69 Tigers- on to the Division Series!

The Tigers won five games in a row and advanced to the Division Series. Next up: a best of 5 with the 1969 Cincinnati Reds. Not sure what the rules were for the round-robin, but we got the Reds now. 

Game Eight- 69 Tigers

Tigers 4, Athletics 1

The offense is really impressive when it starts to hum. Combined with McLain and Lolich, Detroit can be a hard team to beat.

In this one, Norm Cash had a homer and McLain knocked in a run himself. 

Pitchers:

McLain (W)

Hiller (debut)

McMahon (S, 2)

Pool Standings

Twins 8

Red Sox 6

Orioles 5

Four tied with 4 (including Tigers)

Cubs 8

Reds 7

Four tied with 6

Next Up:

at Washington Senators (also 4-4)

Game 6- 69 Tigers

Win, 6-0 over Kansas City Royals

Two straight shutout wins for the Tigers. This time, Earl Wilson dominates and Don McMahon finishes. The offense roars to life finally in the ninth to put the game out of reach. Roger Nelson was fantastic for KC, but Cisco and Drago cough up five runs and it's a romp.

Record: 3 wins now in pool play.

AL Pool Play top 6:

Twins 6

Orioles 5

Red Sox 4

Royals/Yankees/Tigers 3

NL remains the same, as no games were played.

Next up: vs California, who is among the teams with 2 wins.

Game 5- 69 Tigers

Result: 2-0 win against New York Yankees

Record in pool: 2-3

Summary:

Mickey Lolich pitches a three hit shutout. That's about all you need to know about this one. Jim Northrup knocked in two with a single in the third and Lolich made it hold up. Fritz Peterson pitched well for the Yankees, but there was no need to use the bench. This was a pitching and defense game.

Up next: 

at the Kansas City Royals

Pool update- top 4

AL: 

Minnesota
Baltimore
KC
New York Yankees

NL:

Chicago Cubs

Pittsburgh

SF

LA

Game Four- 69 Tigers

Game Four:

vs Boston Red Sox

Yeah, so that didn't go well. Tigers lose 7-3 in a game that was a pitching duel through six and then the Red Sox unload from innings 7-9. This seems to be a theme, as the Twins did the same thing.

The good: McLain through six innings was in top form.

The bad: The wheels fell off for him and Tom Timmermann, who has had two disastrous outings so far.

The offense didn't really show up until the 8th inning, as Lee Stange held the Tigers in check.

Bottom line: Can't afford too many more like this. Thankfully, there's still time to turn it around.

Next Up:

Vs New York Yankees.

Game Three- 69 Tigers

Pool Play Game Three

5-2 win vs Cleveland Indians

Highlights:

Al Kaline four hits, including two HRs

Earl Wilson with solid performance

Shaky:

Bullpen a little wobbly but gets the job done. Dobson comes in after two innings from McMahan.

Result: Tigers get on the board. Twins so far undefeated in AL, but there's room for the Tigers still to make a run.

Next up: 

vs Boston Red Sox

Question: start McLain or Kilkenny?

1969 Detroit Tigers- Playoffs

1969 Playoffs

Round Robin style, so games against all 11 AL Teams.

Top 4 move on to regular postseason.

Game One- 

Disappointing loss to Seattle. 

Seattle's pitching held up well.

John Gelnar 5+ IP for Seattle

Tigers were down 4-0 in the 9th and tried to rally against Diego Segui, but it fell short.

Solid pitching performance by Denny McLain wasted (6 IP, 2H)

Game Two-

Brutal loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Offense gave Tigers a 4-0 lead, but Twins scored in 4th through 7th innings to take the lead and then Ron Perranoski held on. The bullpen was again a negative. Pat Dobson faltered in the first game and it was Tom Timmermann in game two. Lolich was also shaky.

Tough start to pool play. In game one, the offense didn't show up until late, and in game two, the pitching staff let the offense down.

After 2 games, zero points.

Next up:

Earl Wilson takes on the Cleveland Indians and Stan Williams