"The Bird" was back in form for the Tigers when Mark Fidrych pitched a five-hitter and defeated the Blue Jays, 6-2. Fidrych, the 1976 Rookie Pitcher of the Year, missed most of last season with injuries. The Tigers' opener, delayed one day by rain, drew a crowd of 52,528 fans, who not only were entertained by Fidrych, but saw Milt May, Phil Mankowski and Jason Thompson smash homers. [The Sporting News]

Detroit Tigers 6, Toronto Blue Jays 2

Game Played on Friday, April 7, 1978 (Day game) at Tiger Stadium

Blue Jays 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 5 0 Tigers 0 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 x - 6 10 1 Blue Jays AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Tigers AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Bosetti cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .000 LeFlore cf 4 0 0 0 1 3 .000 A. Woods lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .000 Mankowski 3b 4 2 2 3 0 0 .500 Howell 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .250 Staub dh 4 0 2 0 0 1 .500 Carty dh 3 1 0 0 1 1 .000 Thompson 1b 4 1 1 1 0 1 .250 Mayberry 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .250 Kemp lf 3 0 1 1 1 1 .333 Hutton rf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .250 Corcoran rf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .000 McKay 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .250 May c 4 1 2 1 0 0 .500 Gomez ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 .333 Whitaker 2b 3 1 1 0 1 0 .333 Ashby c 2 0 0 0 1 0 .000 Trammell ss 3 1 1 0 1 1 .333 Lemanczyk p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Fidrych p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Jefferson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 32 2 5 1 2 5 Totals 32 6 10 6 5 7 Time of Game: 2:04 Attendance: 52,528 Left on Base: Blue Jays 5, Tigers 7 DP: Blue Jays 1, Tigers 1 Errors: Mankowski Doubles: Whitaker (1) Home Runs: May (1), Mankowski (1), Thompson (1) Stolen Bases: Whitaker (1) GIDP: McKay (1), Corcoran (1) Blue Jays IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Lemanczyk L(0-1) 3.2 7 5 5 4 3 2 21 12.27 Jefferson 4.1 3 1 1 1 4 1 16 2.08 Totals 8 10 6 6 5 7 3 37 Tigers IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Fidrych W(1-0) 9 5 2 2 2 5 0 34 2.00 Totals 9 5 2 2 2 5 0 34 Umpires: HP - Nestor Chylak, 1B - Ron Luciano, 2B - Rich Garcia, 3B - Vic Voltaggio BLUE JAYS 1ST: Bosetti grounded out (third to first); A. Woods grounded out (pitcher to first); Howell grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Blue Jays 0, Tigers 0. TIGERS 1ST: LeFlore walked; Mankowski grounded out (pitcher to first) [LeFlore to second]; Staub grounded out (first unassisted) [LeFlore to third]; Thompson flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Blue Jays 0, Tigers 0. BLUE JAYS 2ND: Carty walked; Mayberry singled to right [Carty to second]; Hutton singled to center [Carty scored, Mayberry to third]; McKay grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [Mayberry scored, Hutton out at second]; Gomez grounded out (pitcher to first); 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 0. TIGERS 2ND: Kemp walked; Corcoran grounded into a double play (second to shortstop to first) [Kemp out at second]; May homered; Whitaker walked; Whitaker stole second; Trammell was called out on strikes; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 1. BLUE JAYS 3RD: Ashby grounded out (second to first); Bosetti struck out; A. Woods struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 1. TIGERS 3RD: LeFlore grounded out (shortstop to first); Mankowski singled to right; Staub singled to right [Mankowski to second]; Thompson struck out; Kemp singled to left [Mankowski scored, Staub to second]; Corcoran flied out to left; 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 2. BLUE JAYS 4TH: Howell grounded out (second to first); Carty grounded out (pitcher to first); Mayberry grounded out (first to pitcher); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 2. TIGERS 4TH: May grounded out (pitcher to first); Whitaker doubled to left; Trammell walked; LeFlore struck out; Mankowski homered [Whitaker scored, Trammell scored]; Staub singled to right; JEFFERSON REPLACED LEMANCZYK (PITCHING); Thompson grounded out (pitcher to first); 3 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 5. BLUE JAYS 5TH: Hutton flied out to center; McKay singled to second; Gomez singled to right [McKay to second]; Ashby walked [McKay to third, Gomez to second]; Bosetti struck out; A. Woods grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 5. TIGERS 5TH: Kemp was called out on strikes; Corcoran walked; May singled to third [Corcoran out at third (third to pitcher)]; Whitaker grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 5. BLUE JAYS 6TH: Howell grounded out (second to first); Carty grounded out (second to first); Mayberry grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 5. TIGERS 6TH: Trammell singled to center; LeFlore struck out; Mankowski grounded out (second to first) [Trammell to second]; Staub was called out on strikes; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 5. BLUE JAYS 7TH: Hutton grounded out (first to pitcher); McKay grounded out (pitcher unassisted); Gomez flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 5. TIGERS 7TH: Thompson homered; HR landed on RF roof, but did not go over; Kemp grounded out (pitcher to first); Corcoran grounded out (second to first); May grounded out (first unassisted); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 6. BLUE JAYS 8TH: Ashby grounded out (first unassisted); Bosetti reached on an error by Mankowski [Bosetti to first]; A. Woods was called out on strikes; Howell singled to center [Bosetti to third]; Carty struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 6. TIGERS 8TH: Whitaker flied out to left; Trammell grounded out (third to first); LeFlore struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 6. BLUE JAYS 9TH: Mayberry popped to third in foul territory; Hutton grounded out (first unassisted); McKay grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Blue Jays 2, Tigers 6.

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