MLB standings through games of September 17, 1972

MLB standings at the end of September 17, 1972

	GP	W	L	T	PCT	GB	RF	RA	HOME	ROAD	LAST 10	STRK
A.L. East
Boston Red Sox	139	76	63	0	.547		583	568	46-22	30-41	6-4	Lost 1
Detroit Tigers	141	77	64	0	.546		481	466	38-32	39-32	6-4	Won 5
Baltimore Orioles	142	76	66	0	.535	1.5	492	387	37-35	39-31	6-4	Lost 1
New York Yankees	142	75	67	0	.528	2.5	517	477	46-26	29-41	5-5	Won 1
Cleveland Indians	143	64	79	0	.448	14.0	428	475	39-29	25-50	2-8	Won 1
Milwaukee Brewers	144	58	86	0	.403	20.5	444	540	34-41	24-45	4-6	Lost 3

	GP	W	L	T	PCT	GB	RF	RA	HOME	ROAD	LAST 10	STRK
A.L. West
Oakland A's	141	84	57	0	.596		551	407	42-26	42-31	7-3	Won 5
Chicago White Sox	141	79	62	0	.560	5.0	510	481	52-21	27-41	5-5	Lost 1
Minnesota Twins	140	71	69	0	.507	12.5	489	497	37-29	34-40	5-5	Lost 1
Kansas City Royals	139	68	71	0	.489	15.0	524	503	42-30	26-41	5-5	Won 1
California Angels	141	67	74	0	.475	17.0	425	498	40-32	27-42	6-4	Won 1
Texas Rangers	141	52	89	0	.369	32.0	435	580	30-41	22-48	2-8	Lost 5

	GP	W	L	T	PCT	GB	RF	RA	HOME	ROAD	LAST 10	STRK
N.L. East
Pittsburgh Pirates	140	89	51	0	.636		648	478	46-24	43-27	6-4	Lost 3
Chicago Cubs	143	78	64	1	.549	12.0	634	533	43-26	35-38	7-3	Won 3
New York Mets	139	72	67	0	.518	16.5	484	530	37-34	35-33	6-4	Lost 3
St. Louis Cardinals	143	69	74	0	.483	21.5	544	559	37-32	32-42	6-4	Won 5
Montreal Expos	141	64	77	0	.454	25.5	464	555	32-36	32-41	3-7	Lost 5
Philadelphia Phillies	141	52	89	0	.369	37.5	455	587	27-49	25-40	4-6	Won 3

	GP	W	L	T	PCT	GB	RF	RA	HOME	ROAD	LAST 10	STRK
N.L. West
Cincinnati Reds	141	86	55	0	.610		646	509	35-31	51-24	4-6	Lost 1
Houston Astros	141	79	62	0	.560	7.0	665	580	39-33	40-29	6-4	Won 1
Los Angeles Dodgers	141	75	66	0	.532	11.0	532	492	36-33	39-33	4-6	Lost 1
Atlanta Braves	143	66	76	1	.465	20.5	578	666	34-36	32-40	6-4	Won 2
San Francisco Giants	142	63	79	0	.444	23.5	607	600	29-43	34-36	5-5	Lost 2
San Diego Padres	139	53	86	0	.381	32.0	446	614	24-50	29-36	5-5	Won 1

Today's scores and summaries:

Indians 9, Red Sox 2 at Boston (day game):
The Red Sox were left with a lead of only one percentage point over the Tigers in the East Division race after losing to the Indians, 9-2. Gaylord Perry, who held the Red Sox to seven scattered hits, gained his 21st victory. The Red Sox scored an unearned run in the first inning and picked up their other tally on a homer by pinch-hitter Andy Kosco in the seventh. The Indians' attack included a homer by Buddy Bell and two doubles apiece by Graig Nettles and Frank Duffy.

Angels 3, White Sox 1 at California (day game):
Victimized by two unearned runs, Wilbur Wood was turned back in a bid for his 25th victory and suffered his 14th defeat instead when the White Sox lost to the Angels, 3-1. In the second inning, Bob Oliver struck out but reached first safely on a passed ball. Doug Howard forced Oliver and then scored when Leroy Stanton singled and Luis Alvarado booted the ball chasing it in short left field. In the third, Andy Messersmith beat out a bunt, stole second, advanced to third on Alvarado's error in failing to cover the base and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by Sandy Alomar.

Tigers 6, Brewers 2 at Milwaukee (day game):
Dick McAuliffe hit two homers and drove in four runs as the Tigers defeated the Brewers, 6-2, to move within one percentage point of the Red Sox in the East Division race. Teh Tigers, gaining their fifth victory in a row, started with two runs in the first inning on a bases-loaded single by Duke Sims. McAuliffe hit his first homer of the game in the second and then connected again in the fourth after Aurelio Rodriguez and Ed Brinkman reached base with singles. This was the first time the Tigers had won a game by more than two runs in 15 victories since August 19.

Royals 10, Twins 6 at Minnesota (day game):
After failing to hold a 6-0 lead, the Royals erupted for four runs in the 10th inning to defeat the Twins, 10-6. The Twins began their comeback with a three-run homer by Jim Nettles in the eighth and tied the score with three more in the ninth, the last two tallies crossing the plate on an error by Freddie Patek. In the 10th, Richie Scheinblum singled and Carl Taylor was safe on an error. Making amends for his bobble, Patek doubled to drive in the tie-breaking tally. Joe Keough singled to add two more runs and, after the Royals went on to load the bases, John Mayberry wound up the scoring with a sacrifice fly.

Yankees 2, Orioles 1 at New York (day game):
Felipe Alou hit a two-run homer and Sparky Lyle tied the A. L. relief record with his 34th save of the season as the Yankees defeated the Orioles, 2-1. The Orioles scored off Fritz Peterson in the third inning when Davey Johnson singled and Andy Etchebarren tripled. Bobby Murcer singled for the Yankees in the fourth and Alou followed with his blast against Dave McNally. Peterson, who allowed only three hits, was removed after six innings and Lyle pitched the rest of the way, giving up three more hits. Ron Perranoski had set the A. L. record for saves with 34 for the Twins in the 1970, the same season that Wayne Granger set the N. L. mark with 35 for the Reds. The defeat kept the Orioles 1½ games off the pace in the East Division race, while the Yankees pulled within 2½ lengths.

A's 4, Rangers 1 at Oakland (day game):
Becoming a 20-game winner for the second straight season, Catfish Hunter allowed only two hits and pitched the Athletics to a 4-1 victory over the Rangers. Dave Nelson opened the game with a single for Rangers, stole second, took third on an infield out and scored on a sacrifice fly by Larry Biittner. Ted Ford doubled with two out in the seventh for the Rangers' other hit. Gene Tenace drove in two runs for the Athletics with a pair of doubles. The victory boosted the A's West Division lead to five games over the White Sox, who lost to the Angels.

Braves 7, Giants 4 at Atlanta (day game):
The Braves erupted for four runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Giants, 7-4. The rally started with the tying run on a walk to Darrell Evans, infield hit by Mike Lum and single by Ralph Garr. Lum took third on Garr's hit. After Garr stole second, Hank Aaron was passed intentionally to load the bases. Earl Williams singled to drive in two runs and Dusty Baker followed with another single to add the final tally. Aaron and Dave Kingman of the Giants each hit a two-run homer. Aaron's blow was his 31st of the season and 670th of his career.

Cubs 6, Mets 4 at Chicago (day game):
The Cubs held off the rallying Mets and gained a 6-4 victory to pull 4½ games ahead in their contest for second place in the East Division. Bill Hands, who started for the Cubs, allowed only two hits and left the game with a 4-0 lead after six innings. The Mets fell on Rick Reuschel and Jack Aker for five straight singles and three runs in the seventh. After a sacrifice and a walk loaded the bases, Aker retired Tommie Agee and Duffy Dyer on pop-ups. The Cubs then came back with two runs in their half for the winning margin.

Padres 10, Reds 7 at Cincinnati (day game):
A three-run rally in the ninth inning brought the Padres a 10-7 victory over the Reds. Dave Roberts started the stanza with an infield hit, advanced to second on a wild throw by Dave Concepcion and scored the tie-breaking tally on a double by Jerry Morales. After Nate Colbert drew a walk, Morales and Colbert executed a double steal and when Denis Menke failed to snare Johnny Bench's throw to third base, both runners scored. Colbert and Leron Lee had homers in the game for the Padres while Hal McRae belted one as a pinch-hitter for the Reds to tie the score at 7-7 in the eighth inning.

Astros 15, Dodgers 11 at Houston (day game):
Cesar Cedeno and Lee May drove in five runs apiece to lead the Astros to a 15-11 victory over the Dodgers in a free-hitting contest marked by a record-tying use of pitchers. The Astros called on eight hurlers to equal the N. L. record for a nine-inning game. The Dodgers used six pitchers and the two-club total of 14 matched the major league mark. Cedeno batted in one run with an infield out in the third inning, two with a triple in the fourth and two with a double in the seventh. May homered in the third, singled behind Cedeno's double in the seventh and added three RBIs with a homer in the eighth. The Dodgers' biggest blow was a three-run homer by Willie Davis.

Phillies 3, Expos 2 at Philadelphia (day game):
A sacrifice fly by John Bateman with the bases loaded in the eighth inning brought in the deciding run as the Phillies defeated the Expos, 3-2. Willie Montanez doubled, Greg Luzinski beat out an infield hit and Oscar Gamble walked before Bateman came up with one out and lofted his fly.

Cardinals 5, Pirates 4 at St. Louis (day game):
Snapping a 3-3 tie, Ted Sizemore drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the sixth inning to enable the Cardinals to defeat the Pirates, 5-4, for a sweep of their three-game series. Bernie Carbo and Ken Reitz singled, Reggie Cleveland sacrificed and Lou Brock drew an intentional pass to set the stage for Sizemore's single.