"The Bird" was back in form for the Tigers when Mark Fidrych pitched a five-hitter and defeated the Blue Jays, 6-2. Fidrych, the 1976 Rookie Pitcher of the Year, missed most of last season with injuries. The Tigers' opener, delayed one day by rain, drew a crowd of 52,528 fans, who not only were entertained by Fidrych, but saw Milt May, Phil Mankowski and Jason Thompson smash homers. [The Sporting News]



Detroit Tigers 6, Toronto Blue Jays 2
Game Played on Friday, April     7, 1978 (Day game) at Tiger Stadium
Blue Jays    0  2  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   2  5  0
Tigers       0  1  1    3  0  0    1  0  x  -   6 10  1


Blue Jays            AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Tigers               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Bosetti cf            4   0   0   0     0   2   .000      LeFlore cf            4   0   0   0     1   3   .000
A. Woods lf           4   0   0   0     0   2   .000      Mankowski 3b          4   2   2   3     0   0   .500
Howell 3b             4   0   1   0     0   0   .250      Staub dh              4   0   2   0     0   1   .500
Carty dh              3   1   0   0     1   1   .000      Thompson 1b           4   1   1   1     0   1   .250
Mayberry 1b           4   1   1   0     0   0   .250      Kemp lf               3   0   1   1     1   1   .333
Hutton rf             4   0   1   1     0   0   .250      Corcoran rf           3   0   0   0     1   0   .000
McKay 2b              4   0   1   0     0   0   .250      May c                 4   1   2   1     0   0   .500
Gomez ss              3   0   1   0     0   0   .333      Whitaker 2b           3   1   1   0     1   0   .333
Ashby c               2   0   0   0     1   0   .000      Trammell ss           3   1   1   0     1   1   .333
Lemanczyk p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Fidrych p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Jefferson p         0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               32   2   5   1     2   5             Totals               32   6  10   6     5   7

Time of Game: 2:04   Attendance: 52,528
Left on Base: Blue Jays 5, Tigers 7
DP: Blue Jays 1, Tigers 1
Errors: Mankowski
Doubles: Whitaker (1)
Home Runs: May (1), Mankowski (1), Thompson (1)
Stolen Bases: Whitaker (1)
GIDP: McKay (1), Corcoran (1)


Blue Jays              IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Lemanczyk L(0-1)        3.2   7   5   5   4   3   2  21  12.27
Jefferson               4.1   3   1   1   1   4   1  16   2.08
Totals                  8    10   6   6   5   7   3  37

Tigers                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Fidrych W(1-0)          9     5   2   2   2   5   0  34   2.00
Totals                  9     5   2   2   2   5   0  34

Umpires: HP - Nestor Chylak, 1B - Ron Luciano, 2B - Rich Garcia, 3B - Vic Voltaggio


BLUE JAYS 1ST: Bosetti grounded out (third to first); A. Woods
grounded out (pitcher to first); Howell grounded out (pitcher to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Blue Jays 0, Tigers 0.

TIGERS 1ST: LeFlore walked; Mankowski grounded out (pitcher to
first) [LeFlore to second]; Staub grounded out (first
unassisted) [LeFlore to third]; Thompson flied out to left; 0 R,
0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Blue Jays 0, Tigers 0.

BLUE JAYS 2ND: Carty walked; Mayberry singled to right [Carty to
second]; Hutton singled to center [Carty scored, Mayberry to
third]; McKay grounded into a double play (shortstop to second
to first) [Mayberry scored, Hutton out at second]; Gomez
grounded out (pitcher to first); 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Blue
Jays 2, Tigers 0.

TIGERS 2ND: Kemp walked; Corcoran grounded into a double play
(second to shortstop to first) [Kemp out at second]; May
homered; Whitaker walked; Whitaker stole second; Trammell was
called out on strikes; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Blue Jays 2,
Tigers 1.

BLUE JAYS 3RD: Ashby grounded out (second to first); Bosetti
struck out; A. Woods struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Blue
Jays 2, Tigers 1.

TIGERS 3RD: LeFlore grounded out (shortstop to first); Mankowski
singled to right; Staub singled to right [Mankowski to second];
Thompson struck out; Kemp singled to left [Mankowski scored,
Staub to second]; Corcoran flied out to left; 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2
LOB.  Blue Jays 2, Tigers 2.

BLUE JAYS 4TH: Howell grounded out (second to first); Carty
grounded out (pitcher to first); Mayberry grounded out (first to
pitcher); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Blue Jays 2, Tigers 2.

TIGERS 4TH: May grounded out (pitcher to first); Whitaker
doubled to left; Trammell walked; LeFlore struck out; Mankowski
homered [Whitaker scored, Trammell scored]; Staub singled to
right; JEFFERSON REPLACED LEMANCZYK (PITCHING); Thompson
grounded out (pitcher to first); 3 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Blue
Jays 2, Tigers 5.

BLUE JAYS 5TH: Hutton flied out to center; McKay singled to
second; Gomez singled to right [McKay to second]; Ashby walked
[McKay to third, Gomez to second]; Bosetti struck out; A. Woods
grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 3 LOB.  Blue Jays
2, Tigers 5.

TIGERS 5TH: Kemp was called out on strikes; Corcoran walked; May
singled to third [Corcoran out at third (third to pitcher)];
Whitaker grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
Blue Jays 2, Tigers 5.

BLUE JAYS 6TH: Howell grounded out (second to first); Carty
grounded out (second to first); Mayberry grounded out (first
unassisted); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Blue Jays 2, Tigers 5.

TIGERS 6TH: Trammell singled to center; LeFlore struck out;
Mankowski grounded out (second to first) [Trammell to second];
Staub was called out on strikes; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Blue
Jays 2, Tigers 5.

BLUE JAYS 7TH: Hutton grounded out (first to pitcher); McKay
grounded out (pitcher unassisted); Gomez flied out to right; 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Blue Jays 2, Tigers 5.

TIGERS 7TH: Thompson homered; HR landed on RF roof, but did
not go over; Kemp grounded out (pitcher to first); Corcoran
grounded out (second to first); May grounded out (first
unassisted); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Blue Jays 2, Tigers 6.

BLUE JAYS 8TH: Ashby grounded out (first unassisted); Bosetti
reached on an error by Mankowski [Bosetti to first]; A. Woods
was called out on strikes; Howell singled to center [Bosetti to
third]; Carty struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Blue Jays 2,
Tigers 6.

TIGERS 8TH: Whitaker flied out to left; Trammell grounded out
(third to first); LeFlore struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Blue Jays 2, Tigers 6.

BLUE JAYS 9TH: Mayberry popped to third in foul territory;
Hutton grounded out (first unassisted); McKay grounded out
(pitcher to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Blue Jays 2, Tigers 6.