June 3, 1984: Orioles 2 – Tigers 1

W: Mike Flanagan (4-4) – L: Milt Wilcox (6-3) | Boxscore

Record: 38-11

Highlights

Wilcox gave up just two runs (one earned) but did not have command: four hits and six walks in five and two-thirds.

Flanagan, on the other hand, was terrific, scattering seven hits in a complete-game win, striking out six and walking only one.

Tom Brookens homered in the seventh to cut the Orioles’ lead in half. Lance Parrish had two hits.

Miscellany

Venue: Tiger Stadium
Umpires: HP – Rich Garcia, 1B – Mike Reilly, 2B – Al Clark, 3B – Don Denkinger
Time of Game: 2:42
Attendance: 34,228

Video Clips: Darrell Evans and Chet Lemon

Darrell and Chet talk about the Tigers’ torrid start to the 1984 season.

Birthdays

Ed Glynn and the late John Bassler and Bill McTigue

See you tomorrow.

June 1, 1984: Tigers 14 – Orioles 2

W: Dan Petry (8-2) – L: Scott McGregor (6-4) – Save: Doug Bair (3) | Boxscore

Record: 38-9

Highlights

This was a blast from the get-go. My friends and I sat in the upper-deck bleachers, taunting Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey during batting practice with a “Dempsey sucks” chant. He was a good sport, egging us on and even turning to face the bleachers and act as a conductor while we rained vitriol upon him.

As for the game, it was nothing short of bedlam. The Tiger scored six in the second highlighted by an Alan Trammell homer, and then three in the third and again in the fourth.

Chet Lemon and Lance Parrish also homered, as the Tigers built up a 13-0 lead in the fifth inning.

Tram had a three-hit game, and Lance, Chet and Larry Herndon each had two hits.

Petry threw six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits.

Miscellany

Venue: Tiger Stadium
Umpires: HP – Al Clark, 1B – Don Denkinger, 2B – Rich Garcia, 3B – Mike Reilly
Time of Game: 2:28
Attendance: 47,252

Game Highlights

Birthdays

The late Dean Chance, Jo-Jo White and Herm Malloy

See you tomorrow.

May 29, 1984: A’s 8 – Tigers 5

W: Bill Krueger (3-1) – L: Milt Wilcox (6-2) – Save: Bill Caudill (10) | Boxscore

Record: 36-9

Highlights

The A’s knocked Wilcox around early: seven runs on seven hits and three walks, in three-and-a-third innings.

Oakland built up an 8-1 lead in the fourth.

Chet Lemon‘s seventh-inning two-run homer, one of his two hits, was the Tigers highlight. All told, they had six hits.

Miscellany

Venue: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Umpires: HP – Steve Palermo, 1B – Rick Reed, 2B – Dave Phillips, 3B – Jerry Neudecker
Time of Game: 2:42
Attendance: 22,499

Duffy Dyer #15

The Tigers picked up Don Robert “Duffy” Dyer in a March 15, 1980 trade with the Expos for Jerry Manuel. The 34-year-old was, throughout his career a backup catcher and on some decent teams — including the 1969 Miracle Mets.

By the time Dyer came to Detroit, his career was drawing to a close. But before we get to that, let’s look at his brief time as a Tiger:

He made his Tigers debut on April 12, 1980 against the Royals. Dyer started at catcher, batting eighth, and went 0 for 4.

On May 8, he got his first Tigers hit: a double off the Mariners’ Rick Honeycutt, part of a two-for-three game.

In all he appeared in 48 games in 1980, mostly as a catcher and a few games at DH.

In 1981, Dyer appeared in two games, but had no at bats. His last big league hit came on Oct. 4, 1980, a single off the Yankees’ Rudy May.

And, his final at bat came on the next day, against the Yankees’ Doug Bird, a fly out to right.

His final appearance came a year and three days after his debut — both against the Royals. On April 15, he was a defensive replacement for Lance Parrish in the bottom of the ninth. The Tigers won, 4-0. On May 18, 1981, he was released.

His final line: .185 average, four home runs and 11 RBI.

Check out this full bio on Dyer on the SABR Bio Project website.

Birthdays

Trevor Miller, Eric Davis, Billy Beane, Fred Holdsworth, John Baumgartner, Denny McLain and the late Ferris Fain and Jack Lively

See you tomorrow.

May 28, 1984: Tigers 6 – A’s 2

W: Jack Morris (10-1) – L: Chris Codiroli (1-2) | Boxscore

Highlights

Another complete game win for Morris: 7 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts.

On the other side, Codirolio faced the first seven batters, got only one out and surrendered four Tigers runs before being pulled.

Alan Trammell went 3 for 4, Lou Whitaker had three walks, and Lance Parrish hit his eighth homer of the year.

Miscellany

Venue: Oakland Coliseum
Umpires: HP – Jerry Neudecker, 1B – Steve Palermo, 2B – Rick Reed, 3B – Dave Phillips
Time of Game: 2:57
Attendance: 46,238

Birthdays

Lester Oliveros, Jhonny Peralta, Mike Difelice, Kirk Gibson and the late Jim Middleton

See you tomorrow.

May 24, 1984: Tigers 5 – Angels 1

W: Jack Morris (9-1) – L: Jim Slaton (1-2) | Boxscore

Record: 35-5

Highlights

A complete-game four-hitter for The Cat — with 10 strikeouts.

Homers by Alan Trammell, his fifth of the year, and Lance Parrish, number seven, fuel the offense.

The win puts the Tigers at the still-mind blowing 35 and 5 mark. Certainly, with the mediocre Mariners next on the schedule, 38 and 5 is assured. Right?

Miscellany

Venue: Anaheim Stadium
Umpires: HP – Terry Cooney, 1B – Richard Shulock, 2B – Derryl Cousins, 3B – Bill Kunkel
Time of Game: 2:14
Attendance: 43,580

Birthdays

Brad Penny, Danny Bautista, Dave Machemer and the late Milt Jordan

See you tomorrow.

May 22, 1984: Tigers 3 – Angels 1

W: Juan Berenguer (3-2) – L: Mike Witt (4-4) – Save: Aurelio López (6) | Boxscore

Record: 33-5

Highlights

The Tigers opened the scoring thanks to a Kirk Gibson first-inning single followed by a stolen base, and then an RBI single by Lance Parrish.

Berenguer gave up a solo homer to Rod Carew in the home half of the first and then settled down to allow just two more hits in six innings, striking out nine.

Lou Whitaker had two hits.

Miscellany

Venue: Anaheim Stadium
Umpires: HP – Derryl Cousins, 1B – Bill Kunkel, 2B – Terry Cooney, 3B – Richard Shulock
Time of Game: 2:53
Attendance: 41,253

Bob Adams #40

Here are a few things to know about the right-handed hitting first baseman and catcher, Bob Adams.

The Tigers drafted him in the third round of the 1973 amateur draft.

Adams debuted on July 10, 1977 against the White Sox. In the bottom of the ninth in a 5-5 game, he pinch hit for Phil Mankowski and, facing Dave Hamilton, struck out.

On Aug. 9 against the Brewers, Adams got his first big-league hit: a solo home run off Bill Travers. He started the game and batted seventh.

He appeared in 15 games for the Tigers that year, 12 as a pinch hitter. On Aug. 26, he pinch hit for Tom Veryzer in the eighth-inning, a solo homer off the Angels’ Frank Tanana.

Adams’ final game was Sept. 29 against the Orioles. Pinch hitting for Alan Trammell, he doubled off Rudy May.

His major-league numbers: .250 average, two home runs, two RBI.

Birthdays

Andre Lipcius, Al Levine, Jose Mesa, the late Al Simmons and Al Shaw

See you tomorrow.

May 19, 1984: Tigers 5 – A’s 4

W: Jack Morris (8-1) L: Steve McCatty (3-3) – Save: Aurelio López (5) | Boxscore

Record: 31-5

Highlights

Darrell Evans went 3 for 4 with two RBI, and Lou Whitaker, Lance Parrish and Chet Lemon each had two hits.

One of Whitaker’s hits was his fourth homer of the year.

Morris 7.1 IP, eight hits, six walks and six strikeouts.

Miscellany

Venue: Tiger Stadium
Umpires: HP – Dan Morrison, 1B – Marty Springstead, 2B – Jim McKean, 3B – Durwood Merrill
Time of Game: 3:00
Attendance: 42,906

Luis Salazar #12

The Tigers signed veteran utility man Luis Salazar as a free agent on Feb, 20, 1988. He has spent the previous season with the Padres, where he began his career in 1980.

He appeared in four of the five games in the 1984 World Series, hitting one for three. After that year, he was sent to the White Sox in a blockbuster. He, Ozzie Guillén, Tim Lollar and Bill Long went to Chicago for LaMarr Hoyt and minor leaguers Kevin Kristan, Todd Simmons.

Salazar spent the 1985 and ’86 season in Chicago and went back to San Diego as a free agent in 1989.

He had one year in Detroit and he was solid: appearing in 130 games and batting .270 with 12 homers.

Sparky plugged him in everywhere: all three outfield slots and all four infield positions.

At the end of spring training 1989, the Tigers sent him back to the Padres for Mike Brumley. He played his final four seasons with the Cubs.

Birthdays

Tim Corcoran, Brandon Inge, Alan Zinter and Luis Salazar

See you tomorrow.

May 14, 1984: Tigers 7 – Mariners 5

W: Aurelio López (4-0) – L: Ed Vande Berg (2-2) | Boxscore

Record: 27-5

Highlights

15 hits for the Tigers: Three each for Alan Trammell and Rusty Kuntz; two each for Bárbaro Garbey, Lance Parrish and Larry Herndon.

Homers for Tram, his fourth, off Ed Vande Berg, in the first inning; and Rusty, his first, also off Vande Berg, in the fourth.

Miscellany

Venue: Tiger Stadium
Umpires: HP – Bill Kunkel, 1B – Terry Cooney, 2B – Richard Shulock, 3B – Derryl Cousins
Time of Game: 3:05
Attendance: 18,830

Les Moss #28

In 1979, John Lester Moss took over for the retired Ralph Houk as Tigers manager. The Tigers finished Houk’s final season at 86-76, and the club seemed ready to make a move in an albeit stacked* American League East.

*Six of the seven teams finished over .500, and three had 90+ wins.

Moss had been in the Tigers farm system managing the Triple-A Evansville Triplets in the American Association and presumably his familiarity with the Tigers’ young core made him a logical choice.

Moss managed the Tigers for just 53 games in ’79. Detroit sat at a 27-26, on the morning of June 14 and before the day over, he was out of a job and Sparky Anderson was the Tigers’ new manager.

As a player, Moss had a 13-year career as a catcher, making his debut in 1946 as a 21-year-old with the St. Louis Browns. He played in just a dozen games that year but finished a .371 average.

Though he didn’t hang around Detroit for very long, Les Moss is another player in the Tigers’ rich history.

Birthdays

Efren Navarro and the late Les Moss

See you tomorrow.

May 3, 1984: Red Sox 1 – Tigers 0

W: Bob Ojeda (2-2) – L: Jack Morris (5-1) | Boxscore

Record: 19-4

Highlights

Both starters threw complete games, and only a Dwight Evans leadoff homer in the eighth spoiled another gem by Morris, handing him his first loss of the year.

Morris scattered five hits with eight strikeouts; Ojeda allowed six hits — all singles — and struck out 10.

This one lasted just two hours and 18 minutes.

Lance Parrish had two hits.

Miscellany

Venue: Tiger Stadium
Umpires: HP – Larry Barnett, 1B – Dale Ford, 2B – Ken Kaiser, 3B – Rocky Roe
Time of Game: 2:18
Attendance: 22,617

Birthdays

Austin Meadows and Del Baker

See you tomorrow.

April 26, 1984: Tigers 7 – Rangers 5

W: Doug Bair (2-0) – L: Frank Tanana (2-2) – Save: Aurelio López (2) | Boxscore

Record: 16-1

Highlights

No pitching duel in this one. The Tigers ambushed Frank Tanana with five hits and four runs in the first inning. He lasted

‘Twas also a rough start for Dave Rozema: 4.1 IP, 5 runs, 7 hits and 3 home runs.

Doug Bair and Señor Smoke carried the load the rest of the way, blanking the Rangers on just four hits.

Alan Trammell went 3 for 4, Larry Herndon hit two doubles and Lance Parrish homered.

Miscellany

Venue: Arlington Stadium
Umpires: HP – Don Denkinger, 1B – Dan Morrison, 2B – Mike Reilly, 3B – Al Clark
Time of Game: 2:50
Attendance: 13,559

Rick Schu #35

Rick Schu was tasked with replacing Mike Schmidt when he retired from the Phillies. That could not have been fun, nor could it have been fun coming to the 1989 Tigers, who were 14-24 when the club purchased his contract from the Orioles on May 19.

He made his debut on May 21 against the Royals. He started at third and batted ninth, going 1 for 2.

Schu’s final game with the Tigers came on Oct. 1, a 5-3 Tigers win against Yankees to close out a 59-103 season. He went 1 for 4.

His Tigers career ended after 98 games, with a .214 average, seven home runs and 21 RBI. The Tigers released him on Dec. 8, 1989.

Birthdays

Felipe Lira and the late Virgil Trucks and Dale Alexander

See you tomorrow.