Two wild pitches by Jim Bibby in the ninth inning enabled the Yankees to gain a 2-1 victory over the Indians, cutting their magic number to three for clinching the East Division title. The Yankees counted their initial run in the fifth on a single by Lou Piniella, double by Dave Kingman and single by Cliff Johnson. The Indians tied the score in the eighth. After a single by Fred Kendall led to the removal of Dick Tidrow, pinch-hitters John Lowenstein and Ron Pruitt greeted Sparky Lyle with singles, Kendall scoring.

Thurman Munson opened the Yankee ninth with a single off Bibby, pitching in relief of Rick Waits, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After an intentional pass to Jackson, Piniella sacrificed. Then, with Kingman at bat, Bibby uncorked his second wild pitch of the inning and third in 2 1/3 innings, allowing Munson to score. [The Sporting News]



New York Yankees 2, Cleveland Indians 1
Game Played on Tuesday, September 27, 1977 (Night game) at Yankee Stadium I
Indians      0  0  0    0  0  0    0  1  0  -   1  7  0
Yankees      0  0  0    0  1  0    0  0  1  -   2  7  2


Indians              AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Yankees              AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Norris rf             3   0   1   0     0   1   .269      Randolph 2b           3   0   0   0     1   1   .275
  Pruitt ph,rf        1   0   1   1     0   0   .301      Nettles 3b            4   0   0   0     0   0   .246
Oliver 2b             3   0   1   0     0   0   .286      Munson c              4   1   1   0     0   0   .301
Blanks 3b             4   0   0   0     0   1   .279      Jackson rf            3   0   1   0     1   1   .288
Thornton 1b           3   0   0   0     1   0   .270      Piniella lf           3   1   2   0     0   0   .336
Carty dh              4   0   0   0     0   0   .283      Kingman dh            3   0   1   0     0   1   .222
Bochte lf             4   0   0   0     0   0   .303      Johnson 1b            3   0   2   1     0   1   .300
Manning cf            3   0   2   0     0   0   .219        Chambliss 1b        0   0   0   0     0   0   .291
Kendall c             3   1   1   0     0   2   .251      Blair cf              2   0   0   0     0   2   .267
Griffin ss            2   0   0   0     0   0   .148        Rivers ph,cf        1   0   0   0     0   0   .325
  Lowenstein ph       1   0   1   0     0   0   .248      Dent ss               3   0   0   0     0   0   .249
  Duffy ss            0   0   0   0     0   0   .201      Tidrow p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
Waits p               0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Lyle p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Bibby p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               31   1   7   1     1   4             Totals               29   2   7   1     2   6

Time of Game: 2:21   Attendance: 14,138
Left on Base: Indians 5, Yankees 5
DP: Indians 2, Yankees 2
Errors: Munson, Tidrow
Doubles: Kingman (4)
Stolen Bases: Manning (9)
Caught Stealing: Griffin (2)
Sacrifice Hits: Piniella (5)
GIDP: Thornton (9), Bochte (20), Dent (9), Nettles (8)
Hit by Pitch: Oliver (1,by Tidrow)


Indians                IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Waits                   6     6   1   1   1   3   0  23   4.10
Bibby L(12-13)          2.1   1   1   1   1   3   0   9   3.63
Totals                  8.1   7   2   2   2   6   0  32

Yankees                IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Tidrow                  7.1   5   1   1   1   4   0  26   3.18
Lyle W(13-5)            1.2   2   0   0   0   0   0   7   2.21
Totals                  9     7   1   1   1   4   0  33

Hit by Pitch: Tidrow (2)
Wild Pitches: Bibby 3 (12)

Umpires: HP - Rich Garcia, 1B - Nestor Chylak, 2B - Steve Palermo, 3B - Joe Brinkman


INDIANS 1ST: Norris struck out; Oliver flied out to center;
Blanks grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Indians 0, Yankees 0.

YANKEES 1ST: Randolph grounded out (pitcher to first); Nettles
grounded out (second to first); Munson made an out to shortstop;
0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Indians 0, Yankees 0.

INDIANS 2ND: Thornton flied out to left; Carty popped to first
in foul territory; Bochte grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R,
0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Indians 0, Yankees 0.

YANKEES 2ND: Jackson grounded out (second to first); Piniella
grounded out (shortstop to first); Kingman lined to shortstop; 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Indians 0, Yankees 0.

INDIANS 3RD: Manning singled to center; Kendall struck out;
Griffin forced Manning (first to shortstop); Griffin was caught
stealing second (catcher to shortstop); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Indians 0, Yankees 0.

YANKEES 3RD: Johnson singled to left; Blair struck out; Dent
grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first)
[Johnson out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Indians 0,
Yankees 0.

INDIANS 4TH: Norris singled [Norris to second (error by
Tidrow)]; On a bunt Oliver singled to first [Norris to third];
Blanks was called out on strikes; Thornton grounded into a
double play (third to second to first) [Oliver out at second]; 0
R, 2 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Indians 0, Yankees 0.

YANKEES 4TH: On a bunt Randolph grounded out (catcher to first);
Nettles flied out to right; Munson grounded out (shortstop to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Indians 0, Yankees 0.

INDIANS 5TH: Carty grounded out (third to first); Bochte
grounded out (second to first); Manning singled to left; Manning
stole second [Manning to third (error by Munson)]; Kendall
struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Indians 0, Yankees 0.

YANKEES 5TH: Jackson struck out; Piniella singled to center;
Kingman doubled to left [Piniella to third]; Johnson singled to
left [Piniella scored, Kingman to third]; Blair was called out
on strikes; Dent forced Johnson (third to second); 1 R, 3 H, 0
E, 2 LOB.  Indians 0, Yankees 1.

INDIANS 6TH: On a bunt Griffin grounded out (third to first);
Norris grounded out (third to first); Oliver was hit by a pitch;
Blanks flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Indians 0,
Yankees 1.

YANKEES 6TH: Randolph walked; Nettles grounded into a double
play (shortstop to second to first) [Randolph out at second];
Munson flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Indians 0,
Yankees 1.

INDIANS 7TH: Thornton walked; Carty flied out to right; Bochte
grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first)
[Thornton out at second]; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Indians 0,
Yankees 1.

YANKEES 7TH: Jackson singled to center; Piniella singled to
center [Jackson to second]; BIBBY REPLACED WAITS (PITCHING);
Bibby threw a wild pitch [Jackson to third, Piniella to second];
Kingman struck out; Johnson struck out; RIVERS BATTED FOR BLAIR;
Rivers flied out to center; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Indians 0,
Yankees 1.

INDIANS 8TH: RIVERS STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING CF); CHAMBLISS
REPLACED JOHNSON (PLAYING 1B); Manning grounded out (second to
first); Kendall singled to left; LOWENSTEIN BATTED FOR GRIFFIN;
LYLE REPLACED TIDROW (PITCHING); Lowenstein singled to center
[Kendall to third]; PRUITT BATTED FOR NORRIS; Pruitt singled to
third [Kendall scored, Lowenstein to second]; Oliver made an out
to second; Blanks forced Pruitt (shortstop unassisted); 1 R, 3
H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Indians 1, Yankees 1.

YANKEES 8TH: PRUITT STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING RF); DUFFY REPLACED
LOWENSTEIN (PLAYING SS); Dent grounded out (pitcher to first);
Randolph was called out on strikes; Nettles flied out to right;
0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Indians 1, Yankees 1.

INDIANS 9TH: Thornton grounded out (third to first); Carty flied
out to center; Bochte grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 0 H,
0 E, 0 LOB.  Indians 1, Yankees 1.

YANKEES 9TH: Munson singled to left; Bibby threw a wild pitch
[Munson to second]; Jackson was walked intentionally; Piniella
out on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to second) [Munson to third,
Jackson to second]; Bibby threw a wild pitch [Munson scored]; 1
R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Indians 1, Yankees 2.