W: Ryan L: Morris
It was a great pitching matchup in game 1...Nolan Ryan vs. Jack Morris. Ryan wouldn't allow a hit until the 5th, and only allowed 3 overall. In the meantime, the Astros chipped away at Morris. They scored one in the 2nd on a single by Jose Cruz and a double by Terry Puhl. They added another in the 4th when Puhl singled and Craig Reynolds ripped a triple to deep left center. Kevin Bass led off the 7th with a triple and scored on a two-out single by Enos Cabell. They capped it off with one more in the 8th when Cruz doubled and scored on a single by Mumphrey. In the meantime, Ryan was mowing them down, finishing with 11 strikeouts and walking only 1. The Tigers finally scored a run in the 9th on a double by Tom Brookens, who eventually scored on a sac fly, but it was too little, too late.
Game 2
W: Hernandez L: Dawley
It was Dan Petry vs. Bob Knepper in the 2nd game. Things looked very good for Detroit as they jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the 1st. With 2 out, Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish singled, and they both came around to score on a double by Chet Lemon. Alan Trammell extended the lead to 3 in the 3rd with a solo homer. Houston would chip away at the lead however. In the 3rd, Bill Doran reached 2nd on a throwing error by Barbaro Garbey. He would score on a fly ball and a groundout to make it 3-1. In the 4th, Craig Reynolds doubled and scored on a single by Mark Bailey to cut the lead to one. In the 5th, the Astros tied it on singles by Cruz, Puhl, and Bailey. That's the way it stayed through the 9th as neither team threatened much. In the 10th, the wheels fell off for Houston pitchers. Bill Dawley walked the first two batters and was replaced by Frank DiPino. Lou Whitaker sacrificed, and DiPino walked Alan Trammell to load the bases. DiPino struck out Kirk Gibson, but he then walked Parrish to force in the go ahead run. Willie Hernandez finished off his 3rd scoreless inning with a 1-2-3 10th for the win to tie up the series.
Game 3
W: Niekro L: Wilcox
The action shifted to Tiger Stadium for game 3, with Joe Niekro facing off against Milt Wilcox.
It was practically a carbon copy of game 1, as Niekro allowed only 3 hits and 1 unearned run in throwing a complete game. In the meantime, the Astros broke it open in the 3rd. Kevin Bass singled and Craig Reynolds ripped a 2-run homer. They would add 2 more on a sac fly and a 2-out single by Jose Cruz, to make it 4-0. They added one in the 6th for the final score of 5-1...this one was really never in doubt.
Game 4
W: Berenguer L: LaCoss S: Hernandez
Everyone expected a rematch of game 1 with Ryan vs. Morris. Instead, both managers went another way and we got Juan Berenguer vs. Frank LaCoss. LaCoss didn't pitch badly...he allowed an unearned run in the 6th when Lance Parrish struck out for the supposed 3rd out, but instead reached 1st on a passed ball, scoring Kirk Gibson. Then Darrell Evans made it 2-0 in the 7th with a solo homer. In the meantime, Berenguer was dominating the Astros...sort of. He allowed a single runner in each of the first 6 innings on a HBP, 4 walks, and an error. What he hadn't allowed yet was a hit. He put Houston down 1-2-3 in the 7th and 8th to keep the no-hitter intact. Then came a very controversial decision. With the crowd on its feet, and nursing a 2-run lead, Willie Hernandez came on to start the 9th. Manager Perry had this to say: "Juan pitched a helluva game, but he was up over 100 pitches and I could tell he was a little tired. Willie has been money for us all year, and my first priority was to win the game!" There were a few boos, but they were completely drowned out when Hernandez put the Astros down 1-2-3 to tie the series at 2 games, and to finish off the NO-HITTER!!
Game 5
W: Morris L: Ryan S: Hernandez
NOW we got the game 1 rematch of Ryan vs. Morris. Bill Doran got things going in the first by leading off the game with a triple and scoring on a base hit by Enos Cabell. Detroit answered right back in the first when Lou Whitaker led off with a solo homer to right, and Lance Parrish ripped a 2-out solo homer to left to make it 2-1.
Game 6
W: Knepper L: Petry
It was a rematch of game two's Knepper vs. Petry. Houston scored first when Bill Doran led off with a single, stole 2nd, and scored on a single by Enos Cabell. Detroit answered in the 2nd on a single by Chet Lemon and a double by Rusty Kuntz. The Astros went back on top in the 4th when Jerry Mumphrey walked, Phil Garner singled him to 3rd, and Mumphrey scored on a force out to make it 2-1. The Tigers again answered immediately when Lou Whitaker singled and Alan Trammell brought him around with a double to make it 2-2 in the 5th. Houston got to Petry in the 7th when Craig Reynolds led off with a single and Mark Bailey followed with a double. Aurelio Lopez came on, and with the infield in, got Bill Doran to ground out. With the infield still in, Enos Cabell singled to right to score Reynolds, and then Bailey scored on a force out to make it 4-2 Houston after 7. Knepper set down the last 6 Tigers in order, and the scene was set for a winner-take-all game 7!
Game 7
W: Lopez L: Niekro S: Hernandez
It was a rematch of game 3 starters Joe Niekro and Milt Wilcox, but everyone knew it was all hands on deck in this one. Houston drew first blood in the 2nd on an error and singles by Mark Bailey and Bill Doran to make it 1-0. With 2 outs in the 4th, Ruppert Jones doubled, Darrell Evans walked, and Johnny Grubb singled to tie the game. Then Niekro walked Chet Lemon and Dave Bergman to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Nolan Ryan replaced Niekro and retired Lou Whitaker with the bases loaded to keep the game close. In the Houston 4th, they got runners to first and third on a walk to Craig Reynolds, a single by Doran, and a forceout. With 2 outs, Bill Scherrer came on to retire Terry Puhl to preserve the lead. Scherrer also retired Jose Cruz to start the 5th, and Aurelio Lopez came on. Senor Smoke went 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two singles and striking out 4. Detroit finally got to Ryan in the 7th on a walk to Dave Bergman, a single by Alan Trammell, and a 2-out RBI single by Lance Parrish to make it 3-1. Willie Hernandez came on for a 1-2-3 8th, and got the first 2 outs of the 9th. With the crowd screaming, Enos Cabell shut them up for just a minute with a base hit. With the tying run at the plate and the crowd going nuts, Willie struck out PH Glenn Davis to give the Tigers the championship!
Runs were at a premium in this series, and Houston actually outscored Detroit 19-17. The bullpens were the big story of this series. Houston's relievers, including Nolan Ryan's 3-inning effort in game 7, allowed only 4 runs in 16 innings. However, the Tiger's bullpen was completely lights out. They threw 20 1/3 innings (16 1/3 by Lopez and Hernandez), and allowed only 10 hits, 2 walks, and a grand total of ZERO runs! As for MVP, Willie Hernandez was the obvious choice, picking up a win and 3 saves in his 7 1/3 innings. However, a special mention should be given to Juan Berenguer for combining with Hernandez on a no-hitter when the Tigers' backs were to the wall in game 4.
Congrats to Joe and the Astros on a fantastic season. This series was just as close as it seemed, and it could have gone either way!
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