Baseball Historians

June 29, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 5, White Sox 2 (48-26)
The Tigers won their fifth straight game and once again, it was Denny McLain who pitched the Tigers to victory.  He improved to 14-2 and he gave up two runs on eight hits and two walks with five strikeouts in another complete game.
Jim Northrup hit […]

June 24, 1968 at Cleveland Stadium
Tigers 14, Indians 3 (45-26)
Jim Northrup put a huge exclamation point as the Tigers finished up their series with the Indians with a blowout win.  Northrup hit not one, but two grand slams and he finished with eight RBIs.  Jim Price hit his first homer of the season and Bill […]

June 20, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 5, Red Sox 1 (43-23)
The Tigers took the rubber game in their series with the Red Sox and once again, it was Denny McLain who got it done on the mound.  He improved to 12-2 and he gave up just one run on three hits and two walks with […]

June 16, 1968 at Comiskey Park
White Sox 3, Tigers 2  (40-22)
Mickey Lolich fell to 5-4 on the season despite a solid outing as the Tigers lost to the White Sox in the first game of their Sunday doubleheader.  He gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits with two strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. 
Bill […]

June 13, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 3, Twins 1 (39-20)
The Tigers finished up a four game sweep over the Twins with yet another solid pitching performance.  It was the third time in the series that the Twins were held to a mere one run and in the fourth game, the Twins managed just a pair […]

June 9, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Indians 2, Tigers 0 (35-20)
Luis Tiant held the Tigers to just four hits and while Denny McLain was nearly as good, he suffered his second loss of the season.  He fell to 9-2 and he gave up two runs on three hits with four strikeouts in eight innings of work.
Gates […]

June 5, 1968 at Fenway Park
Tigers 5, Red Sox 4  (32-19)
The Tigers overcame a three run first inning deficit to top the Red Sox 5-4.  Denny McLain had the tough first inning but he buckled down and improved to 9-1.  He gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits with a strikeout in six […]

June 2, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Yankees 4, Tigers 3  (29-17)
This time it was the Yankees who came out on top in a one run game as they topped the Tigers in the first game of their Sunday doubleheader.  The Tigers scored three runs in the sixth inning but then the Yankees finally got to Denny […]

May 29, 1968 at Anaheim Stadium
Tigers 3, Angels 0  (26-16)
Denny McLain did it again with another exceptional start as he improved to 8-1.  He gave up just four hits and a walk with thirteen strikeouts in the shutout win.
Willie Horton’s two run homer in the seventh inning was his thirteenth of the season.  Dick McAuliffe […]

May 25, 1968 at the Oakland Coliseum
Tigers 2, Athletics 1  (24-14)
Denny McLain got the Tigers back on track with another nice start as the Tigers ended their three game losing streak.  McLain gave up just a single run (in the ninth inning) on six hits and a walk with eight strikeouts and the win pushed […]

May 20, 1968 at Metropolitan Stadium
Tigers 4, Twins 3  (23-12)
The Tigers came back from an early 3-0 deficit in this one to walk away with their third straight win.  Willie Horton hit a solo shot, his tenth homer of the season, in the ninth inning to send the game into extra frames and then Al […]

May 15, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Orioles 10, Tigers 8  (19-11)
Denny McLain lost his first decision of the season and he lasted just two innings in a high scoring affair.  McLain fell to 5-1 and he gave up four runs in the two frames.  Jon Warden was also touched up and he gave up three runs […]

May 10, 1968 at D.C. Stadium
Tigers 12, Senators 1  (17-9)
The Tigers won their third straight game behind a huge game by Al Kaline at the plate and another rock solid outing on the mound by Denny McLain.  Kaline went three for four with a homerun, six RBIs and three runs.  Bill Freehan and Don Wert […]

May 5, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 5, Angels 2  (14-8)
Denny McLain improved to a perfect 4-0 on the season with another nice start as the Tigers snapped a three game losing streak.  He gave up just a pair of runs on seven hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.
Mickey Stanley and Bill Freehan were the […]

May 1, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 3, Twins 2  (13-5)
Willie Horton drove in Dick McAuliffe with a sac. fly in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie to win their first game in the May.  With just five hits, the Tigers needed a two run homer by Jim Northrup in the […]

May 1, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 3, Twins 2  (13-5)
Willie Horton drove in Dick McAuliffe with a sac. fly in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie to win their first game in the May.  With just five hits, the Tigers needed a two run homer by Jim Northrup in the […]

April 27, 1968 at Yankee Stadium
Tigers 7, Yankees 0  (10-3)
Denny McLain won his second straight start with his strongest outing of the season.  The win ended the Tigers two game mini-skid.  McLain gave up just five hits and two walks with six strikeouts in the complete game shutout.
Dick McAuliffe and Jim Northrup were the hitting […]

April 21, 1968 at Comiskey Park
Tigers 4, White Sox 1  (8-1)
The Tigers won their eighth straight game behind Earl Wilson’s second solid start in a row.  Wilson improved to 2-1 and he gave up one run on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts in the complete game win.
Dick McAuliffe tripled and drove in […]

April 17, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 4, Indians 3  (5-1)
The Tigers picked up their fifth straight win and their second extra inning win in three games in their opener against the Indians.   Willie Horton provided the heroics with a two run, walk off homer in the bottom of the tenth inning to win it for […]

April 11, 1968 at Tiger Stadium
Tigers 4, Red Sox 3  (1-1)
The Tigers blew a three run lead but still managed to win when Gates Brown broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the ninth with a pinch hit, walk off solo homer.  Dick McAuliffe and Bill Freehan also belted solo shots while Freehan reached […]

 It’s really hard to put Denny McLain’s 1968 season into words.  Yeah, he probably wasn’t even the best pitcher in 1968 (Bob Gibson) but his numbers are still nothing short of staggering.  And it’s also worth keeping in mind that McLain was 24 years old throughout most of the season (his birthday is September 21, […]