A pair of home runs by Graig Nettles lifted the Yankees to a 4-2 triumph over the Tigers and extended their lead in the East division to 1½ games over the Red Sox. The Yankees got a run in the opening frame when Mickey Rivers doubled, moved to third on a flyout and scored on a groundout by Lou Piniella. Nettles' first round-tripper of the game came in the second inning and followed a single by Chris Chambliss. His second homer came on a 3-0 pitch with one out in the seventh. [The Sporting News]

New York Yankees 4, Detroit Tigers 2

Game Played on Thursday, September 14, 1978 (Night game) at Tiger Stadium

Yankees 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 4 7 1 Tigers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 2 7 0 Yankees AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Tigers AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Rivers cf 4 1 2 0 0 0 .274 LeFlore cf 4 1 2 0 0 0 .293 Blair pr,cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .175 Whitaker 2b 3 0 1 2 1 0 .292 Randolph 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 .277 Staub dh 3 0 1 0 1 0 .283 Spencer ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .232 Thompson 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .293 Stanley 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .227 Kemp lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .274 Piniella lf 4 0 0 1 0 0 .319 May c 3 0 1 0 0 0 .259 Jackson rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .281 Wockenfuss ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .275 Chambliss 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .282 Corcoran rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .262 Nettles 3b 4 2 3 3 0 0 .280 Stanley ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .273 White dh 3 0 0 0 1 0 .265 Mankowski 3b 2 1 0 0 1 0 .294 Dent ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 .255 Rodriguez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .259 Heath c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .236 Trammell ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 .266 Figueroa p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Slaton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Gossage p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hiller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Lyle p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 34 4 7 4 1 1 Totals 31 2 7 2 4 1 Time of Game: 1:57 Attendance: 17,118 Left on Base: Yankees 5, Tigers 6 DP: Yankees 3, Tigers 0 Errors: Dent Doubles: Rivers (20), Nettles (21), LeFlore (25), Whitaker (10) Home Runs: Nettles 2 (25) GIDP: Mankowski (7), Corcoran (9), Thompson (11) Hit by Pitch: Randolph (3,by Slaton) Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Figueroa W(17-9) 7 4 0 0 2 0 0 25 3.01 Gossage 0.1 2 2 2 1 0 0 4 2.07 Lyle SV(9) 1.2 1 0 0 1 1 0 6 3.17 Totals 9 7 2 2 4 1 0 35 Tigers IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Slaton L(15-11) 8 5 4 4 0 1 2 30 4.19 Hiller 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 6 2.68 Totals 9 7 4 4 1 1 2 36 Hit by Pitch: Slaton (8) Umpires: HP - Vic Voltaggio, 1B - Lou DiMuro, 2B - Larry Barnett, 3B - Jim McKean YANKEES 1ST: Rivers doubled to right; Randolph flied out to right [Rivers to third]; Piniella grounded out (second to first) [Rivers scored]; Jackson flied out to center; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Yankees 1, Tigers 0. TIGERS 1ST: LeFlore popped to first in foul territory; Whitaker grounded out (second to first); Staub singled to left; Thompson walked [Staub to second]; Kemp grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Yankees 1, Tigers 0. YANKEES 2ND: Chambliss singled to left; Nettles homered [Chambliss scored]; White grounded out (first unassisted); Dent flied out to right; Heath grounded out (shortstop to first); 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Yankees 3, Tigers 0. TIGERS 2ND: May singled to right; Corcoran flied out to left; Mankowski grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [May out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Yankees 3, Tigers 0. YANKEES 3RD: Rivers grounded out (first unassisted); Randolph flied out to center; Piniella flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Yankees 3, Tigers 0. TIGERS 3RD: Trammell grounded out (pitcher to first); LeFlore doubled to left; Whitaker grounded out (second to first) [LeFlore to third]; Staub flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Yankees 3, Tigers 0. YANKEES 4TH: Jackson grounded out (pitcher to first); Chambliss flied out to center; Nettles grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Yankees 3, Tigers 0. TIGERS 4TH: Thompson flied out to center; Kemp grounded out (shortstop to first); May grounded out (first to pitcher); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Yankees 3, Tigers 0. YANKEES 5TH: White popped to third in foul territory; Dent grounded out (pitcher to first); Heath grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Yankees 3, Tigers 0. TIGERS 5TH: Corcoran grounded out (shortstop to first); Mankowski flied out to center; Trammell grounded out (first to pitcher); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Yankees 3, Tigers 0. YANKEES 6TH: Rivers grounded out (second to first); Randolph was hit by a pitch; Piniella grounded out (catcher to first) [Randolph to second]; Jackson struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Yankees 3, Tigers 0. TIGERS 6TH: LeFlore grounded out (shortstop to first); Whitaker walked; Staub forced Whitaker (first to shortstop) [Staub to second (error by Dent)]; Thompson grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Yankees 3, Tigers 0. YANKEES 7TH: Chambliss flied out to left; Nettles homered; White grounded out (first unassisted); Dent grounded out (second to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Yankees 4, Tigers 0. TIGERS 7TH: Kemp singled to left; May popped to third in foul territory; Corcoran grounded into a double play (pitcher to shortstop to first) [Kemp out at second]; 43 minute rain delay; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Yankees 4, Tigers 0. YANKEES 8TH: Heath grounded out (second to first); Rivers singled to center; BLAIR RAN FOR RIVERS; SPENCER BATTED FOR RANDOLPH; Spencer flied out to center; Piniella flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Yankees 4, Tigers 0. TIGERS 8TH: BLAIR STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING CF); STANLEY REPLACED SPENCER (PLAYING 2B); GOSSAGE REPLACED FIGUEROA (PITCHING); Mankowski walked; Trammell popped to catcher in foul territory; LeFlore singled to center [Mankowski to second]; Whitaker doubled to left [Mankowski scored, LeFlore scored]; LYLE REPLACED GOSSAGE (PITCHING); Staub walked; Thompson grounded into a double play (second to shortstop to first) [Staub out at second]; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Yankees 4, Tigers 2. YANKEES 9TH: HILLER REPLACED SLATON (PITCHING); Jackson singled to left; Chambliss forced Jackson (second to shortstop); Nettles doubled to right [Chambliss to third]; White was walked intentionally; Dent made an out to shortstop; Heath made an out to shortstop; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Yankees 4, Tigers 2. TIGERS 9TH: Kemp grounded out (second to first); WOCKENFUSS BATTED FOR MAY; Wockenfuss struck out; STANLEY BATTED FOR CORCORAN; Stanley singled to center; RODRIGUEZ BATTED FOR MANKOWSKI; Rodriguez flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Yankees 4, Tigers 2.

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