With two out in the eighth inning, the Yankees rallied for five runs on a homer by Graig Nettles and double by Reggie Jackson to outlast the Tigers, 12-11, and snap their five-game losing streak. The Tigers hit four homers, including two-run shots by Steve Kemp, Phil Mankowski and John Wockenfuss, plus a solo swat by Jason Thompson, in building up a 10-7 lead. Cliff Johnson hit his first homer for the Yankees.

In the eighth, Paul Blair and Bucky Dent singled and Nettles rapped his round-tripper to tie the score and chase John Hiller. Steve Foucault followed and gave up singles by Thurman Munson and Chris Chambliss. The Tigers then called on rookie lefthander Bob Sykes to face Jackson, who doubled on a two-strike pitch to drive in two runs. The Tigers scored in the ninth on an error, but Sparky Lyle clamped down to gain the victory with help from Ken Clay in the 577th appearance of Lyle's career, setting a record for most games pitched in relief, none started. [The Sporting News]



New York Yankees 12, Detroit Tigers 11
Game Played on Wednesday, June      22, 1977 (Night game) at Tiger Stadium
Yankees      3  0  0    2  2  0    0  5  0  -  12 13  2
Tigers       1  0  0    1  0  5    3  0  1  -  11 17  1


Yankees              AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Tigers               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Randolph 2b           5   1   2   0     0   0   .287      LeFlore cf            4   1   2   0     1   0   .261
Nettles 3b            5   2   1   3     0   0   .213      Fuentes 2b            5   0   1   1     0   1   .302
Munson c              4   3   3   2     1   1   .310      Staub dh              5   1   1   0     0   0   .222
Johnson 1b            3   1   1   2     1   1   .290      Kemp lf               5   2   2   2     0   1   .261
  Chambliss ph,1b     1   1   1   0     0   0   .295      Thompson 1b           5   2   2   1     0   1   .261
Jackson rf            5   1   2   3     0   0   .287      Stanley rf            5   2   4   1     0   0   .280
Piniella dh           5   1   1   1     0   0   .313      May c                 2   0   0   0     0   0   .259
Wynn lf               4   0   0   0     1   1   .147        Wockenfuss c        2   2   2   3     1   0   .275
Blair cf              4   1   1   0     1   0   .310        Corcoran pr         0   0   0   0     0   0   .235
Dent ss               4   1   1   0     1   1   .261      Rodriguez 3b          2   0   0   0     0   0   .215
Holtzman p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Oglivie ph          1   0   0   0     0   1   .246
  Tidrow p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Scrivener ss        2   0   0   0     0   1   .150
  Lyle p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Veryzer ss            2   0   1   0     0   0   .190
  Clay p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Mankowski ph,3b     3   1   2   2     0   0   .292
                                                          Roberts p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            Grilli p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            Hiller p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            Foucault p          0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            Sykes p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               40  12  13  11     5   4             Totals               43  11  17  10     2   5

Time of Game: 2:44   Attendance: 18,129
Left on Base: Yankees 6, Tigers 7
DP: Yankees 2, Tigers 1
Errors: Randolph, Nettles, Veryzer
Doubles: Munson (11), Jackson 2 (21), Staub (14), Wockenfuss (4), Kemp (14)
Triples: Munson (5), LeFlore (4)
Home Runs: Johnson (1), Nettles (14), Thompson (12), Kemp (8), Mankowski (2), Wockenfuss (4)
Stolen Bases: Blair (1)
GIDP: Blair (2), May (7), LeFlore (6)


Yankees                IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Holtzman                5.1   9   6   6   1   2   2  25   6.28
Tidrow                  1     3   2   2   0   1   1   6   2.87
Lyle W(3-2)             2.1   5   3   2   1   2   1  12   1.96
Clay SV(1)              0.1   0   0   0   0   0   0   2   1.93
Totals                  9    17  11  10   2   5   4  45

Tigers                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Roberts                 3.2   5   5   3   2   1   0  18   4.83
Grilli                  2.2   2   2   2   3   2   1  13   6.00
Hiller                  1.1   3   3   3   0   1   1   7   3.82
Foucault L(3-4)         0     2   2   2   0   0   0   2   3.90
Sykes                   1.1   1   0   0   0   0   0   5   3.96
Totals                  9    13  12  10   5   4   2  45

Passed Balls: Wockenfuss (1)

Umpires: HP - Ted Hendry, 1B - Jerry Neudecker, 2B - Art Frantz, 3B - Al Clark


YANKEES 1ST: Randolph singled to center; Nettles reached on an
error by Veryzer [Randolph to second, Nettles to first]; Munson
tripled to center [Randolph scored, Nettles scored (unearned)];
Johnson struck out; Jackson grounded out (shortstop to first)
[Munson scored (unearned)]; Piniella flied out to center; 3 R (1
ER), 2 H, 1 E, 0 LOB.  Yankees 3, Tigers 0.

TIGERS 1ST: LeFlore tripled to center; Fuentes singled to left
[LeFlore scored]; Staub popped to third; Kemp struck out;
Thompson popped to second; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Yankees 3,
Tigers 1.

YANKEES 2ND: Wynn grounded out (shortstop to first); Blair flied
out to right; Dent grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  Yankees 3, Tigers 1.

TIGERS 2ND: Stanley singled to center; May grounded into a
double play (first to shortstop to first) [Stanley out at
second]; Rodriguez flied out to left; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Yankees 3, Tigers 1.

YANKEES 3RD: Randolph flied out to right; Nettles grounded out
(first unassisted); Munson doubled to left; Johnson grounded out
(shortstop to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Yankees 3, Tigers 1.

TIGERS 3RD: Veryzer popped to second; LeFlore grounded out
(second to first); Fuentes popped to first in foul territory; 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Yankees 3, Tigers 1.

YANKEES 4TH: Jackson doubled to left; Piniella singled to right
[Jackson scored]; Wynn walked [Piniella to second]; Blair
grounded into a double play (second to first to shortstop)
[Piniella scored (no RBI), Wynn out at second]; Dent walked;
GRILLI REPLACED ROBERTS (PITCHING); Randolph singled to left
[Dent to second]; Nettles grounded out (third to first); 2 R, 3
H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Yankees 5, Tigers 1.

TIGERS 4TH: Staub grounded out (second to first); Kemp grounded
out (second to first); Thompson homered; Stanley grounded out
(pitcher to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Yankees 5, Tigers 2.

YANKEES 5TH: Munson walked; Johnson homered [Munson scored];
Jackson flied out to center; Piniella popped to shortstop; Wynn
lined to third; 2 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Yankees 7, Tigers 2.

TIGERS 5TH: May flied out to left; Rodriguez grounded out (third
to first); Veryzer singled to right; LeFlore walked [Veryzer to
second]; Fuentes flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.
Yankees 7, Tigers 2.

YANKEES 6TH: WOCKENFUSS REPLACED MAY (PLAYING C ); Blair walked;
Blair stole second; Dent was called out on strikes; Randolph
grounded out (third to first); Nettles popped to first in foul
territory; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Yankees 7, Tigers 2.

TIGERS 6TH: Staub doubled to center; Kemp homered [Staub
scored]; Thompson struck out; Stanley singled to third [Stanley
to third (error by Nettles)]; Wockenfuss doubled to right
[Stanley scored]; TIDROW REPLACED HOLTZMAN (PITCHING); OGLIVIE
BATTED FOR RODRIGUEZ; Oglivie was called out on strikes;
MANKOWSKI BATTED FOR VERYZER; Mankowski homered [Wockenfuss
scored]; LeFlore singled to shortstop; Fuentes grounded out
(first unassisted); 5 R, 6 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Yankees 7, Tigers 7.

YANKEES 7TH: SCRIVENER REPLACED OGLIVIE (PLAYING SS); MANKOWSKI
STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 3B); Munson struck out; Johnson walked;
HILLER REPLACED GRILLI (PITCHING); Wockenfuss allowed a passed
ball [Johnson to second]; Jackson reached on a fielder's choice
[Johnson out at third (shortstop to third)]; Piniella lined to
third; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Yankees 7, Tigers 7.

TIGERS 7TH: Staub grounded out (first to pitcher); Kemp doubled
to right; LYLE REPLACED TIDROW (PITCHING); Thompson flied out to
left; Stanley singled to right [Kemp scored]; Wockenfuss homered
[Stanley scored]; Scrivener was called out on strikes; 3 R, 3 H,
0 E, 0 LOB.  Yankees 7, Tigers 10.

YANKEES 8TH: Wynn struck out; Blair singled to shortstop; Dent
singled to right [Blair to second]; Randolph lined to center;
Nettles homered [Blair scored, Dent scored]; FOUCAULT REPLACED
HILLER (PITCHING); Munson singled to left; CHAMBLISS BATTED FOR
JOHNSON; Chambliss singled to center [Munson to third]; SYKES
REPLACED FOUCAULT (PITCHING); Jackson doubled to left [Munson
scored, Chambliss scored]; Piniella grounded out (first
unassisted); 5 R, 6 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Yankees 12, Tigers 10.

TIGERS 8TH: CHAMBLISS STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 1B); Mankowski
singled to right; LeFlore grounded into a double play (shortstop
to second to first) [Mankowski out at second]; Fuentes struck
out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Yankees 12, Tigers 10.

YANKEES 9TH: Wynn grounded out (third to first); Blair flied out
to right; Dent grounded out (first to pitcher); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Yankees 12, Tigers 10.

TIGERS 9TH: Staub popped to shortstop; Kemp flied out to left;
Thompson singled to right; Stanley singled to third [Thompson to
second]; CLAY REPLACED LYLE (PITCHING); Wockenfuss walked (walk
was charged to Lyle) [Thompson to third, Stanley to second];
CORCORAN RAN FOR WOCKENFUSS; Scrivener reached on an error by
Randolph [Thompson scored (unearned) (no RBI), Stanley to third,
Corcoran to second]; Mankowski popped to shortstop; 1 R (0 ER),
2 H, 1 E, 3 LOB.  Yankees 12, Tigers 11.