Detroit had more hits then St. Louis after six and half innings in game one of the 1968 Fall Classic. Guess Denny McLain wasn't getting overwhelved that badly by Bob Gibson on this day. The St. Louis Cardinals were looking for their third World Series crown of the decade, and even Detroit's best pitcher was going to be asking for a little run support after this game!
As mentioned before, McLain didn't pitched that bad in the opening act. Just seemed like Bob Gibson was better. He brought the heat!
Mickey Stanley actually got the first hit of the game for the Tigers (right there in the first inning!), but he was erased when he tried for a steal of second. Gibson, on his way to seventeen K's on this day, fanned the other two batters.
McLain kept pace with Gibby by having a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the frame. But while Gibson struck out the side in the top of the second inning, McLain got a reality check of what he was up against. McLain was #17 of the Tigers, and Hoot must have liked that number. And in the bottom of the second McLain would experience the Cardinals making solid contact! It would be one of the game's hardest his balls!
With one out, Tim McCarver smoked a triple to center. Denny was in trouble. But he got Mike Shannon on a rising fastball. Julian Javier looked at strike three. McLain had weathered the storm. But it was as if that inning taught the Cardinals that they had nothing to fear in McLain despite his 31-6, 1.96 ERA in 1968.
But he was up against Bob Gibson, who was 22-9. The nine losses is a hard number to wrap your head around when you consider he had an ERA of 1.12 that year. McLain seemed in over his head!
But each team hand only one his through two innings. But Bob Gibson loved these low-scoring games. A tie ball game was but another challenge for him, too. Gibson loved challenges!
Bill Freehan went down on strikes to start the third inning. Don Wert got the Tigers' second hit of the game. But McLain batted and tried to get Wert to second via the bunt. What he ended up doing was bunting foul for strike three! Bob then got Dick McAuliffe to ground out.
McLain had more problems in the bottom of the frame. Dal Maxvill\ walked. Then, Bob Gibson showed McLain how it's done (as if he wouldn't show Denny how it's done on the mound at the end of the day, right?) at the plate. Gibby put a bunt down that got Maxvill to second. McLain then made a nice play on a Lou Brock comebacker. He noticed Maxvill going to third. Soon, it was the Tigers' infield that had Dal trapped in a rundown. Shortstop Mickey Stanley made the putout. But it was now time for the Lou Brock show!
Brock stole second. Then third. Curt Flood would have to be dealt with as St. Louis had a runner ninety feet from the dish for the second straight inning. Flood would pop out to Stanley to end that. McLain was hanging on, but barely. Gibson, you had to have the feeling, was just getting stronger as the game progressed!
So Detroit now had two hits after three innings. St. Louis, one. But it was the Cardinals that looked more dangerous with their speed. That made even a single a threat. McCarver, for a catcher, sure had some hustle on that triple. McLain was going to have to be careful, even when pitching to the singles hitters. Not that the Cards had many of them! Brock and Flood could easily go to second with one swing of the bat. Then on the next pitch, they're on third!
The fourth inning was again, nothing doin' for Detroit. They went down in order. Kaline K'd! But in the bottom of the frame, St. Louis got to McLain.
Roger Maris got it all started with a walk. Orlando Cepeda was retired on foul ball that first basemen Norm Cash put the squeeze on. But McCarver walked. Mike Shannon got the Cardinals' second hit of the game to score Maris. There was more bad news for Detroit. On Shannon's hit to left, McCarver made it to third with that hustle again. Willie Horton then made an error on the hit and Shannon ended up on second. A crucial mistake. And one that St. Louis always seemed to take advantage of! When Julian Javier singled, McCarver and Shannon scored to make it 3-0, St. Louis. It was now the Cards with more hits (three) then the Tigers (two). And with a 3-0 lead and Bob Gibson on the hill, this one was as good as over!
The Tigers could manage only a walk off Gibson in the top of the fifth, but McLain got it back together for is half. Cash made an error on Maris' grounder (so sad to see that. Cash and Maris both had those monster 1961 seasons, then both died too young in 1985 and 1986, respectively). That would proved to be St. Louis' only base runner of the inning. But it was the Bengal's that needed some base runners, fast!
Dick McAuliffe singled to right with one out in the top of the sixth. But Gibson fanned Stanley this time. Al Kaline, though, got the first extra base of the game for Detroit with a double to left. McAuliffe held at third as the Tigers' had the tying run at the dish. They also now had the lead in hits, 4-3. But St. Louis had the lead in runs, 3-0. Gibson was not going to let that change. He fanned Norm Cash to end the threat.
McLain's day was over, having been pinch hit for in the top of the sixth. Pat Dobson took over in the bottom of the frame and did not give up a hit in the inning. Javier walked, but was caught stealing.
Gibson though, was still around in the top of the seventh. Horton got his bat on the ball and lined out to short. The next two batters weren't so lucky. Jim Northrup fanned. As did catcher Bill Freehan.
Dobson got the first two men out in the bottom of the inning, but then had to face Brock. Brock proved to be no singles hitter as be blasted a solo home run to center. That made it 4-0 St. Louis and gave the Cardinals four hits, just like the Tigers. When Flood followed with a single, the Cards had the lead in hits for good. The game itself was hopelessly lost by the Tigers.
Mike Shannon singled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth against Don McMahon. It was the last hit of the game for St. Louis. Not that they needed that or any more runs. Gibson fanned the last three batters for 17 strikeouts and a 4-0 win by the Cardinals.
While the hits were close and the Tigers at one point had the lead, the real stat in the World Series and regular season is the runs scored. Doesn't matter how you do it. The St. Louis Cardinals walked four times to Detroit's one. Detroit also made three errors to St. Louis' zero.
The World Series, like baseball itself, is sometimes just that. You have to find ways to score, even with less hits. Or you have to make due with very few hits, like the Cardinals six here. Of course, having Bob Gibson there makes it at little bit easier, if you know what I mean!
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 18 Jun. 2014.
As mentioned before, McLain didn't pitched that bad in the opening act. Just seemed like Bob Gibson was better. He brought the heat!
Mickey Stanley actually got the first hit of the game for the Tigers (right there in the first inning!), but he was erased when he tried for a steal of second. Gibson, on his way to seventeen K's on this day, fanned the other two batters.
McLain kept pace with Gibby by having a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the frame. But while Gibson struck out the side in the top of the second inning, McLain got a reality check of what he was up against. McLain was #17 of the Tigers, and Hoot must have liked that number. And in the bottom of the second McLain would experience the Cardinals making solid contact! It would be one of the game's hardest his balls!
With one out, Tim McCarver smoked a triple to center. Denny was in trouble. But he got Mike Shannon on a rising fastball. Julian Javier looked at strike three. McLain had weathered the storm. But it was as if that inning taught the Cardinals that they had nothing to fear in McLain despite his 31-6, 1.96 ERA in 1968.
But he was up against Bob Gibson, who was 22-9. The nine losses is a hard number to wrap your head around when you consider he had an ERA of 1.12 that year. McLain seemed in over his head!
But each team hand only one his through two innings. But Bob Gibson loved these low-scoring games. A tie ball game was but another challenge for him, too. Gibson loved challenges!
Bill Freehan went down on strikes to start the third inning. Don Wert got the Tigers' second hit of the game. But McLain batted and tried to get Wert to second via the bunt. What he ended up doing was bunting foul for strike three! Bob then got Dick McAuliffe to ground out.
McLain had more problems in the bottom of the frame. Dal Maxvill\ walked. Then, Bob Gibson showed McLain how it's done (as if he wouldn't show Denny how it's done on the mound at the end of the day, right?) at the plate. Gibby put a bunt down that got Maxvill to second. McLain then made a nice play on a Lou Brock comebacker. He noticed Maxvill going to third. Soon, it was the Tigers' infield that had Dal trapped in a rundown. Shortstop Mickey Stanley made the putout. But it was now time for the Lou Brock show!
Brock stole second. Then third. Curt Flood would have to be dealt with as St. Louis had a runner ninety feet from the dish for the second straight inning. Flood would pop out to Stanley to end that. McLain was hanging on, but barely. Gibson, you had to have the feeling, was just getting stronger as the game progressed!
So Detroit now had two hits after three innings. St. Louis, one. But it was the Cardinals that looked more dangerous with their speed. That made even a single a threat. McCarver, for a catcher, sure had some hustle on that triple. McLain was going to have to be careful, even when pitching to the singles hitters. Not that the Cards had many of them! Brock and Flood could easily go to second with one swing of the bat. Then on the next pitch, they're on third!
The fourth inning was again, nothing doin' for Detroit. They went down in order. Kaline K'd! But in the bottom of the frame, St. Louis got to McLain.
Roger Maris got it all started with a walk. Orlando Cepeda was retired on foul ball that first basemen Norm Cash put the squeeze on. But McCarver walked. Mike Shannon got the Cardinals' second hit of the game to score Maris. There was more bad news for Detroit. On Shannon's hit to left, McCarver made it to third with that hustle again. Willie Horton then made an error on the hit and Shannon ended up on second. A crucial mistake. And one that St. Louis always seemed to take advantage of! When Julian Javier singled, McCarver and Shannon scored to make it 3-0, St. Louis. It was now the Cards with more hits (three) then the Tigers (two). And with a 3-0 lead and Bob Gibson on the hill, this one was as good as over!
The Tigers could manage only a walk off Gibson in the top of the fifth, but McLain got it back together for is half. Cash made an error on Maris' grounder (so sad to see that. Cash and Maris both had those monster 1961 seasons, then both died too young in 1985 and 1986, respectively). That would proved to be St. Louis' only base runner of the inning. But it was the Bengal's that needed some base runners, fast!
Dick McAuliffe singled to right with one out in the top of the sixth. But Gibson fanned Stanley this time. Al Kaline, though, got the first extra base of the game for Detroit with a double to left. McAuliffe held at third as the Tigers' had the tying run at the dish. They also now had the lead in hits, 4-3. But St. Louis had the lead in runs, 3-0. Gibson was not going to let that change. He fanned Norm Cash to end the threat.
McLain's day was over, having been pinch hit for in the top of the sixth. Pat Dobson took over in the bottom of the frame and did not give up a hit in the inning. Javier walked, but was caught stealing.
Gibson though, was still around in the top of the seventh. Horton got his bat on the ball and lined out to short. The next two batters weren't so lucky. Jim Northrup fanned. As did catcher Bill Freehan.
Dobson got the first two men out in the bottom of the inning, but then had to face Brock. Brock proved to be no singles hitter as be blasted a solo home run to center. That made it 4-0 St. Louis and gave the Cardinals four hits, just like the Tigers. When Flood followed with a single, the Cards had the lead in hits for good. The game itself was hopelessly lost by the Tigers.
Mike Shannon singled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth against Don McMahon. It was the last hit of the game for St. Louis. Not that they needed that or any more runs. Gibson fanned the last three batters for 17 strikeouts and a 4-0 win by the Cardinals.
While the hits were close and the Tigers at one point had the lead, the real stat in the World Series and regular season is the runs scored. Doesn't matter how you do it. The St. Louis Cardinals walked four times to Detroit's one. Detroit also made three errors to St. Louis' zero.
The World Series, like baseball itself, is sometimes just that. You have to find ways to score, even with less hits. Or you have to make due with very few hits, like the Cardinals six here. Of course, having Bob Gibson there makes it at little bit easier, if you know what I mean!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
“MLB World Series: Game 1- Detroit at St. Louis.”
Coyle, Harry, director. MLB World Series, season 22, episode 1, National
Broadcast Company, 2 Oct. 1968. Watched On DVD.
Neft,
David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's
Press, 1992. Print.
Nemec,
David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of
Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications
International, 1993. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 18 Jun. 2014.
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