IN THE NEWS: Denny McLain notches his 27th win of the season beating the Orioles 7–3. McLain helps the Tiger cause by starting a 3rd inning triple play.
IN THE NEWS: With Julian Javier hitting a homer in the 10th, the Cardinals defeat the Reds, 1–0. Bob Gibson picks up his 12th shutout and 20th win. Gary Nolan pitches the first nine innings for the Reds, with Abernathy taking the loss in relief.
In the last PCL game played in Seattle, Jim Bouton of the Seattle Angels (a combined PCL team of the Pilots and California Angels) tops Spokane, 4–1.
IN THE NEWS: Denny McLain notches win number 28, beating the Twins, 8–3. The Tigers score four runs off Jim Kaat before the first out is recorded. Minnesota rookie Graig Nettles hits his first homer, off Denny.
IN THE NEWS: Billy Williams hits three home runs in a game for the first time in his career. It's all the Cubs' scoring, as they beat the Mets 3–1 behind Bill Hands. Added to two home runs on September 8th, Williams has a ML-record-tying five over two straight games.
Don Wilson, who struck out 18 Reds on July 14, fans 16 Reds today while pitching the Astros to a 3–2 win in game 1. The Reds win the nitecap, 4–3.
IN THE NEWS: New York's Jim McAndrew finally wins one, beating the Cubs 1–0, on two hits. It is Fergie Jenkins' (17-14) 5th 1–0 loss of the season, which ties a ML record. Despite the loss, Jenkins will win 20 for the 2nd straight year, using a club record-tying 40 starts to do it. Alexander, in 1920, had 40 starts.
IN THE NEWS: Denny McLain becomes the first 30-game winner since Dizzy Dean in 1934, as the Tigers beat the A's 5–4. Reggie Jackson's homer in the 4th puts the A' s ahead 2–0 but Norm Cash answers with a 3-run shot. Reggie hits another in the 6th, but the Tigers push across two in the 9th to win. Kaline, pinch hitting for McLain, walks and scores the tying run. Denny (30–5) gives up six hits and strikes out 10.
Pittsburgh's Bob Veale shuts out the Mets, 6–0, on eight hits and is backed by two home runs from Roberto Clemente.
IN THE NEWS: The Cardinals clinch the NL pennant with a 7–4 win at Houston. Roger Maris hits his 275th, and last, regular-season home run, off Don Wilson in the 3rd, and Curt Flood racks up five hits.
IN THE NEWS: AL President Joe Cronin fires umpires Al Salerno, an 8-year veteran, and Bill Valentine, with seven years. They say they have been fired for activities related to starting an umpires union.
IN THE NEWS: Gaylord Perry hurls a no-hitter at Candlestick, as the Giants edge the Cards and Bob Gibson 1–0. Ron Hunt's solo home run backs Perry, who evens his record at 14-14.
Detroit clinches the AL pennant with a 2–1 win over the Yankees. Detroit is ahead 1–0 when Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey phones Tiger GM Jim Campbell with the news that the Sox have beaten the Orioles, clinching the pennant for the Tigers. Campbell keeps the score off the radio and the scoreboard, fearing the news will send fans rampaging onto the field. Don Wert singles home the winner in the 9th and the fans tear down the left field screen.
IN THE NEWS: Sixteen hours after Perry's feat, Ray Washburn of the Cards makes ML history by hurling a 2nd consecutive no-hitter in one park. Run-scoring hits by Mike Shannon and Curt Flood at Candlestick down the Giants, 2–0.
IN THE NEWS: Denny McLain's 31st win is overshadowed by Mickey Mantle's 535th homer. McLain allegedly calls C Jim Price out and tells him to inform Mantle he's throwing the slugger nothing but fastballs. The home run gives Mantle undisputed hold of 3rd place on the all-time home run list. Mantle tips his cap to Denny as he rounds 3B. Pepitone, the next batter, signals where he would like the ball, and McLain dusts him. The Tigers win the game, 6–2, the 12th straight complete game for the Tigers staff.
IN THE NEWS: At Yankee Stadium, Boston's Jim Lonborg tosses just his 3rd complete game of the year to beat New York, 4–3. Yastrzemski has three hits, including a homer, to raise his average to .306. Mantle hits homer number 536, the last of his career, for New York.
IN THE NEWS: At Yankee Stadium, Red Sox pitcher Ray Culp fires his 3rd successive shutout, stopping the Yankees on one hit, 2–0. Roy White's single in the 7th is the only hit. It's Culp's 15th win of the year.
Pittsburgh's Dock Ellis pitches a complete game win over the Cubs, winning 5–1. Phil Niekro allows four runs to take the loss. Cubs reliever Jophrey Brown goes two innings, allowing the other run, in his only ML appearance. His next appearance will be in the opening scene of the movie Jurrasic Park when he is eaten by a raptor. As noted by Scott Flatow, Brown tossed two no-hitters in the minors, losing them both.
IN THE NEWS: Cesar Tovar becomes the 2nd player to play every position in a game as Minnesota's all-purpose star leads the Twins to a 2–1 win over the Oakland A's. Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City A's was the first to pull off this stunt in 1965. Tovar starts the game on the mound and the first batter he faces is Campaneris. Tovar strikes out Reggie Jackson in his one inning.
IN THE NEWS: Manager Gil Hodges suffers a heart attack during New York's game with the Braves. He is hospitalized, and Rube Walker takes the helm for the rest of the season. The Aaron brothers, Tommie and Hank, pull off a double steal for the Braves, with Hank scoring. The pair combine for five hits in a 7–3 win over the Mets.
Steve Blass records his 3rd shutout in a row, defeating the Reds, 2–0, and beating Gary Nolan. For Nolan, it is his first defeat after seven straight wins, while Blass wins his 9th straight for the Pirates.
The Giants beat the Astros, 5–4 with Willie Mays driving in three runs. Mays hits a solo homer in the 1st and drives in the tying and winning runs in the 8th with a perfect bunt. With runners on 2B and 3B, Mays bunts and Doug Rader attempts a barehand pickup but misses the ball.
IN THE NEWS: In Mantle's last appearance at Yankee Stadium, he slices a two-out first inning single off Cleveland's Luis Tiant, the only hit for the Yankees. Tiant tosses his 9th shutout of the year, tops in the AL, to win, 3–0. El Tiante's ERA drops to 1.60; the previous low for an Indian pitcher was Stan Coveleski's 1.87 in 1917.
IN THE NEWS: A 1–0 win and 11 strikeouts against the Astros enables Cardinal Bob Gibson to lower his ERA to 1.12, a new NL season mark. His phenomenal campaign includes 28 complete games, 268 strikeouts, and 13 shutouts.
For the 2nd time in two years, the Cards sign free-agent P Barney Schultz to enable him to qualify for pension time. Schultz was released last October 8.
Facing Lee Stange at Fenway Park, Mantle flies out in his final plate appearance, before being replaced by Andy Kosko. Kosko's homer ties the score in the 8th and Pepitone's home run in the 9th gives New York a 4–3 win.
At Detroit, Frank Howard snaps a 1–1 tie with his 44th homer, and the Senators beat the Tigers, 3–1. Howard run is his 89th, and he'll finish the year with that, compiling the most homers in history without scoring 90 runs.
IN THE NEWS: Seeking his 32nd win, Denny McLain pitches seven scoreless innings against Washington and leaves with a 1–0 lead. But the Senators score two in the 9th off McMahon to win, 2–1.
IN THE NEWS: Bob Kennedy is fired as Oakland manager.
In a 3–0 loss to the Giants, the Reds Pete Rose goes 1-for-3 to take his first NL batting title with a .335 average. Rose was 5-for-5 yesterday against Gaylord Perry. Matty Alou goes 0-for-4 to finish at .332.
Carl Yastrzemski is 0-for-5 but maintains a .3005 BA, to win his 2nd straight batting crown with the lowest championship average ever. Yaz is the AL's only .300 hitter: Oakland's Danny Cater is 2nd with .290. The Red Sox lose to the Yankees, 4–3. Ray Culp's string of 39 scoreless innings is snapped by the Yankees with a score in the 1st
White Sox relief P Wilbur Wood ends his season with a 7–6 win at California and a major-league record 88 appearances.
Phils OF Dick Allen ends the year with a bang, hitting three homers including a grand slam to drive in seven runs at New York. Philadelphia wins 10–3.
IN THE NEWS: AL and NL umpires form a new Association of Major League Umpires. They will strike in the spring of 1969 unless Al Salerno and Bill Valentine are reinstated by the AL.
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