Stat break: 87 Blue Jays

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Barfield             47     7  11     5        3    1     1     2      0     .234
G Bell                47    8  12      8        1    0     5     2      0     .255
T Fernandez      36    4   11      2        2    0     0     2      4    .306
C Fielder           12     4    3     3        0    0      2     1      0    .250
Gruber               30    1    4      1        2    1     0      2      0    .133
G Iorg                25    0    7      4       5     0     0     2      0    .280
M Lee                  3     0    1     1       0    0     0      0      0    .333
Liriano                 7     0    0     0       0    0     0      0      0    .000
McGriff             25     5    6     7       1    0     2      8      0     .240
C Moore              9     1    3     2       1     0     0      1      0    .333
Moseby             43     8  12     5        2     0     3      6      2    .279
Mulliniks          29     4    8     3       0      0     3      6      0    .276
Upshaw             40     4    8     5       0     0     2       5     0    .200
Whitt                 34     5  10     3       3     0     0       1      0    .294

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Cerutti                3      0      6.3       6      1     1      1       2       1      1    0    1.42
Clancy                3      3    19        23   11    10      5    12        0     0     0    4.74

Eichhorn            7      0       9.3       7     2      2      3      7        0     2     1    1.93

Henke                6      0      6           5     0      0      0      7        5      1    0    0.00

Key                    3      3    21        20    11    11     4     11       0      1    1     4.71

Musselman        4      0      5.3      10     9      7      3       4      0      1    0   11.82

P Niekro            2      2    14         11     5      5      1       7       0      1   1     3.21

J Nunez             1      0       2          0     0      0      1      3       1      0     0     0.00

Stieb                  3      3    18         18     5      4      7    19       0      1     0     2.00

Stat break: 87 Rangers

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Brower            29     1    6    5        1    0    0      3      1    .207
Browne           55     8  17    5        2    0    1      3      1    .309
Buechele         42     7  12    7        3    0    2      4      0    .286
Fletcher           40     6    8    4        0    1    1      4      2    .200
Incaviglia        51   10  12    7        4    3    0      0      0    .235
McDowell       25     2    7    6        3    0    2      0      0    .280
O'Brien           46     5  12    4        1    0    2      3       0    .267
O'Malley           4     0    3    0       1    0     0     1       0     .750
Paciorek          16    3     5   4        0    0    2      0       0     .313
Parrish             51    8   13   8        0    0    3      4      0     .255
Petralli            26    5    15   5        2    1    1      3      0     .577
Porter               1    0    0     0        0    0    0       0      0     .000
Sierra             42    6    5     3        1    0    2       3      0     .119
Slaught            2     0    0    0         0    0    0      0      0      .000
Stanley          16     2    3     4        1    0    1      1     0      .188
Wilkerson       6     2    3     1        0    1     0      0      0     .500

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Guzman            3      3     23.6     17      8      8      5     18       0     2     1    3.04
Harris                1      0       0.3       0      0      0      0       0       0     0    0     0.00

Hough               5     5     33.6      35    27    26    25     32       0     1     3    6.95

Howe                6      0      6.3        3      0      0      1       4       0      1    0    0.00

Kilgus               2      2    15         13      3      3      3      5        0      2    0    1.50

Loynd               2      0      5           4     2       2      1      3        0      0     0    3.60

Mohorcic          3     0       3.6        5      4      1      1      1        0      0     1    2.45

Russell              3     0       4.3        5      1       1      1     1        0       0     0   2.08

M. Williams      5     0       4.3       4      3       0      1      2       3      0      1    0.00

B. Witt              3      3    18,3     17       7      7    16    19       0      1     0     3.44

Ringo bracket: Blue Jays (87) defeat Rangers (87) in seven games

Game One: 87 Rangers 5, 87 Blue Jays 3 (11 innings)
WP: Howe (1-0)
LP: Eichhorn (0-1)
Save: Mi Williams (2)
HR: Moseby (1), Parrish (2), Sierra (2), O'Brien (1)

Game Two: 87 Blue Jays 5, 87 Rangers 4
WP: Eichhorn (1-1)
LP: Mi Williams (0-1)
Save: Henke (3)

Game Three: 87 Blue Jays 5, 87 Rangers 0
WP: Stieb (1-0)
LP: Guzman (2-1)
Save: Cerutti (1)
HR: McGriff (1)

Game Four: 87 Rangers 9, 87 Blue Jays 3
WP: Hough (1-2)
LP: P Niekro (1-1)
HR: O'Brien (2), Upshaw (1), G Bell (4)

Game Five: 87 Rangers 3, 87 Blue Jays 1
WP: Kilgus (2-0)
LP: Key (1-1)
Save: Mi Williams (3)

Game Six: 87 Blue Jays 8, 87 Rangers 7
WP: Cerutti (1-0)
LP: Mohorcic (0-1)
Save: Henke (4)
HR: Parrish (3), Upshaw (2), Paciorek 2 (2), McGriff (2), Moseby (2)

Game Seven: 87 Blue Jays 3, 87 Rangers 2
WP: Eichhorn (2-1)
LP: Hough (1-3)
Save: Henke (5)
HR: G Bell (5), Moseby (3)


The 1987 Blue Jays survived a series marked by bullpen meltdowns and injuries.

The Jays jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in Game One at Toronto's old Exhibition Stadium. Lloyd Moseby hit a two-run homer in the first off Rangers ace Charlie Hough, and errors by shortstop Scott Fletcher and catcher Mike Stanley brought home an unearned run in the second. But the Rangers got solo homers from Pete O'Brien in the fourth and Larry Parrish and Ruben Sierra in the fifth (back-to-back) for a tie, Hough ptiched into the ninth, Jimmy Key into the eighth. Mark Eichhorn gave up a triple to Pete Incaviglia sandwiched around a pair of walks in the 11th, and by the time John Cerutti got out of the mess the Rangers had two runs, which stood up in the bottom of the inning.

Toronto evened the series in Game Two. Garth Iorg doubled in runs in the fourth and sixth innings off Bobby Witt, and Jim Clancy turned the 2-0 lead over to lefty Jeff Musselman in the eighth. But Musselman got only one out, and the Rangers took a 4-2 lead (Stanley and Bob Brower with two RBIs apiece). Mitch Williams entered for the bottom of the eighth. After Sierra, playing center after Oddibe McDowell went down for the series, committed an error on the first play of the inning, Williams gave up a single, then got two outs. But Tony Fernandez followed with a double and Kelly Gruber drew a walk to load the bases. Jeff Russell entered and gave up a pair of hits. The three-run inning gave the Jays the lead again, and Tom Henke did not follow the meltdown pattern.

The series shifted to Arlington Stadium, and Dave Stieb got an immediate lead in Game Three when Fred McGriff hit a two-run homer in the first inning. Mosby had a sac fly in the fourth and Iorg drove in two more runs in the fifth. Stieb loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning with one out; Cerutti relieved, got Sierra to ground into a double play and then threw three more innings of one-hit ball for the long save. Fernandez left in mid-game with an injury.

The Rangers won Game Four handily despite two injuries of their own, to Sierra and Fletcher. Hough prevailed in a matchup of knuckleballers (Phil Niekro). Hough went eight innings while Texas hit three triples off Niekro and Musselman. Niekro went seven innings, allowing four runs; Musselman gave up five in the bottom of the eighth.

Paul Kilgus gave the Rangers the series lead in Game Five with eight innings of one-run ball. He allowed six hits and walked one. The lineup got three runs off Key in the fourth -- single by Parrish, double by Incaviglia, singles by Tom Paciorek and O'Brien.

The series returned to Toronto, and for a brief while in Game Six the Rangers appeared to have it in hand. Incaviglia doubled and scored in the second. Willie Upshaw tied it with third-inning homer. In the sixth the Rangers exploed for five runs off Jim Clancy. Pacoriek led off with a homer, and after a walk and two singles, Parrish hit a grand slam. The Jays got three runs back off Witt in their half of the inning, with a solo homer from Mosby and a two-run shot from McGriff. Paciorek homered again off Cerutti in the seventh for a 7-4 lead.

And then the game, and the series, turned. Dale Mohorcic got the first out in the bottom of the eighth. But then Fletcher booted an apparent double-play ball, and McGriff, Ernie Whitt and Upshaw all had RBI hits while centerfielder Brower -- playing there because of the injuries to Sierra and McDowell -- added an error. Three of the four runs were unearned.

Hough and Stieb dueled in Game Seven. George Bell homered in the first; the Rangers tied it in the second. Moseby homered in the third. the Rangers finally answered with a run in the seventh to chase Stieb. In the bottom of the seventh, Moseby drew a one-out walk. Fernandez singled him to second, and with two outs McGriff singled him home. Eichhorn and Henker avoided the bullpen meltdowns that marked the series, and the Jays advanced.

Player of the series: Fred McGriff was 6-for-17 with seven RBIs, five runs, two homers and six walks.

Player availability: All Toronto injuries have expired. Clancy can pitch Game Two with penalty. Stieb cannot pitch until Game Three.

Projected rotation: Key-Clancy-Stieb-Niekro-(Key)-(Clancy)-(Stieb). Niekro gets the nod again if only to have him face his brother Joe in Game Four.

Stat break: 09 Cardinals

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI   2B  3B   HR   BB   SB   Avg,
Ankiel                  22     1     4     0       2    0      0      0      0      .182
DeRosa              18     2     2     3       0    0      1      1      0       .111
C Duncan           11     1     1     0       0    0      0       0      0      .091
K Greene            19     2     3     3       0    0     1       0      0      .158
Holliday               43     3   17     3       3    0      0      4      0      .395
Ludwick               39     2     8     4       1    0      1      4       0     .205
Lugo                    26     3    6      2       2    0      0      1       0     .231
Y Molina              47     2    9      4       0    0      0      5       2     .191
Pujols                  45     8   13   10       2     0     4       7      0     .289
Rasmus              49      6  15     4       2     0     2       1      0      .306
Ryan                   40      1    8     1       2     1      0      3      2      .200
Schumaker         30      4     7    1       2     0      1      2      0      .233
Thurston             27      1     6     3      1     1      0      1      1      .222

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.     W    L     ERA

Carpenter          4      4     32.3    30     8      7      3    18        0      2     1      1.95
Franklin             5      0        6        5     3      3      2       3        2      0     1      4.50
Hawksworth      4      0       3.6      5     2      2      1      3        0      0     0       4.90
Lohse                2      2       9.3    11     7      7      1      6        0      0     2       6.75
McClellan          5      0       6.3      6     2      2      3      1        0      0     1       2.84
T Miller              4      0       3.3      3     3      3      3      2        0      0     0       8.11

Pineiro              3      3     21.3    15     4      3       3      4        0      2     0       1.27
Reyes               4      0       3.6      1     1      1       0      0        0      0     1       2.45

Smoltz              1      1       4         4     0      0       0      3        0      0     0       0.00

Wainwright       3      3     22.3    22     9      9       8    10        0      2     1       3.63

Wellmeyer        3      0       5         7     4      4       2      3        0      0     0       7.20

Stat break: 09 White Sox

Hitters

Name                  AB     R   H   RBI   2B  3B   HR   BB   SB   Avg,

Beckham              45       7  12     5       0    1      2      6      0      .267
Dye                       47      8   13   10      1    0      2      7      0      .277

Fields                      6      0     1     1       0    0      0      0      0      .167

Getz                     32      4     6     4       2    0      1      3      0      .188

Konerko               52      7   15     4       1    0      3      1      0      .288

Kotsay                 28      3     8     0       3     0      1      1      0      .286

J Nix                     13      2     5     2       0     1      1      0      0     .385

Pierzynski            51      4   14     6       3    0      0      3      0       .275

Podsednik            37      5     8     5       1    0      1      2       1      .216

Quentin                22      2     4     4       0    0      1      2       0      .182

Ale Ramirez         47      7   12     8       0     0      1     4       1     .255

Rios                     16      2     3     0       1     0      0      1       2     .188
Thome                 26      4     7     3       1     0      0      9       0     .269

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.     W    L     ERA

Buehrle             4     4       29      27   16    16      9     15        0      1     2      4.97
D Carrasco      3      0         5.6     9     3      3      3       3       0      0     0       4.76
Conteras          1      1         5.3     7     3      3      0       1       0      0     1       5.07
Danks              3      3       19      17   11    10      9       8        0      0     1      4.74
Dotel                4      0         5        8     3      3      3       7        0      0     0      5.40
Floyd                3      3      19      20    13    11    10    13        0      2     1       5.21
Jenks               5      0         5        1      0      0     0       3        4      1      0      0.00

Linebrink          3      0        2        6      6      5      1       1        0      1     0    22.50
Peavy               2     2       15       7      0      0      2     15        0      2     0       0.00
Richard            2      0         5       8      4      4      2       5        0      0    0       7.20

Thornton          3      0        4        3     2      2      1        6        0      1     0      4.50

John bracket: White Sox (09) defeat Cardinals (09) in six games

Game One: 09 White Sox 5, 09 Cardinals 2
WP: Linebrink (1-0)
LP: Carpenter (1-1)
Save: Jenks (2)
HR: Rasmus (2)

Game Two: 09 White Sox 1, 09 Cardinals 0
WP: Peavy (1-0)
LP: Lohse (0-1)
Save: Jenks (3)

Game Three: 09 Cardinals 8, 09 White Sox 3
WP: Wainwright (2-1)
LP: Danks (0-1)
HR: K Greene (1)

Game Four: 09 White Sox 5, 09 Cardinals 3
WP: Floyd (2-1)
LP: McClellan (0-1)
Save: Jenks (4)
HR: Dye (2), Konerko (3), Schumaker (1)

Game Five: 09 Cardinals 7, 09 White Sox 1
WP; Carpenter (2-1)
LP: Buehrle (1-2)
HR: DeRosa (1), Pujols 2 (4)

Game Six: 09 White Sox 9, 09 Cardinals 0
WP: Peavy (2-0)
LP: Lohse (0-2)
HR: Beckham (2), Podsednik (1)

The 2009 White Sox won all three of the competitive games in the series before blowing out the 2009 Cardinals for the clincher.

Chris Carpenter and Mark Buehrle dueled in the opener, played in the 2009 version of Busch Stadium. Albert Pujols drove in a first inning run with a sac fly, then committed an error that resulted in the tying run scoring in the second. Gordon Beckham tripled and scored in the fourth; Colby Rasmus tied it in the bottom of the inning with a homer. The 2-2 tie held into the ninth, when the Sox strung together five singles off Carpenter, Todd Wellmeyer and Dennys Reyes for three runs.

Jake Peavy, Octavio Dotel and Bobby Jenks combined for a 1-0 shutout in Game Two. Peavy allowed four hits in six innings, Dotel one in two innings and Jenks was perfect in the ninth. The sole run off Kyle Lohse came in the fifth, when Jermaine Dye led off with a double, took third on an Alexi Ramirez single and scored on Chris Getz' grounder to second. Lohse allowed just two hits in his six innings.

The series shifted to the South Side of Chicago, and the Cardinals picked up their first win of the series behind Adam Wainwright's pitching and an unlikely three run homer from Kahil Greene. Wainwright went 7.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. Greene's fourth inning homer came off John Danks. Matt Holliday was 4-for-4 off  Danks and the Sox bullpen with two RBIs and a walk.

Game Four was crucial. The Cardinals' Joel Pinero carried a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh, when he needed help from Trevor Miller to escape a jam. Miller stayed in to face Jim Thome in the eighth; Thome doubled. Right hander Kyle McClellan entered; he walked Paul Konerko, then yielded a three-run homer to Dye, and what had looked like a series-tying St. Louis win turned into a dramatic Chicago victory.

The Cardinals resisted defeat in Game Five. Carpenter allowed just one run on five hits (Reyes did get the final out), while Pujols, who had had just one hit entering the game, hit a pair of homers off Buehrle. Mark DeRosa also hit a three-run homer. The rout sent the series back to St. Louis.

And there, in Game Six, the Sox got a rout of their own. Beckham hit a two-run homer in the third, Scott Podsednik hit a three-run homer int he fourth. Jake Peavy not only threw a four-hit shutout, he drove in a pair of runs with bases-loaded safety squeeze bunts. Peavy walked one and struck out eight; he faced just three batters over the minimum.

Player of the Series: Peavy for his 15 innings of shutout ball in two wins.

Player availability: Peavy will be inactive for the third round. The big three of the Chicago rotation will be fully eligible for any game.

Projected rotation: Buehrle-Danks-Floyd-Freddy Garcia-(Buehrle)-(Danks)-(Floyd)

Stat break: 87 Cardinals

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
J Clark               34     9    9     5       1    0     1    17      0    .265
V Coleman        46     9  13     1       0    0     0      9    13    .283
Driessen              7     0     0     0       0   0     0      0      0    .000
Ford                   21    3     8     2       1    1     0      0      3    .381
Herr                   46    5   16   13       3    0     0      4      0    .348
L Johnson            3     0    1     2       0    0     0      1      0    .333
Lindeman            3    0     0      0      0    0     0      0      0    .000
McGee              49     4  12    13      2    2     1       2      0    .245
Morris                 8     1    3     1       0    1     0       0      0    .375
Oquendo           16     2    6     2       1    0     0       2      0    .375
Pena                  48     6  13     5       2    0     0       1      0    .283
Pendleton          48     6  17     5       2    2     0       3     2     .354
O Smith            55     9  16     4        4   0     0       6     1     .291

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

D Cox                 3      3    23        21     6      6      7    11        0     2     1    2.35
Dawley               4      0      4          6     3      3      0      1        0     0     1    6.75

Dayley                4      0      6          3     0      0      0      4        1     0     0    0.00

B Forsch             2      0      7.3       3     0      0      3      6        0     0     0    0.00

Horton                5      0      5.6       7     8      7      5      0       0      0     1   11.11

Magrane             3      3    17.6     14     5      5      7    11        0     2     0    2.55

Mathews             4     4    27        23   11      9    10    21        0     3     0     3.00

Tudor                 2      2    11.3     18     8     8       3      4       0      0     1     6.35 

Tunnell              3      0      2.6       3     2     2        1      3       0      0     0    6.74

Worrell               3      0      4          2    0      0       1      3       2      1     0     0.00

Stat break: 87 Astros

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Ashby               41     7  13   10        1    1     1     3      0     .317
Bailey                 5     1    1     0        0    0     0     1      0     .200
Bass                  43     3    7     5        3    0     1     2      0     .163
Caminiti           28     2    8     3       1    0      1      0      0    .276
J Cruz               27     1    5     2       1     0     0     4      0     .185
G Davis            48     7  13   13       4    0     4      2      0     .271
Doran               49     7  17      5      4    0     1      4      1     .347
B Hatcher         51     7  14     7       2    0     1      2      1     .275
Jackson              4     1    0      0       0    0    0      1      0     .000
Puhl                 13     2     3     0       1    0     0      2      0     .231
C Reynolds      27     5   11     1      5    1      0      2     0      .407
Thon                17     1     2     1       0    0     0      3      0     .118
Walling            19     4     9      1      1    1     0      3     0     .474
G Young          25     4   13     1       2    0     0      2      2    .520

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Andersen            5      0      6.3        2     0     0      1      6        0     0     0     0.00

Childress            5      0      7           4     0     0      1       3        0     0     0    0.00

Darwin               2      1    10.3        6     3      3     8     10        0     0    1     2.61

Deshaies             2      2   12         13     8      8     5       6        0     2     0     6.00

Heathcock          3      0      3           2     0      0      1      2        0     0     0    0.00

Knepper             4       2    16        18     9      8      0      1       1     1     1     4.50

Meads                4       0      5.3       7      2     1      2      2        0     0     0     1.69

Ryan                   4      4    25        27   16    15    11    29        0     1     3     5.40
Scott                   3      3     18       25    14    13      4    18       0      1    2     6.50
D Smith              2      0       2           1    0      0      1       3        2     0     0    0.00

Ringo bracket: Cardinals (87) defeat Astros (87) in five games

Game One: 87 Cardinals 8, 87 Astros 1
WP: Mathews (2-0)
LP: Ryan (1-2)

Game Two: 87 Astros 12, 87 Cardinals 5
WP: Deshaies (2-0)
LP: Tudor (0-1)
HR: Doran (1), G Davis 2 (4), Caminiti (1)

Game Three: 87 Cardinals 6, 87 Astros 0
WP: D Cox (2-1)
LP: Scott (1-2)

Game Four: 87 Cardinals 8, 87 Astros 3
WP: Magrane (2-0)
LP: Knepper (1-1)
HR: McGee (1)

Game Five: 87 Cardinals 4, 87 Astros 3
WP; Mathews (3-0)
LP: Ryan (1-3)
Save: Dayley (1)

Base hits, suffocating fielding range and stolen bases. That was the recipe for the 1987 Cardinals as they flew past the 87 Astros.

The Cards ran wild in the first inning of the opener against Nolan Ryan. Vince Coleman led off with a walk and promptly stole second and third and scored on a throwing error by catcher Mark Bailey. Later in the inning, Bailey was charged with a bases-loaded passed ball that allowed Ozzie Smith to score and set up Tony Pena's two-run double. Coleman stole a third base in the second inning.

Greg Mathews went the distance, allowing just six hits and one unearned run in the ninth inning.

The Astros had a power surge in Game Two. Glenn Davis hit a pair of home runs, one off John Tudor in the third inning and the second off Ricky Horton in the eighth, and gathered four RBIs in all. Bill Doran and Ken Caminiti each had solo homers off Tudor. Jim Deshaies allowed five runs in the first two innings for the Astros but then shut out the Cards in the next five frames.

The series moved to the Astrodome for Game Three, never to return to Busch Stadium. Danny Cox threw a six-hit shutout, while his mates put up a pair of three-run innings against Mike Scott. Terry Pendleton had three hits, including a double and a triple, and stole a base while scoring twice. Smith and Pena each had two RBIs, and Curt Ford scored two runs.

Willie McGee had the Redbirds' only homer of the series in Game Four, a three-run shot off Bob Knepper in the sixth that made the score 6-0. St. Louis banged out 14 hits for the game.

Game Five was the only competitive contest of the series. Each team scored in the first. Smith doubled for the visitors and scored on McGee's single; Alan Ashby's two-out base in the bottom of the inning scored Gerald Young to tie it. McGee doubled in the third to score Smith and Jack Clark for a two-run lead. Ashby singled and scored in the fourth to make it 3-2 Cardinals, but in the fifth Coleman singled, stole his fifth base of the series and scored on Clark's fly ball to make it a two-run margin again. Doran singled in Young in the seventh to narrow the margin to 4-3.

And then Ken Dayley faced six hitters in the final two innings for six outs and the only save of the series.

Player of the series: Ozzie Smith was 11-for-22 with seven runs and four RBIs with four doubles, three walks and a steal. Plus he was Ozzie Smith with the glove.

Player availability: All Cardinal pitchers will be on full rest for Game 1 of the third round.

Projected rotation: Mathews-D Cox-Magrane-Tudor-(Mathews)-(D Cox)-(Magrane)

Stat break: 69 Tigers

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI   2B  3B   HR   BB   SB   Avg,
G Brown                7     3    2    1        1    1     0       1      0     .286
I Brown                 9     0    1    1        0    0     0       2      0     .111
Cash                    42     2  10    5        2    1     0       4      0     .238
Freehan               40     2    9    2        2    0     0       4      0     .225
Guterriez               1     0    0    0       0     0     0       0     0      .000
Horton                52     7   12    7       0    0     3       1      1     .231
Kaline                 50     7  12    7       1    0      3       6      0     .240
Matchick               4     0    1    0       0    0      0      0      0      .250
McAuliffe           42     9  14    5       4    1      1       5      0     .286
Northrup             47     8  11    7        2    0     3       2      0     .234
Price                     6     2     3    3       0    0     2       0      0      .500
Stanley                48   11  17    8       2    1     2       3      2      .354
Tracewski             4     0    0    0       0    0      0      0      0      .000
Tresh                   20     2    3    3       1    0     1       1      0      .150
Wert                    45     5    9    8       2    1     2       3      0      .200

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.     W    L   ERA

P Dobson           6      0      6.3       5     2      2      3       2        0      1    0       2.84
Hiller                 4      0      6.6       2     1      1      5       2        0      0    1       1.35
Kilkenny           1       1     5.3       3     6      6      4        6       0       0    0       9.52
Lasher                3      0      3.6       4     2      2      3       0        0      0    0       4.90

Lolich                4      4    30        26   10    10    11     19        0      3     0      3.00

McLain              5      5    37        35   15    15    12     22        0      1    4       3.65

McMahon          2      0      3          0     0      0      2       5        1      1    0       0.00

Sparma               2      0      2         1     0      0      0       3        0      0     0       0.00
Timmerman       3      0      4          3     0      0     1       5        1       0     0      0.00

E Wilson           2      2     13       12     6      5      4       5        0       1     0      3.46

Stat break: 69 Astros

Hitters

Name                AB     R   H   RBI   2B  3B   HR   BB   SB   Avg,

J Alou                 24      2     5     1       1    0      1      1      0      .208

Blefary               30      4    11     6       0    1      1      2      1      .367

Bryant                13      2     2     1       0    0      1      0      0       .154

T Davis              18      2     2     3       0    0      0      2      0       .111

Edwards            25      2     5     5       1    0      0      2      0       .200

Geiger               25      2     8     1       1     1      0      6      0      .320

M Martinez          3      0      1     0       0    0      0      0      0      .333

Menke               49      5    14     3       6    0      0      2      0      .286

N Miller             29      4      8     3       0    0       0     2       0      .276

Morgan             50      6    11     7       2    0      1      8       0      .220

Rader               44      6    14     8       3    0      0      5       0      .318

Torres                 5      2      2    5       0     0     2      1       0      .400

Valdespino       11      2      1     0       0     0     0      1       0      .091

Watson             15     2      3     2       0     0     0      3       0      .200

Wynn               43    11      9     6       1     0     4    11       1      .209

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.     W    L     ERA

Billingham        3      0       6         7     3      2      2       6        0      0     0      3.00
Blasingame      1      0       2         2     0      0      0       0        0      0     0      0.00
Bouton             4      0       3.6      5     5      5      2       2        0      0     0    12.26
Dierker             5      5    40       28     7      6      9     28        0      5     0       1.35
Gladding          6      0       7.3      9     4      4      3       2        4      0     1      4.91

Griffin               2      2    13         8     5      5      2     16         0     1     0       3.46
LeMaster          3     3     17       22   16    16      3     12        0      0     1       8.47

Ray                  4      0      8.3      4     1      1      4      12        0      1     1      1.08

D Wilson          2      2    12       15     7      7      9      16        0      1     0       5.25
Womack          2      0       1.3      3     3      3      1        2       0       0     0    20.30  

Paul bracket: Astros (69) defeat Tigers (69) in seven games

Game One: 69 Astros 1, 69 Tigers 0
WP: Dierker (3-0)
LP: McLain (1-2)

Game Two: 69 Tigers 11, 69 Astros 3
WP: Lolich (2-0)
LP: LeMaster (0-2)
HR: J Alou (1), Northrup (3), Kaline 2 (2), Wynn (4), Wert (2)

Game Three: 69 Astros 3, 69 Tigers 2
WP: Ray (1-0)
LP: Hiller (0-1)

Game Four: 69 Astros 3, 69 Tigers 1
WP: Dierker (4-0)
LP: McLain (1-3)
Save: Gladding (3)

Game Five: 69 Tigers 6, 09 Astros 3
WP: Lolich (3-0)
LP: Gladding (0-1)
Save: Dobson (1)
HR: Torres (1)

Game Six: 69 Tigers 7, 69 Astros 6 (13 innings)
WP: McMahon (1-0)
LP: Ray (1-1)
HR: Kaline (3), Torres (2), Stanley (3)

Game Seven: 69 Astros 6, 69 Tigers 3
WP: Dierker (5-0)
LP: McLain (1-4)
Save: Gladding (4)
HR: Horton (3)

Larry Dierker allowed just three earned runs in 25 innings to beat Denny McLain three times and carry the Astros past the Tigers and into the third round.

The Astros ace opened the series in Tiger Stadium with his best: a one-hit shutout. He had to be that good, because McLain allowed just one run on six hits himself. Bill Freehan bounced a second-inning grounder past shortstop Denis Menke for the sole Tiger hit. The Tigers scored their run when Gary Geiger tripled to lead off the third inning and Johnny Edwards lofted a sac fly to center.  Dieker walked three and struck out eight.

The power was on for Game Two. The teams combined for six homers. Al Kaline had two of them, a two-run homer in the first and a three-run shot in the seventh. Kaline added a sixth RBI with a fifth-inning double. Mickey Lolich went seven innings, allowing two solo homers (Jim Wynn and Jesus Alou) and an unearned run on six hits.

The series moved to the Astrodome for Game Three, and the Wilsons -- Earl for Detroit, Don for Houston -- dueled. The Astros plated single runs in the second and third innings. Don Wilson carried that 2-0 lead into the seventh, when he fanned the first two hitters. But then Dick McAuliffe walked and advanced on a wild pitch. Kaline singled with McAuliffe scoring on Geiger's error. Norm Cash tripled to plate Kaline, and the game was tied. Relievers Jim Ray and John Hiller kept the tie going into the bottom of the ninth, when Curt Blefary reached on an error by shortstop Mickey Stanley. After Blefary stole second, Menke walked. Doug Rader bounced into a force out at second, with Blefary advancing to third. Pinch-hitter Alou was walked intentionally, and Johnny Edwards' deep fly plated the winning run.

Dierker and McLain dueled again in Game Four. The Tigers broke though first with a run on three singles in the fifth inning, but the Astros responded in the bottom half of the inning for two runs, with Blefary's triple the key blow. Joe Morgan singled home another run in the sixth, and that finished the scoring.

Tom Griffin was dominant for eight innings in Game Five, striking out 12 without allowing a walk and surrendering just two hits. Shortstop Hector Torres, added to the roster after a series-ending injury to Edwards, banged a two-run homer in a three-run second off Lolich, and the Astros appeared to be about to clinch. But things fell apart in the top of the ninth. Pinch-hitter Gates Brown doubled to lead off the frame, and McAuliffe singled him home. That chased Griffin, with Fred Gladding entering. He walked Kaline. After Cash popped out, Willie Horton singled to load the bases. A wild pitch scored McAuliffe and advanced Kaline and Horton. Jim Northrop singled those two runners home for the lead. Freehan walked, Stanley singled, Don Wert singled, and Brown, hitting for the second time in the inning, hit a sac fly.

The series returned to Tiger Stadium with the Astros still leading three games to two. The Tigers started Mike Kilkenny in Game Six and staked him to an early lead, scoring four runs in the first inning (Wert with a two-run double). Stanley's homer in the fourth made it 5-0. But in the top of the fifth, the light-hitting Torres hit another homer, this one good for three runs, and the Astros chased Kilkenny in the sixth while plating another three runs to take the lead. The Tigers tied it in the seventh, after which the bullpens locked down both lineups until, with two outs in the bottom of the 13th, Kaline hit his third homer of the series.

Game Seven was the third Dierker-McLain matchup of the series. McLain escaped a first-inning jam, but thing fell apart in the second. Rader doubled to open the frame, and two outs later Dierker himself singled him home. Morgan and Norm Miller singled to load the bases, Wynn walked to score Dierker, and Blefary drove home two more runs with a base hit. A Geiger error in the bottom half of the inning made it 4-1 Astros, and that was all the scoring until the seventh, when Gates Brown led off with a pinch-hit triple and scored on a ground out. Horton's eighth-inning homer cut the margin to 4-3, but the Astros scored twice off Fred Lasher and Hiller in the ninth and Gladding pitched around a single and an error to nail down the game and the series.

Player of the series: Dierker. 3-0, 1.08 ERA, and 23 baserunners allowed in 25 innings.

Player availability: Dierker cannot pitch until Game Three, LeMaster cannot pitch without penalty before Game Three. Edwards will be available.

Projected rotation: D Wilson-Griffin-Dierker-LeMaster-(Wilson)-(Dierker or Griffin)-(Griffin or Dierker). But if the Pilots are the third round foe, Bouton will face Bouton at some point in the series. The Astros Bouton is available for Game One.

Stat break: 87 Royals

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Balboni              22    3    5    4        0    0     2     2      0    .227
Bosley                 1    0    1    0        0    0     0     0      0   1.000
Brett                  33    4    8    2        0    0     0      3      0    .242
B Jackson         41    2    9    9        1    0     2      1      0    .220
R Jones              3    0    0     0       0    0     0      0      0    .000
Owen               17    3    4     2       1    0     0      1      0    .235
Pecota               8    1     2    0        0    0     0      0      0    .250
Quirk                19    1    2     2       0    0     0      1      0    .105
Salazar            23    1    6    2        2    0     0      2      0     .261
Seitzer             37  10  15    8        3    1     1      4      0    .405
L Smith            21    3    9    3        1    0     1      2       0   .429
D Tartabull      38    8   16    7        2   0      2      2       0   .421
White              38    3     8    4        1    0     1      2       0   .211
W Wilson        45    9    16   5        3    0     1      2      4    .356

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Black                 2      0       5.3       4      2      2      2     1        0     1     0     3.37

J Davis              2      0       4          3      3      2      2     4       0      1     0     4.50

Farr                   2      0       2.6       2     2      2       3     2       0       0    1     6.74

Gleaton             1      0       1          1     0      0       0     2        0      0    0     0.00

Gubicza            2      2     14        12      7      6    11    10       0      1    0     3.86

D Jackson         2     2        9.6     16   13    13      6       6      0       0    1  12.10
Liebrandt           3     3     22         21     8      8      3    19       0      1    1     3.27

Quisenberry      5     0       6           4     1       1     1      2       3      2     0    1.50

Saberhagen      2     2     21.3      23   15     14      5   16       0      0    1     5.91