AL Play In Game: Jack-ed !!! - Tigers defeat Twins 2-0

The Tigers score two runs in the second as Rusty Staub works Geoff Zahn for a walk and scores on Bill Freehan's triple.  Freeham came home on a sacrifice fly by Norm Cash.  Jack Morris got the start on the basis of his shutout of the Twins during the regular season and held the Twins scoreless, ably helped by 3 twin killings.  Tom :"Terrific" Timmerman put out a fire in the 8th with the fourth double play of the game.  John Hiller earned his 8th save of the season by putting down the Twins 1-2-3 in the ninth.  The Tigers advance to the playoffs to face the Yankees who took three out of four from the Tigers in the last series of the season.

--submitted by Tom Davis--

NL Play In Game: Jints bounce Braves 7-2

The Giants score seven runs in the fifth inning and beat the Braves 7-2 to advance to the playoffs.  Up to  that point Atlanta hurler Dick Ruthven had a 2-0 shutout going.  An aging Willie Mays turned back the clock with a bases clearing triple that spelled doom for the Braves.  John "the Count" Montefusco scattered 7 hit and allowed just 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings.  Veteran reliever Don McMahon finished it up with 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.  No rest for the weary as the Jints will fly to Cincy to face the juggernaut 30-8 Cincinnati Reds tomorrow in a best of 5 LDS.

Cincy dominates the NL West

LA swept their way into the playoffs at the expense of the hapless Astros.  Houston did not roll over and die as most of the series featured tight games separated by 1-2 runs.  Bill Buckner went 2-4 in the finale to finish with a .444 average.  Buckner didn't qualify for the batting title, which was won by Bob Watson of the Astros who flirted with .400 all season.  Watson finished with a more than respectable .378 to outlast ATL's Ralph Garr.

Atlanta took 3 of 4 from the lowly Friars to put themselves in a positon for the 2nd Wild Card Slot.  Knucle-balling ace Phil Niekro tossed a CG in game 2, which was aided by a 3-4 day off the bat of Dusty Baker.  Ron Reed tossed 6 shutout innings in the finale.

After the Giants won the series opener the Reds shut the door on the boys from the Bay area.  Cincy rattled off three straight wins to finish the season 30-8.  The Reds had the NL West title all sewn up before the series, but still played like the games meant something.  Don Gullett saw his record increase to 6-1 as his ERA dropped to 1.66 on a 5 hit shutout in game 3.  The Big Red Machine is known for their bats, but Gullett just might have put them on the map on the pitching side with a possible Cy Young award in his future.  By virtue of just 1 win in the final series the Jints were forced into a 1 game play in contest in Atlanta.  Cincy clinched Home Field throughout the playoffs.

NL East goes down to the wire

Montreal entered the series hotter than a stove, but they realistically needed a sweep to vye for post season consideration.  St. Louis had spoiler on their mind.  Montreal held on for a 1 run victory in the opener thanks to homers by Tony Perez and Larry Parrish and 6 shutout innings by Carl Morton.  The 'Spos held on again for a close win in game 2 thanks to Mike Marshall notching his 2nd save in as many days.  Andre Dawson hit his 9th homer and stole 3 bases.  A 2-1 win by the Spos made the folks from the great white north dare to dream.  Marshall saved his 3rd in a row.  Bob Gibson didn't have his A game, but was good enough to dash the hopes of the Expos.  Ted Simmons' 2 run shot was a back breaker.  Dawson hit his 10th homer.  Montreal would now need the Mets to sweep the Bucs to keep their hopes alive.

Chicago took 3 of 4 from Philly in a series that had no playoff implications.  The lone game Philly won the Phightin's posted a 10 spot in the top of the 8th.  The Bull, Greg Luzinski, went 5 for 6 with 6 RBI on 2 doubles and a homer.

The Amazin's needed a sweep of the Bucs to gain a tie for the NL East crown.  New York took the first 3 games of the series to put the pressure on the heavily favored Bucs.  Pittsburgh put all their hopes on ace Steve Blass' right shoulder in game 4.  Blass turned in a t hit shutout to boost his record to 7-1.  New York's starter, Jerry Koosman didn't even finish out the 4th as the Bucs rode a pinch hit 3 run homer by Willie Stargell.

The AL East Roundup

The Bronx Bombers clinched the AL East title by winning the opener vs Detroit.  After that they had little else to play for.  Spot starter Catfish Hunter pitched a gem in game 3 to clinch home field advantage.  Detroit needed a "turn the clock back" performance from the aging core of their '68 Championship squad to win the finale and hold on to force a play in game vs MIN for the 2nd WC slot.  Jim Northrup and Norm Cash both had 3 hit days.  The game was tied 1-1 until the Tigers erupted for 7 runs over the final 2 innings.

Boston and Milwaukee played this series for pride.  The Sahx managed to take 3 of 4 from the cellar dweller Brew Crew.  Luis Tiant threw a tidy 4 hit shut out on getaway day to close out the season.  Yaz had 2 hits in the finale to finish the season above .300 (.301).

Cleveland headed into the final week needing a sweep in order to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.  A series spit to the disappointing O's knocked them out of contention.  Jim Kern notched his league leading 12th save to pretty much sew up the Rolaids Relief man of the Year Award.

Week #11 in Review: The AL West Situation

Angels and Twins split.  Andy Messersmith dominates game 4.  But the first 3 were all down to the wire.  (submitted by D.Zaner)

Meanwhile, the Royals swept the A's for their 8th straight win to reward Justin Ryan with his first AL West crown.  Willie Wilson stole his league leading 30th base in the series finale.  On the Wildcard front, the Angels easily qualified as the #1 WC.  

The Pale Hose needed 2 wins vs lowly Texas to qualify for the play in game.  3 wins would have sured up the 2nd WC slot.  Texas showed some pride and took the first 3 games of the series to eliminate Chicago.  Even the embattled Gaylord Perry, who was 0-7 heading into the series, managed to scratch out a win.

Standings Prior to Play In Games

The regular season hs ended and we have a tie for the final WC slot in both the AL and NL (highlighted in red).  Teams that qualified for the post season are highlighted in green.