's put a few nickels in the machine
here and see what comes out. Ed Strasser weaves
patterns in music, Sundays on Radio 76. Do you
remember Bobby Sox, Lindy Hops, and warm summer
nights? Remember joining the gang at your favorite
hangout? Remember 78s and more big bands than
you could count? Remember Pearl Harbor and Omaha
Beach, V -Mail and VJ Day? And from all indications
we got, there's a lot of tape being used this
morning on tape machines as folks try to capture
some of these things that are pretty hard to
come by anymore. Patterns and Music, Sunday morning,
8 p .m. to noon on WJR. Tigers need instant runs.
They trail two to one. Ryan has not been as sharp
as he often is, but he's been tough. He's had
his strikeout pitch working. He's fan eight.
He's walked seven. He's allowed three singles,
and the Tigers touched him for a run in the fourth
inning. Now they'll send up Kemp, Thompson, and
Cochran, the three left -hand swinging Californians.
In the middle part of the batting order. Kemp
is struck out twice. Walks his last trip. Vance
trying to clap up a rally here in the Tiger 8th
inning. 2 -1 California. Ryan's gone all the
way. Kirkwood and Drago in the bullpen for the
Angels. There's a high foul. It'll be out of
play. Drifting into the upper deck. Back of the
tiger dugout. Now bounce down right in front
of the tiger dugout. Strike one. McCown on Kemp.
See you out here tomorrow, others. Enjoy big
league baseball. Sports best bargain right here
at Tiger Stadium. And on Friday, the bird comes
back into action facing Seattle. Here's the strike
one delivery. Kemp takes the ball wide. The one
and one, McCown on it. It'll be Roberts and Tanana
pitching tomorrow. A duel of left -handers. Here's
the motion and the one -one delivery. Fastball
on the inside corner. Oh, Kip didn't like that
one. It almost hit him. And I think that's about
as hard as Ryan is thrown tonight. One and two.
The count on Steve Kemp. He's walking around
in a circle now to the first base side of the
plate. Left hand on his hip. Holding the bat
in his right hand. Not quite ready to get back
in. Leading it off on the eighth. Against Nolan
Ryan. Steve kept waiting. And the pitch. He swings
a little roll at the first base and go foul.
Love down there by Jackson and foul territory
right in the coach's box. We've got a final now.
Pittsburgh beats the Mets. Five to two. Royce
the winner. One and five. Matlack takes the loss.
He's three and four. The Pirates defeat the New
York Mets. That's our first night final from
the National League. One and two. The count on
Steve Kemp. And the pitch on the way. He swings
and misses. Got him on a fastball. The ninth
strikeout for Nolan Ryan. Jason Thompson will
bat now. He's walked, mingled, and popped the
shortstop. Tigers' only run came in the fourth
on a single by Thompson, a single by Carpenter.
They moved up on a wild pitch, and then Thompson
scored when May hit a ground ball to third baseman
Shaw. Stanley walked on all the bases, but after
the walk to Verizon, Mankowski hit into a double
play. They walk to the riser that loaded the
bases and then Mankowski hit in the double play.
Ball went outside on Jason. Ryan ready, winds
and delivers and Thompson swings it. They pop
up foul back a third. Josh chasing. He's there
and he has it for the out. Two down, nobody on.
The Tigers still can't get to Nolan Ryan. Young
Sam Corcoran will be the batter. He's fly to
left, single and walk. One for two for Tim. Wearing
Norman Cash's old number, 25. Corcoran got his
start in Bristol and Lakeland in 74, then Montgomery
the next two years, and he started this year
at Evansville. Swings and fouls it away. Out
of play back at third. Tigers signed him as a
free agent off the California State at Los Angeles
campus. Tim spreads out at the plate. Ryan delivers.
There's a ball outside. He fed him a fastball.
One and one to count on Corcoran. Tigers had
a single in the first inning, and then back -to
-back singles in the fourth. They've not had
a hit since then. And a pitch. Swing. Fly ball.
Left field. Rudy going over to his right. And
makes the catch. He fell down, but held onto
the ball. It looked as if he might be having
trouble with the light or something, or maybe
he just slipped. Anyway, he caught it, and it
almost got past him. No runs, no hits, no errors,
and nobody left. We go to the ninth inning. California
2, Detroit 1. You're the designated hitter in
the Labatt's baseball trivia game. Here's the
pitch. Which Yankee batter holds the team mark
for the highest batting average in a single season?
Think it over over a cool, refreshing Labatt's
Blue. The highest batting average in the season
for a Yankee is held by the Bambino himself,
Babe Ruth. He hit .393 in 1923. Great moments
in sports. Everybody has their favorites. Great
baseball calls for great beer. Labatt's Blue.
Call for Labatt. Brewed in Canada since 1828.
Distributed by Labatt & Poors, Inc. in Buffalo,
New York. If you're listening to Radio 76 in
the afternoon between 3 and 6, what you're going
to get is the afternoon music hall. Mark Avery
inviting you to be part of it here on WJR Radio.
Jocko laid it off in the California ninth inning.
The Angels ahead with two runs, four hits, and
no errors. The Tigers have one run, three hits,
and two errors. Jocko for three. He was at bat
when Flores was caught off first base during
the eighth inning. Left -handed, Hiller delivers.
It's a foul out of play off the middle of May.
Hiller has been brilliant tonight. There's no
question about that. Two Texas League singles
set up for scoring in the second inning. Rudy
led off with one, then took the second on the
single by Bond. Both the same variety. And then
after Baylor fouled out, Jackson single in the
run and the sacrifice by Gritt got in the other
one. Here's a fly ball to right center. Stanley
digging, dives, and he can't come up with it.
Chalk makes a big turn, scoots on back to first
base. Great effort by Stanley. Got his glove
on the ball, but as he slid, it got underneath
him for a base hit by Chalk. That'll be the fifth
hit off Hiller. Rudy's always been a very tough
hitter against the Tigers stepping in right hand
batting outfielder Kirkwood and Hartzell are
throwing in the bullpen now for California the
Tigers have Gurley back in their bullpen Going
to work. Now, time called by the first base umpire,
Jim Evans. Here's Rudy stepping in. And he bumps
the ball down toward third base. Shielded by
Herb. Comes off the mound. Gloves it close to
who it is covering the bag at first. It is a
sacrifice. Moving chalk to second. Manager Norman
Cherry trying to play for that one run at a time.
He's got a one -run lead. He'd like to get another
one. Runs have been hard to come by for each
team in this game. That'll be a sacrifice. The
player will go. The pitcher to the second baseman
covering the bag at first. Looks like they're
going to put him on. Bobby Barnes won't get a
chance. They'll walk in with the first base open.
Choosing to pick today's Baylor and try to get
the double play. Crawford begins to heat up in
the bullpen now alongside Steve Gretting. All
these Tigers have a right -hander and a left
-hander throwing out there. And the walk is being
given now to Bobby Bond. There's ball four. That'll
be the third walk issued by Hiller. Baylor has
this batting record so far. He's fouled a first,
popped a shortstop, and drew a base on ball.
Angels 2, Tigers 1. Night sitting, the Angels
threatening against Hiller. They've got two men
on and one man down. Only in three innings have
they had any runners. Here's a strike on the
inside corner. The Yankees lead Boston in the
ninth at New York six to five. Set and the pitch.
He swings and misses on a high hard one toward
the outside. This one's been close all the way.
Two for California in the second. The Tigers
bounce back with one on the fourth off Nolan
Ryan. And it has gone scoreless since then. In
the ninth inning, now Hill is trying to set him
down. One out and two on for the Californians
in the set by John. The left hander looks to
the second. He pitches. Change up. Pop the mirror.
Back goes Thompson. He's there. Infield fly rule
is called. He makes the catch. The runners hang
on. That will bring up one yesterday. Right -handed
batting first baseman. Who's singled in the game's
first run to second. He's one -handed to the
red. And jumps up to the fifth. And he's going
to walk to the seventh. The Phillies in the ninth
inning cover the Pirates come about the next
day don't do it There's a high foul out of the
ballpark Way over the grandstand back at their
base That one may come on Jackson Second bonds
of a big lead at first base that stopped the
plane behind him and Jackson. When he starts
goes out with a philosophy that he'll throw as
hard as he can for as long as he can. And so
far, he's gone into the ninth inning. John checks
his time with Milton May and the pitch. Swung
on as a long foul fly. Deep left field, way back
upstairs. Scrambling around in section 10 for
that one. Two on, two out. Strike two. The count
on Jackson. Here it comes. The swing to the bounding
ball to Barrager. Deep short. Charges it. Gloved
it. Throw to first. In time. High throw. Thompson
reached up and gloved it. Hiller out of trouble
in the ninth. No runs. One hit. No errors. Two
left. On hand for John Hiller. He comes in. A
magnificent pitching performance. And the goal
the last half of that inning. Angels 2, Tigers
1. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.
Briefness of station identification. This is
a Detroit Tiger baseball network. Look for fair
to partly cloudy weather with widely scattered
afternoon and evening thundershowers through
Thursday. Low tonight in the mid -60s. Tomorrow
and Thursday's high near 90. At 1030, it's clear
and 70. You're listening to WJR Detroit. Bilt
Mayer to lead off on the ninth against Nolan
Ryan. He's gone all the way in this duel with
John Hiller. He holds the upper hand. Two to
one, the Angels. May drove it around with a bounce
off the third and the fourth inning. He walked
from the second his last time up and made a sixth
inning hit in the fourth half. Ryan has stepped
down in the last nine Tigers in a row. Left -handed
batting, milkman at the plate. And he takes a
strike, a high, hard one. Strike one, the count
on milk. Stanley and Verizon are scheduled to
follow in the Tiger 9th inning. Ryan rocks some
pitches and May takes a strike. Boy, I didn't
like that call by the plate umpire, Barnett.
Strike two, the count on nil. Ryan's walked seven,
he struck out nine. The wind up, the pitch. Fastball
wide way outside. He let that one fly. Foucault
throwing in the Tiger bullpen. Hartzell throwing
in the California bullpen. Now the one -two delivery
with May leading off of the Tiger night. He swings
and this is struck him off. Now that's ten strikeouts
for Ryan. And he goes one up on that record now
that he had tied Sam McDowell. Well, maybe that's
10 -plus. Maybe they mean 11 by then. I guess
you do. You've got to get one more before you
can break McDowell's record of 74. I heard with
McDowell. I think what they mean is double figures,
10 or more. I'm willing to give it to him. Here's
Stanley. That's 10 in a row for Nolan Ryan. Mickey
takes a strike. Fastball at her high. Ryan tried
to hold off the Tigers. Ron LaFleur has come
to the on -deck circle to bat for Verizon. One
out of the Tiger Knight fitting. Here's a strike
on the outside corner. Seems as if Ryan sniffs
the old victory here. He's getting tougher. Putting
it all together. 2 -0 on the Angels' lead, ninth
inning. Nolan into action again, and the pitch.
Swing and a miss. He struck him out. He just
blew it past him. Now that's 11. But 75 times
he's had more than 10 to break the old record
that he shared with Sam McDowell. Now Ron LaFleur
is the Tiger hope as he steps in. LaFleur batting
.238 in 33 games. Humphrey goes out to talk with
his pitcher. Tigers have had not too many chances
against Nolan. They left a couple of runners
on in the fourth inning when the inning ended
in a double play after they'd scored a run. That
was their best shot at the fireballing right
-hander. Here's LaFleur at the plate against
Nolan Ryan. 2 -1 Angels, ninth inning. He backs
him away. Ball one, the count. Mankowski waiting
on deck, hoping that LaFleur can keep the game
alive. Batting for Tommy Verizon. And he takes
the ball outside. Taking all the way. Eleven
in the row have gone down before Nolan Ryan.
Wind up from the pitch. It's in for a strike.
He got the outside corner. Two and one on Ron.
Ryan's thrown a lot of pitches tonight. They've
had that full count quite a few times. But he
has been tough when he's had today. Now not quite
ready, and LaFleur decides he'll step away from
the plate. Back in now. Here's the motion by
Nolan Ryan of the pitch. Swing and a ball upstairs.
He got a piece of that one, and that was all.
2 -2, the count on LaFleur. Ryan struck out three
in the opening inning after a lead -out single
by Mankowski. And he's trying to get three strikeouts.
In a row here in the ninth. The climax is pitching
performance tonight. Two to one, the Angels lead.
Two down, the body on. And the pitch. It's a
ball outside. He checks his swing. Full count.
Now Ryan looking back at the outfield. They're
around the right on Ron LaFleur. Waiting on a
3 -2 delivery. Here it comes. He swings and misses.
The game's over. And California wins the opening
game of the series. 12 strikeouts for Nolan Ryan.
He struck out the side. 1 -2 -3 in the ninth
inning. And the final score, the Angels 2, the
Tigers 1.