John Hiller, who was handed the starting assignment because of injuries to the Tigers' mound staff, pitched an eight-hitter and gained a 5-2 victory to stall the Yankees' clinching of the East Division title. The Yankees were two games ahead of the Red Sox, each club having two left to play. Rusty Staub shared honors with Hiller, driving in three of the Tigers' runs. The Tigers took a 2-0 lead against Ron Guidry in the third inning on a single by Alan Trammell, triple by Tito Fuentes and infield out by Staub.

Hiller, who was making only his eighth start of the season, yielded a run in the Yankees' half of the third on singles by Mickey Rivers and Thurman Munson, a pass to Reggie Jackson and sacrifice fly by Lou Piniella. The Yankees tied the score in the fourth after Cliff Johnson and Willie Randolph walked. Bucky Dent struck out and Rivers forced Johnson at third, but Graig Nettles singled to drive in the tying tally. The Tigers pulled away in the fifth with two runs on a single by Aurelio Rodriguez, pass to Trammell, sacrifice by Ron LeFlore and single by Staub. An insurance run followed in the seventh on singles by Trammell, Fuentes and Steve Kemp. [The Sporting News]



Detroit Tigers 5, New York Yankees 2
Game Played on Friday, September 30, 1977 (Night game) at Yankee Stadium I
Tigers       0  0  2    0  2  0    1  0  0  -   5 11  1
Yankees      0  0  1    1  0  0    0  0  0  -   2  8  2


Tigers               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Yankees              AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
LeFlore cf            4   0   1   0     0   1   .326      Rivers cf             5   1   2   0     0   0   .324
Fuentes 2b            4   1   3   1     0   0   .308      Nettles 3b            5   0   2   1     0   0   .250
Staub dh              5   0   1   3     0   1   .277      Munson c              5   0   2   0     0   0   .304
Kemp lf               4   0   2   1     0   1   .257      Jackson rf            3   0   0   0     1   3   .286
Thompson 1b           4   0   1   0     0   0   .266      Piniella lf           3   0   1   1     0   0   .328
Parrish c             4   0   0   0     0   0   .220      Kingman dh            3   0   0   0     1   3   .221
Stanley rf            4   0   0   0     0   0   .230      Johnson 1b            2   0   0   0     1   0   .297
Rodriguez 3b          4   1   1   0     0   0   .216      Randolph 2b           2   1   0   0     2   0   .275
Trammell ss           3   3   2   0     1   0   .216      Dent ss               4   0   1   0     0   1   .248
Hiller p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Guidry p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            Lyle p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               36   5  11   5     1   3             Totals               32   2   8   2     5   7

Time of Game: 2:31   Attendance: 28,200
Left on Base: Tigers 7, Yankees 10
DP: Tigers 1, Yankees 2
Errors: Hiller, Jackson, Guidry
Doubles: Dent (18)
Triples: Fuentes (10)
Caught Stealing: Kingman (1)
Sacrifice Hits: Fuentes (13), LeFlore (1)
Sacrifice Flies: Piniella (4)
GIDP: Rodriguez (8), Stanley (6), Munson (18)
Hit by Pitch: Johnson (5,by Hiller)


Tigers                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Hiller W(8-14)          9     8   2   2   5   7   0  39   3.56
Totals                  9     8   2   2   5   7   0  39

Yankees                IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Guidry L(16-7)          6.2  10   5   5   1   2   0  31   2.82
Lyle                    2.1   1   0   0   0   1   0   8   2.17
Totals                  9    11   5   5   1   3   0  39

Hit by Pitch: Hiller (1)

Umpires: HP - Vic Voltaggio, 1B - Marty Springstead, 2B - Larry Barnett, 3B - Jim Evans


TIGERS 1ST: LeFlore singled to right; Fuentes out on a sacrifice
bunt (first to second) [LeFlore to second]; Staub grounded out
(first to pitcher) [LeFlore to third]; Kemp grounded out (third
to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Tigers 0, Yankees 0.

YANKEES 1ST: Rivers flied out to left; Nettles singled to
center; Munson singled to pitcher [Nettles to third (error by
Hiller)]; Jackson struck out; Piniella grounded out (third to
first); 0 R, 2 H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Tigers 0, Yankees 0.

TIGERS 2ND: Thompson singled to center; Parrish reached on an
error by Jackson [Thompson to second]; Stanley made an out to
second; Rodriguez grounded into a double play (second to
shortstop to first) [Parrish out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 1
LOB.  Tigers 0, Yankees 0.

YANKEES 2ND: Kingman walked; Kingman was caught stealing second
(catcher to second); Johnson flied out to left; Randolph walked;
Dent flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Tigers 0,
Yankees 0.

TIGERS 3RD: Trammell singled to right; LeFlore flied out to
right; Fuentes tripled to right [Trammell scored]; Staub
grounded out (second to first) [Fuentes scored]; Kemp struck
out; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Tigers 2, Yankees 0.

YANKEES 3RD: Rivers singled to center; Nettles lined to third;
Munson singled to left [Rivers to second]; Jackson walked
[Rivers to third, Munson to second]; Piniella hit a sacrifice
fly to center [Rivers scored]; Kingman struck out; 1 R, 2 H, 0
E, 2 LOB.  Tigers 2, Yankees 1.

TIGERS 4TH: Thompson grounded out (first unassisted); Parrish
reached on an error by Guidry; Stanley grounded into a double
play (second to shortstop to first) [Parrish out at second]; 0
R, 0 H, 1 E, 0 LOB.  Tigers 2, Yankees 1.

YANKEES 4TH: Johnson walked; Randolph walked [Johnson to
second]; Dent struck out; Rivers forced Johnson (third
unassisted) [Randolph to second]; Nettles singled to right
[Randolph scored, Rivers to second]; Munson made an out to
shortstop; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Tigers 2, Yankees 2.

TIGERS 5TH: Rodriguez singled to center; Trammell walked
[Rodriguez to second]; LeFlore out on a sacrifice bunt (third to
second) [Rodriguez to third, Trammell to second]; Fuentes
grounded out (second to first); Staub singled to left [Rodriguez
scored, Trammell scored]; Kemp singled to left [Staub to third];
Thompson flied out to center; 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Tigers 4,
Yankees 2.

YANKEES 5TH: Jackson struck out; Piniella singled to second;
Kingman struck out; Johnson was hit by a pitch [Piniella to
second]; Randolph forced Johnson (shortstop to second); 0 R, 1
H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Tigers 4, Yankees 2.

TIGERS 6TH: Parrish made an out to shortstop; Stanley grounded
out (shortstop to first); Rodriguez flied out to center; 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Tigers 4, Yankees 2.

YANKEES 6TH: Dent doubled to left; Rivers flied out to right;
Nettles flied out to center; Munson lined to third; 0 R, 1 H, 0
E, 1 LOB.  Tigers 4, Yankees 2.

TIGERS 7TH: Trammell singled to right; LeFlore struck out;
Fuentes singled to left [Trammell to second]; Staub flied out to
center; Kemp singled to center [Trammell scored, Fuentes to
second]; LYLE REPLACED GUIDRY (PITCHING); Thompson flied out to
center; 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Tigers 5, Yankees 2.

YANKEES 7TH: Jackson struck out; Piniella flied out to center;
Kingman struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Tigers 5, Yankees 2.

TIGERS 8TH: Parrish grounded out (shortstop to first); Stanley
flied out to center; Rodriguez grounded out (shortstop to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Tigers 5, Yankees 2.

YANKEES 8TH: Johnson popped to catcher in foul territory;
Randolph flied out to center; Dent flied out to center; 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Tigers 5, Yankees 2.

TIGERS 9TH: Trammell grounded out (pitcher to first); LeFlore
grounded out (shortstop to first); Fuentes singled to right;
Staub struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Tigers 5, Yankees 2.

YANKEES 9TH: Rivers singled to right; Nettles flied out to
center; Munson grounded into a double play (shortstop to second
to first) [Rivers out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Tigers
5, Yankees 2.