Yankees History

May 6, 1978 at Yankee Stadium
Rangers 9, Yankees 5  (14-10)

The Yankees five game winning streak came to an abrupt end as Dick Tidrow and the Yankees pen were pummelled by the Rangers’ hitters.  Tidrow fell to 1-3 and he gave up five runs on six hits and four walks with one strikeout in 5 1/3 innings.  Sparky Lyle gave up one run while Ken Clay gave up three as all three hurlers used gave up runs.

Reggie Jackson belted his fifth homerun of the season and he drove in two and scored twice.  Willie Randolph drew a walk and he scored twice in the loss.

October 2, 1987 at Yankee Stadium
Yankees 8, Tigers 7  (100-62)

The Yankees came from behind in their final regular season game to win a nice, even one hundred games on the season.  Down 7-5, the Yankees scored three in the eighth to take the lead and win the game.  Elrod Hendricks doubled home two runs in the inning while the game winner was an Alston sac. fly that scored Chris Chambliss.

Graig Nettles was three for five with a run and two doubles.  Mickey Klutts belted a two run homer, the first of his career, while Gene Locklear went three for five with two RBIs and a run.

Ken Clay gave up two runs in four innings of work in his start.  Stan Thomas picked up the win despite some rocky relief innings.  He improved to 3-6 and he gave up four runs on four hits and four walks with a strikeout in four innings.

Next up for the Yankees was the ALCS and it would be the Kansas City Royals as their opponents.  Things would kick off in three days in Yankee Stadium.

August 27, 1977 at Yankee Stadium
Rangers 8, Yankees 2  (76-52)

The Yankees four game winning streak came to an end as not one, but two pitchers were knocked around by the Ranger hitters.  Mike Torrez and Ken Clay combined to give up five homeruns and it was Torrez who fell to 15-11 with the loss.

Thurman Munson was a perfect three for three in the loss.  Graig Nettles drove in one of the two Yankees’ runs with a solo homer, his 31st of the season.

August 26, 1977 at Yankee Stadium
Yankees 6, Rangers 5  (76-51)

The Yankees overcame a 5-1 deficit and beat the Rangers in their series opener.  The game winning run came on a one run triple off the bat of Graig Nettles.  Both Lou Piniella and Willie Randolph were a perfect three for three in the contest.

Ed Figueroa gave up four runs in five innings but the hitters and the pen picked him up.  Ken Clay gave up a run in three innings and he improved to 2-3 while Sparky Lyle threw a shutout ninth and he picked up his 21st save of the season.

August 16, 1977 at Yankee Stadium
Yankees 11, White Sox 10  (67-50)

The Yankees blew a five run lead in the top of ninth only to come back and win it with a two run walk off homer in the bottom of the ninth by Chris Chambliss.   Chris Chambliss finished the game with three runs and three RBIs while Buck Dent went two for four with a double, three RBIs and a run.

Ron Guidry and Sparky Lyle each gave up three runs in that disastrous ninth inning.  It was Ken Clay who got the final out and he picked up his first win of the season.

July 17, 1977 at Royals Stadium
Royals 8, Yankees 4 (50-42)

The Royals did a number on the the Yankees as they finished a three game sweep. Ken Clay was roughed up and he dropped to 0-3 on the season. He gave up four runs on three hits and one walk in just three innings of work.

Willie Randolph went two for five with a double and two RBIs. Reggie Jackson added a run with a solo homerun, his sixteenth long ball of the season.

June 28, 1977 at Exhibition Stadium
Blue Jays 8, Yankees 5  (40-33)

Rookie Ken Clay had a tough time against the Blue Jays and he dropped to 0-2 on the season with a rough start.  He gave up six runs (five earned) on five hits and three walks and three strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

George Zeber belted a two run shot in the loss.  Reggie Jackson hit his thirteenth homerun and Mickey Rivers went three for five with an RBI.

June 28, 1977 at Exhibition Stadium
Yankees 5, Blue Jays 1  (41-33)

The Yankees managed a split with the Blue Jays in their doubleheader with a solid outing by Ken Holtzman and some great relief pitching by Dick Tidrow.  Holtzman gave up just one run in 8 1/3 innings and then Tidrow finished the ninth and pitched two extra innings of shutout ball to improve to 6-2 on the season.

Graig Nettles went two for six with a double, two RBIs and a run.  Roy White finished two for four with a run and a walk.

June 22, 1977 at Tiger Stadium
Yankees 13, Tigers 12  (37-31)

Pitching went out the window as the Yankees and Tigers combined for 25 runs on 30 hits but the Yankees eeked out a win with a five run eighth inning.  It’s hard to pick a hitting star but it was probably Thurman Munson.  He went three for four with a walk, a double, a triple, two RBIs and three runs.  Cliff Johnson and Graig Nettles both went yard in this one.

Sparky Lyle picked up the win although he was more in the right place at the right time.  He gave up three runs in 2 1/3 innings.  Ken Clay got the final batter of the game out and he picked up his first career save.

June 17, 1977 at Fenway Park
Red Sox 9, Yankees 4 (36-27)

Catfish Hunter got off to a pretty rough start when the Red Sox tagged him for four solo homers in the first inning alone.  Hunter was pulled with two outs in the inning in what was one his shortest starts of his career.  Oddly, he didn’t take the loss because the Yankees had it tied 4-4 by the third inning before the pen was hit hard.  Ken Clay pitched a solid 4 1/3 innings, but he gave up that go ahead run and he took the loss.

Lou Piniella went three for four with a run in the loss.  Willie Randolph also had a nice game and he went two for five with a run and an RBI.