Tigers on Verge of Dethroning Orioles; Montefusco Just Misses No-Hitter
The six-year reign of the Baltimore Orioles appears on the verge of ending.
With 12 wins in their last 15 games, the Detroit Tigers have built a five-game lead over the Orioles with 17 games remaining in the Joy in Mudville League schedule.
The Tigers and Orioles square off in a key AL East series Tuesday and Wednesday at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. Randy Jones (18-15) and Lerrin LaGrow (19-12) will start for Detroit. Baltimore counters with Nolan Ryan (19-10) and either Mike Krukow (4-7) or Brett Strom (9-7).
The two teams split a pair of games last week in Detroit. Baltimore rallied on a pinch-hit home run by Johnny Grubb to win the opener 4-1, but Detroit edged Baltimore 6-5 in the second game by scoring twice off reliever Tug McGraw in the eighth. Baltimore had scored four runs off Tiger closer Rich "Goose" Gossage to take a brief 5-4 lead.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals are 4.5 games ahead of second-place Texas in the American League West. The two clubs will face each other in a three-game series Sept. 24-26 in Arlington.
Texas lost short stop Chris Speier for at least a week with a pulled hamstring. He will not be placed on the disabled list due to the September roster expansion.
Over in the National League, the Houston Astros clinched their fifth straight West title. Houston is just three wins away from breaking its franchise record for single-season victories set in 1973.
In the NL East, the New York Mets have reduced their magic number to seven. The Mets appear on their way to the first division title in team history.
Diamond JIM Notes: There hasn't been a no-hitter all year long. Chicago White Sox ace
John "The Count" Montefusco nearly changed that Sept. 12. The Chisox right-hander came within one out of the milestone. Kansas City's
Lou Piniella grounded a single past a diving
Tucker Ashford to break up Montefusco's bid. However, Montefusco finished the game with a one-hit shutout, tying him with
Bob Gibson for the single-season record with nine whitewashes. Montefusco is 23-3 on the year and appears set to establish a record for lowest ERA. Montefusco's 1.59 ERA is the best since the 1.78 of
Wilbur Wood in 1971. . . Cincinnati's
Pete Rose hit for the cycle in a 7-6 win over San Francisco Sept. 12 at Riverfront Stadium. Rose is the 18th player in league history to accomplish the feat.
Tony Perez is the only other Red to hit for the cycle. His milestone occured in 1972 . . . Detroit's
Fred Lynn is batting .396 in September . . . League GM
Bryan S. is bidding to pull off the rare double of two division titles in one season. Bryan runs both the Royals and Mets . . . A number of minor leaguers have announced their retirements at season's end including
Ken "The Hawk" Harrleson,
Steve Blass and
Randy Hundley.
Major League 1970 09-14-1976
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