1950 Detroit Tigers Season - Regular Season - Season Chronology

Season Chronology

• April 17: The Tigers beat the Indians, 7-6, on Opening Day in Cleveland.
• April 22: The Tigers beat the White Sox, 5-0, behind the shut out pitching of Art Houtteman, to start the season 4-0.
• May 11: The Tigers sweep the Red Sox in a double header at Fenway Park (13-4 and 5-3). The next day, Ted Williams apologized through a front office statement to Boston fans for "insulting gestures" he made in response to catcalls prompted by his two errors in the doubleheader loss. Williams' second error allowed the Tigers winning run to score.
• May 19: The Tigers sent 14 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs in the 5th inning to beat the Athletics‚ 14-8. George Kell and Vic Wertz each had two hits in the inning. Virgil Trucks‚ a 19-game winner in 1949‚ hurt his arm and was lost for the season. Fred Hutchinson pitched in relief and picked up the win.
• May 20: Detroit second baseman Jerry Priddy started a record five double plays in the first 5 innings to lead the Tigers to a 5-3 win over the A's. Shortstop Johnny Lipon participated in all the double plays to tie an AL record.
• June 2: George Kell hit for the cycle in the second game of a doubleheader sweep of the A's. The Tigers won the opener, 8-2, behind the pitching of Ted Gray, and home runs by Vic Wertz and Hoot Evers. They won the second game, 16-5. Wertz had five RBIs in the opener and two more in the second game.
• June 8: The Tigers lost to the Yankees, 11-4, after the Yankees scored seven runs in the 6th inning. Phil Rizzuto's record of 238 errorless chances ended when he fumbled a ground ball in the 5th inning. The Red Sox scored 29 runs and an MLB record 58 total bases against the Browns.
• June 10: The Tigers retook first place.
• June 15: The Tigers beat the A's‚ 7-3‚ for their 8th win in 9 meetings with the A's. Hoot Evers had his 19 game hit streak stopped but George Kell ran his to 15 games. Fred Hutchinson got the win.
• June 16: Pitching before a crowd of 54‚086‚ Hal Newhouser beat the Red Sox for the second time in six days‚ winning 4-1. He struck out eight, including Johnny Pesky four times. Detroit maintained its 1½ game lead over the Yankees.
• June 23: The Tigers beat the Yankees, 10-9, in front of 51,000 fans in Detroit. A then-MLB record eleven home runs accounted for all the runs. Detroit has four home runs in the 4th inning by Dizzy Trout‚ Jerry Priddy‚ Vic Wertz, and Hoot Evers. Trout's home run was the second grand slam of his career. Evers also hit an inside-the-park two-run home run to win the game in the 9th inning. Hank Bauer, Joe DiMaggio‚ Jerry Coleman, Yogi Berra‚ and Tommy Henrich hit home runs for New York.
• June 24: Art Houtteman led the Tigers to a 4-1 win over the Yankees. Yogi Berra hit a solo home run for the Yankee's only score. The Tigers led the AL by three games.
• June 27: Marlin Stuart pitched a 1-0 perfect game for the Toledo Mud Hens. He was then called up to the big leagues to play for the Detroit Tigers.
• July 2: The Tigers split a doubleheader with the Indians. Bob Feller got his 200th win‚ 5-3‚ in the second game. Detroit won the opener‚ 8-5.
• July 19: The Tigers beat the Red Sox, 9-5, at Fenway Park. In the 9th inning, umpire called time just before a Red Sox pinch hitter tripled to center field. The at bat was played over, and results in a groundout.
• July 23: The Tigers beat the Yankees, 6-5, to maintain their hold on first place. Detroit pitcher Saul Rogovin hit a grand slam off Eddie Lopat.
• August 3: The Tigers bought Hank Borowy from the Pirates. Detroit fans recall Borowy as the pitcher who pitched for the Cubs against the Tigers in four games of the 1945 World Series, winning two and losing two.
• August 14: The Tigers lost to the Indians, 3-2, in 10 innings, before 60,120 fans at Cleveland Stadium. Detroit's lead in the AL was reduced to 2½ games. Al Rosen tied the game in the ninth with a two-out home run. Right fielder Bob Kennedy started a triple play from the outfield.
• August 30: The Tigers dropped out of first place for the first time since June 10 when they split a pair with the Senators, losing 3–2 in 11 innings, then taking the second game, 10–8.
• September 7: Hoot Evers hit for the cycle, added another triple, and batted in six runs in a 13–13, ten-inning tie with Cleveland. The game, ended because of darkness, left Detroit in first place by a few percentage points. Al Rosen and Bob Feller both hit early 2-run home runs as the Indians blew three leads in the game.
• September 9: The Tigers and White Sox finished a game that started in April. The game was originally scheduled as the second game of a doubleheader, but was halted by darkness after 9 innings with the scored tied 7-7. Art Houtteman finally ended it with a 1–0, 12-inning win. Hoot Evers tripled and scored on a single by Johnny Groth. The Tigers lost the second game, 5–4, cutting their lead to a half game over New York and a game ahead of Boston.
• September 11: The Tigers were idle, and the Yankees moved into first with a doubleheader sweep over the Senators, 5–1 and 6–2.
• September 12: The Tigers beat the Senators, 3-2 in Detroit, and the Yankees blew a 6-run lead as Cleveland scored four in the 9th inning to win, 8–7. The Tigers moved ahead of the Yankees by a half game and a full game ahead of Boston.
• September 13: The Tigers beat the Senators, 6-1, and the Yankees beat the Indians, 10-3. The Tigers remained 1 half game ahead of the Yankees.
• September 14: The Tigers and Yankees meet in Detroit for a three-game series. The Yankees won, 6-5, as Vic Raschi got his 20th win. Detroit scored two runs in the 1st inning, but the Yankees came back as Joe DiMaggio and Hank Bauer both hit home runs. The Yankees took over first place by a half game.
• September 15: The Tigers won the second game of the three-game series in Detroit. On a Friday night, Johnny Mize hit three home runs, but the Tigers won, 9-7. The Tigers moved back into first place by a half game.
• September 16: Rookie Whitey Ford held the Tigers to six hits, as the Yankees beat the Tigers, 8-1. Joe DiMaggio hit his 30th home run and the Yankees scored seven runs in the ninth inning. The Yankees moved a half game ahead of the Tigers in a see-saw pennant race.
• September 17–18: The Tigers were swept in a two-game series with the Red Sox in Detroit, both games by identical 3-2 scores.
• September 19–21: The Tigers swept a three-game series against the A's in Detroit.
• September 22: The Tigers were swept in a doubleheader against the Indians, in Cleveland. In the first game, Detroit first baseman Don Kolloway hit a two-run home run in the top of the 9th inning off Bob Feller to tie the game at 3–3. In the bottom of the inning, Joe Gordon hit a walk-off home run off Hal Newhouser. The loss moved the Tigers back into 2nd place. The Tigers lost the second game, 10-2. Cleveland was the only team that held a winning record over Detroit in 1950 (13–9).
• September 24: The Tigers lost to the Indians, 2-1. In Detroit, heavy smoke from a Canadian forest fire forced the Tigers to put on the lights in the Sunday afternoon game. Bob Lemon hit a home run in the 4th inning, and Johnny Lipon tied it with a home run. Lemon opened the 10th with a triple, and two intentional walks followed. With the bases loaded and one out, Detroit catcher Aaron Robinson thought he could complete a double play be stepping on the plate. Because of the haze, he did not see first baseman Don Kolloway remove the force after fielding the ball. Robinson's mental lapse cost Detroit the game.
• September 26–28: The Tigers won three out of four games against the Browns, and relief pitcher Hal White got the win in all three games.
• September 29-October 1: The Tigers finish the season losing two games in a three game series with the Indians. On the last day of the regular season, the Indians beat the Tigers, 7-5. The Tigers finished three games behind the Yankees.