Editor’s note: The 1960 Tournament games are being played with Strat-o-Matic cards and dice. Injuries will only be used during the game when they occur. For this tournament, the rules include a three-man pitching rotation using the best lineups available.
A pair of solo homers and the right arm of Jim Lonborg proved to be the difference as the 1967 Boston Red Sox beat the 1968 Detroit Tigers in the 1960s Diamond Gems Tournament.
The Tiger Stadium crowd was silenced as Boston second baseman Jerry Adair drilled a lead-off homer off Detroit’s Denny McLain. One inning later, McLain got touched up by Reggie Smith and the Red Sox led 2-0.
Lonborg (1-0) gave up five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in his complete game effort. The only blemish for the Boston hurler came in the eighth as Don Wert doubled and scored on a pinch-hit single by Gates Brown that cut Detroit’s deficit in half.
After the two long balls, McLain (0-1) gave up a triple to Tony Conigliaro and a double to Carl Yastrzemski as both would be stranded on the base paths. McLain fanned four over eight innings before Don McMahon worked a scoreless ninth.
Second Round Schedule
1960 Pittsburgh Pirates at 1961 New York Yankees
1968 St. Louis Cardinals at 1969 New York Mets
First Round Results and Schedule
1961 New York Yankees 12, 1962 New York Mets 2
1960 Pittsburgh Pirates 3, 1969 Baltimore Orioles 0
1969 New York Mets 3, 1961 Cincinnati Reds 0
1968 St. Louis Cardinals 3, 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers 2
1967 Boston Red Sox 2, 1968 Detroit Tigers 1
1962 San Francisco Giants at 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers
1961 Detroit Tigers at 1967 St. Louis Cardinals
1965 Minnesota Twins at 1966 Baltimore Orioles