Our Blog: 1967 AL Pennant Race

Monday, September 4, 1967. Just 1 1/2 games separate the top 4 teams at game time.

Twins 4, Indians 1. Indians 2, Twins 1.

Before 22,756 at Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota, the 1st place Twins and Indians split a Labor Day doubleheader. The Twins win the opener behind the 6-hit complete game of Jim Merritt, whose record now improves to 11 and 4. The Indians use 4 pitchers. Steve Hargan takes the loss, his 12th of the year, against 14 wins. In his 5 1/3 innings, he gives up 2 runs on 4 hits. Both Rod Carew and Ted Uhlaender each hit their 4th triples of the year for the Twins. Uhlaender also doubles(14th of the year) in the game, as does his teammate Bob Allison (19th). Harmon Killebrew hits his 35th home run of the year in the 8th inning, with 1 aboard. He now has 92 RBI's on the year. Cleveland's Leon Wagner is 3 for 4, including 2 doubles, his 14th and 15th of the year. The Twins have 8 hits, 0 errors, and leave 4 on base. The Indians have 6 hits, 1 error, and leave 5. See Game

In the 2nd game, the Indians score 2 unearned runs, including 1 in the 10th, to gain a split. Sonny Siebert goes 9 innings for Cleveland, giving up 1 run on 3 hits, while striking out 7 and walking none. He earns his 7th win of the year, against 11 losses. George Culver notches his 3rd save of the year with 1 shutout inning, including a strikeout. Minnesota's Jim Perry goes 7 innings, giving up 1 unearned run on 6 hits. Al Worthington comes on in relief of Perry in the 8th inning, and pitches the final 3 innings, giving up 1 run, also unearned, on 1 hit. Worthington suffers the loss, bringing his record to 8 and 9 on the year. Perry, with 5, and Worthington, with 3, combine for 8 strikeouts. Cleveland's Fred Whitfield is 2 for 4 with 2 RBI's in the game. The Indians have 7 hits, 1 error, and leave 8 on base. The Twins have 3 hits, 1 error, and leave 3. See Game

Senators 5, Red Sox 1. Red Sox 6, Senators 4.

The Red Sox and Senators split a twin-bill before 32,355 at D.C. Stadium in Washington. The Senators win the opener, as Camilo Pascual wins his 12th game of the year, against 10 losses, giving up 2 runs, 1 earned, on 4 hits, in 7 innings pitched. He strikes out 4 and walks 0. Darold Knowles earns his 12th save of the year, pitching 2 shutout innings, including 3 strikeouts, in relief of Pascual. Dave Morehead starts for the Red Sox and lasts 4 1/3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits. He strikes out 6 and walks 1. Dan Osinski comes on in relief of Morehead and pitches 2 2/3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, striking out 1 and walking 1. Bucky Brandon pitches a scoreless 8th for Boston. Washington's Frank Howard, 3 for 4 in the game, hits his 33rd homer of the year in the 7th inning with 1 aboard. Also for the Senators, Cap Peterson hits his 2nd triple of the year. Carl Yastrzemski is 2 for 4 for Boston, including his 36th home run of the year in the 6th with 1 on. The Senators have 10 hits, 2 errors, and leave 8 on base. The Red Sox have 4 hits, 1 error, and leave 3. See Game

The Red Sox rebound to win the 2nd game. Jerry Stephenson starts for Boston and goes 5 innings, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits, striking out 4 and walking 1. He wins his 3rd game of the year, with 0 losses. Sparky Lyle (3 innings, 3 hits, 3 strikeouts) and John Wyatt (1 inning, 0 hits, 0 strikeouts) combine for 4 shutout innings. Wyatt earns his 19th save of the year. Dick Nold starts for Washington and lasts 3 2/3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, striking out 1 and walking 4. Dick Lines, in relief of Nold, gets the loss, his 5th of the year against 1 win. He gives up 4 runs, 3 earned, on 3 hits in 1 1/3 innings. He faces 4 batters in the 6th without recording an out and is relieved by Casey Cox, who retires the side, but yields a single that scores one of the runs charged to Lines. Cox goes 2 innings without giving up a run charged to himself. Bob Humphreys also pitches 2 scoreless innings for the Senators. For Boston, Jerry Adair has 2 pinch-hit RBI's, and Norm Siebern hits his 3rd triple of the year. Doug Camilli, his 2nd of the year in the 2nd inning, and Ken McMullen (3 for 4), his 16th of the year in the 5th, hit solo home runs for Washington. Ed Brinkman also triples for the Senators. The Red Sox have 8 hits, 0 errors, and leave 8 on base. The Senators have 9 hits, 1 error, and leave 6. See Game

Yankees 3, White Sox 2. White Sox 3, Yankees 2.

The Yanks and White Sox split their games by identical scores before 26,702 fans at Yankee Stadium in New York. All 3 New York runs are unearned, as Chicago commits 4 errors, 2 by Rocky Colavito, in the opener. Al Downing starts for the Yankees and lasts 7 innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. He gets the win, moving his record to 13 and 8. Dooley Womack pitches 2 scoreless innings in relief of Downing and earns his 14th save of the year. Gary Peters starts for the White Sox and goes 6 innings, giving up the 3 unearned runs on 5 hits. He takes the loss, bringing his record for the year to 15 and 9. Hoyt Wilhelm pitches 2 scoreless innings in relief of Peters. There were no extra-base hits in the game, but Horace Clarke goes 4 for 4 for New York. The Yankees have 7 hits, 0 errors, and leave 5 on base. The White Sox have 5 hits, 4 errors, and leave 4. See Game

Duane Josephson singles in Don Buford with the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning to give the White Sox a split of the doubleheader. It is Josephson's 2nd hit of the game. Chicago uses 4 pitchers in the game to get the victory. Cisco Carlos starts and goes 4 2/3 innings, giving up 1 run on 4 hits, while striking out 7 and walking 2. Don McMahon pitches the next 1 1/3 innings, giving up 1 run on 1 hit. Bob Locker and Wilhelm pitch a combined 4 hitless and shutout innings in relief of McMahon. Wilhelm gets the win, his 8th against 3 losses. Steve Barber starts for New York, lasting 5 innings and giving up 2 runs, 1 earned, on 6 hits. He strikes out 4 and walks 2 in his effort. Fred Talbot, in relief of Barber, goes the other 5 innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits. He gets the loss, bringing his record to 5 and 8. Chicago's Ken Boyer hits his 6th homer of the year in the 2nd inning with nobody aboard. Joe Pepitone, 2 for 4 in the game, hits his 11th of the year for New York in the 6th, also with noone on. The White Sox have 9 hits, 1 error, and leave 10 on base. The Yankees have 5 hits, 1 error, and leave 5. See Game

Tigers 8, Athletics 4. Athletics 4, Tigers 2.

The Tigers and A's split a doubleheader before 32,324 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. In the opener, Detroit's Mickey Lolich wins his 9th game of the year, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings pitched. He strikes out 3 and walks none. His record is now 9 and 12. Fred Gladding earns his 11th save of the year by pitching 4 innings of 2-hit shutout ball in relief of Lolich. He strikes out 6 while walking 1. Jim Nash starts for Kansas City and lasts only 3 1/3 innings, giving up 7 runs on 6 hits, while striking out 4 and walking 3. Bill Stafford comes on in the 4th with 1 on and 1 out, and lasts 2 2/3 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits. Paul Lindblad pitches 2 innings of 1-hit shutout ball in relief of Stafford. For Detroit, Jerry Lumpe (3 RBI's) hits his 2nd homer of the year in the 1st inning, with 1 aboard. Dick Green hits a 3-run home run in the 5th inning for Kansas City, his 3rd round-tripper of the year. The Tigers have 9 hits, 0 errors, and leave 5 on base. The Athletics have 7 hits, 1 error, and leave 4. See Game

The A's score 3 in the 7th on Green's 2nd 3-run homer of the day, and gain a split of the doubleheader. Tony Pierce is on the hill for Kansas City and goes 6 innings, giving up 2 runs, 1 earned, on 5 hits. Lew Krausse and Lindblad pitch a combined 3 innings of shutout ball in relief of Pierce, who gets the win, his 3rd against 1 loss. Lindblad earns his 5th save of the year. John Hiller starts for Detroit and lasts 6 innings, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, while striking out 7 and walking 1. Mike Marshall comes on in the 7th inning after Hiller gives up the Green 3-run homer and a walk. Marshall throws a wild pitch, records a strikeout, and yields a single before giving way to Hank Aguirre, who retires the next 2 batters without further damage. Aguirre works a total of 1 2/3 innings, giving up 0 runs on 2 hits. Dave Wickersham comes on in the 9th and gives up 1 run on 2 hits, including Jim Gosger's 4th homer of the year. Hiller suffers the loss, bringing his record to 4 and 1 on the year. Green also doubles for Kansas City, his 12th of the year, as does Phil Roof, his 13th. Detroit has no extra-base hits in the game. The Athletics have 10 hits, 1 error, and leave 5 on base. The Tigers have 6 hits, 0 errors, and also leave 5. See Game

Next: September 5. Red Sox/Senators, Twins/Indians, Tigers/A's, White Sox/Yankees all play again.