IN THE NEWS: Rod Carew swipes home in the 10th inning to give the Twins a victory over the Indians. Carew will swipe home 17 times in his career, seven times stealing alone.
Mel Stottlemyre hurls a 4-hitter to stop the White Sox, 40. Rookie Charlie Spikes has two hits in his ML debut, drives in a row and saves a run with a sparkling catch in right field.
IN THE NEWS: Milt Pappas of the Cubs hurls a no-hit game in beating the Padres 80. Pappas has a perfect game until pinch-hitter Larry Stahl walks with two outs in the 9th inning. Pappas and C Randy Hundley both said of the pitches to Stahl, "They were so close I don't know how Stahl could take them, but they were balls." Pappas later commented on the plate umpire, "he had a chance to become famous as the umpire in the twelve perfect game in baseball history, but he blew it." Pappas retires former Cub Gary Jestadt to finish the game.
Rookie Dave Downs of the Phils stops the Braves, 30, in his first ML start.
IN THE NEWS: Steve Carlton shuts out the Braves 80 for his 8th whitewash of the season. This is the most for a Phillies' pitcher since Pete Alexander in 1917.
Hal McRae's 2-run pinch homer in the 9th gives the Reds a 43 win over the visiting Expos.
IN THE NEWS: The Yankees split with the Orioles, losing 43 before winning 52. The split leaves the Yankees(69-61) in 4th place, just one-half game out of first place. The Orioles (69-60) are tied with Detroit for the lead. Andy Etchebarren's 3-run homer in the first game, off Fritz Peterson, is the big blow while the Yankees take the night cap behind the three hits, including a homer, of Bobby Murcer.
The Cubs top the Mets, 20, as Fergie Jenkins posts his 19th win. The Cubs then drop the second game, 72, to Gary Gentry, who strikes out 8.
Luis Tiant (104) pitches his 4th straight shutout, beating the Brewers, 20, in the opener. Yaz's 2-run home run accounts for the scoring. The Red Sox lose the nitecap, 62, as four former Hubmen do the damage. O'Brien and Lahoud homer, Boomer Scott has three hits and Brett is the winner.
IN THE NEWS: Behind Mickey Lolich's 20th win, Detroit beats the Orioles in Baltimore 43 in the tight pennant race. Lolich had failed in five previous outings to win his 20th.
IN THE NEWS: Tommy Harper and Rico Petrocelli club 3-run homers to poser the Red Sox to a 104 win over the Yankees and move into first place in the American League East ahead of the Tigers. Siebert adds a homer as he wins his 12th game.
IN THE NEWS: In the first game of a doubleheader with the Cardinals, the Mets win 82 as John Milner collects a homer, double, and three singles in five at-bats. Milner had another home run in the 1st inning of game 2, but the Cards turn around, using a pair of homers in the 13th to win, 94.
Beating the Phils 43, Fergie Jenkins wins his 20th, the 6th consecutive year he's reached the mark. This ties the Cubs club record set by Three Finger Brown, 1906-11. Billy Williams 2-run home run in the 6th ties it at 33, and a pair of doubles in the 8th wins it.
Mickey Lolich wins his 20th game of the year as Detroit tips the Orioles, 43. The Tigers jump on Jim Palmer (18-8) for three runs in the 1st inning. Seelbach pitches the last three 1/3 innings of shutout ball for the save.
IN THE NEWS: A round-robin tournament, replacing the Junior World Series, begins, with Hawaii defeating a team of Caribbean all-stars 62. The series proves to be a financial and artistic failure.
IN THE NEWS: Dick Allen's club record 34th home run gives the White Sox their only two runs as they beat KC, 21. Hovely's home run in the 9th is the Royals only score.
IN THE NEWS: Frank Howard, who is not playing regularly for the Tigers, hits a 3-run homer off Dave McNally of the Orioles for a Detroit victory. It is his 13th career fourbagger off his favorite pitcher. He had hit one with the Rangers on July 18th, and 11 with the Senators 1965-1971.
The Reds Johnny Bench hits a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to beat the Braves, 86. He hit a grand slam yesterday in a 75 win over Atlanta, and he'll have 11 homers and 33 ribbies for September.
IN THE NEWS: Steve Carlton beats the Expos 53, raising his record to 24-9. The rest of the Phillies pitchers have a combined record of 26-80.
In a record setting effort, the Reds and Padres combine for 28 strikeouts for a nine inning game, the Padres winning 10, on Cito Gaston's 4th inning homer. Winning P Fred Norman strikes out 15, while Don Gullett fans 11 Pads. Pedro Borbon notches the other 2.
IN THE NEWS: Expo P Balor Moore extends his scoreless-inning streak to 25 before serving up a 7th-inning 3-run home run to lose to the Phillies 31. The home run is the first for Phils rookie Mike Schmidt.
At Wrigley, Glenn Beckert sets a dubious major-league record by stranding 12 base runners but his Cubs beat the Mets, 185. The Cubs jump first, knocking out Tom Seaver in just two 1/3 innings. After Seaver loads the bases on walks in the 3rd, pitcher Burt Hooton homers. Chicago garners 15 walks, with Elrod Hendricks walking five straight times, a National League record. Cubs 2B Glenn Beckert sets a dubious major-league record when he strands 12 baserunners.
Joe Coleman wins his 17th game and Dick McAuliffe clouts two home runs and drives in four to lead Detroit to a 62 win in Milwaukee. This is Detroit's 5th win in a row and keeps them a percentage point behind Boston.
Following the Reds-Padres game at Riverfront Stadium, "This is your Life" host Ralph Edwards surprises Johnny Bench as the catcher is the featured guest on the program. With cameras rolling, Bench's family and friends appear as Edwards narrates the show.
IN THE NEWS: In a 15-inning contest with Chicago, the A's set an extra-inning record by using 30 players, including six second baseman and 10 pinch hitters. Together the two clubs use 51 players, another record. Oakland still loses, 87.
The Twins Cesar Tovar hits for the cycle as Minnesota beats Texas, 53.
IN THE NEWS: In the nitecap of a doubleheader, the Braves score all their runs in the 2nd inning in routing the Astros 136. Dusty Baker has three at bats in the inning, doubling to lead off, hitting a 3-run home run, then grounding out to end the inning with the bases full.
At Anaheim, Royals pitcher Steve Busby loses a grand slam when 1B ump John Rice signals that he had called time before the gopher pitch. John Mayberry had already hit a grand slam in the inning.
Sadaharu Oh of the Yomiuri Giants hits a home run to set a new Japanese record of seven home runs in seven consecutive games. Dale Long in 1956 hit in eight straight, and several players have hit in 6.
IN THE NEWS: The Pirates clinch the National League East title with a 62 victory over the Mets.
The American League East is a virtual tie as Detroit's Joe Coleman posts his 18th win, a critical 103 defeat of first-place Boston. Coleman strikes out 10 and knocks in three runs.
IN THE NEWS: In the nitecap of a twinbill sweep over the Indians, Sparky Lyle sets an American League record and tying the ML mark by saving his 35th game. The Yanks win, 83, after gaining a 54 win in the opener when they score two unearned runs on five Indian errors in the 11th. Munson steals 2B by kicking the ball out of Frank Duffy's glove and going to 3B on the error. Duffy then boots a grounder and throws wildly for two more E's. Catcher Gerry Moses then picks up a squibber and fires over 1B and RF Del Unser's throw to the plate is over Moses' head for error 5.
IN THE NEWS: A's relief star Darold Knowles breaks his thumb, costing him a chance to pitch in the World Series. Knowles finishes the season with a 5-1 record, 11 saves, and a 1.36 ERA.
Trailing 51, the Tigers score three in the 8th and two in the 9th to beat the Yankees and Sparky Lyle.
The Dodgers Don Sutton shuts out San Diego, 20, handing Steve Arlin his National League-high 21st loss of the year. Arlin also led the NL in losses last year with 19. It's Sutton's 9th shutout of the year to tie Nolan Ryan for the most in the ML.
IN THE NEWS: During a 50 win over the Mets, the Pirates' Roberto Clemente doubles off Jon Matlack in the 4th inning for his 3,000thand finalcareer hit in regular-season play.
The Tigers take their 3rd in a row from Milwaukee as John Hiller throws a 5-hitter. Aurelio Rodriguez's 3-run home run is the margin in the 51 win. The Tigers now return home to face the Red Sox in a 3-game series that will determine which team wins the East.