Griffins Clinch First Playoff Appearance
Outlaws Win West, Sox Grab Last Wildcard
DETROIT (Sept. 23) --  The Detroit Griffins ended the season with a club record 92 wins and the first playoff berth in their 25-year history.  They join the second year Montréal Voyageurs, the West Division champion Los Angeles Outlaws, and the Manhattan Gray Sox in a surprising playoff field.  Of the four, only Manhattan were in the playoff last year.  An Opening Day survey picked Atlanta and Cleveland for the playoffs, but they both finished 77-79 and a distance fourth and fifth in their respective divisions.

Detroit was expected to finish last in the East, but combined the league's second best offense with a superlative record in close games (30-10 in one-run games and 11-3 in extra innings) to pull ahead of Manhattan, St. Louis, and Washington for third place overall and the top wildcard spot.  The Griffins will face Los Angeles in the semifinal series.  Los Angeles returns to the postseason after a seven-year absence that included three second place finishes.  The Outlaws had the league's second best rotation, led by 17-game winners Larry Dierker and Fritz Peterson, and Rookie of the Year candidate Dennis Leonard.

Manhattan claimed the final wildcard spot with three days to spare, holding off St. Louis and Washington, who swept the Sox to thrust them briefly back in the playoff calculus.  St. Louis was second overall on Aug. 1, just two games behind Montréal, but finished 22-26 and dropped out of the top four.

Rod Carew held off a late charge by Joe Torre to win his first batting title, Fergie Jenkins won the the ERA title (2.07) and was the league's only 20-game winner, and joined Mike Hedlund to became the first teammates to finish 1-2 in ERA since Brooklyn's Gene Conley and Whitey Ford in 1963.  Tom Grieve led the league in home runs and RBIs for a second straight year, and Orlando Cepeda notched his 600th career home run and tenth 100-RBI season after a midseason trade from Boston to Cleveland.

All the details below in the day-by-day pennant race log:

Tue Sep 16	L.A. Closer to West Pennant, Griffins Fail to Clinch STL 6, DET 4 -- Jon Matlack struck out 15 and the Maroons blasted Ken Holtzman for four first inning runs as Detroit failed to clinch for a second straight day.  The Griffins are now 0-5 in potential playoff clinching games, going back to 1970. LA 6, ATL 3 -- The Outlaws cut their magic number to two behind Larry Dierker's 16th win, Goose Gossage's 28th save, and home runs by Dave Winfield and Gary Thomasson. WAS 5, CLE 3 -- Joe Rudi, one of the hero's of the Mons' 1970 run, drove in four runs in a must-win game.  Bernie Carbo was 3-for-5 and Joe Hoerner got his 22nd save. MAN 7, BOS 0 -- Don Sutton snapped a three-start winless streak with a five hit shutout with nine strikeouts.  Ollie Brown homered twice and the Sox maintained their two-game lead over St. Louis and three over Washington with five to play. Jenkins Wins 20 Fergie Jenkins notched his 20th win with his fourth shutout of the year, a three-hit 10-K gem.  It was Fergie's first 20-win season since his 1966 rookie campaign, and just the second 20-win season in the UL in the last five seasons.	W L GB MN                                                   MON 98 53 -- **    LA 87 64 +4 2    DET 88 63 +5 1   MAN 85 66 +2 4   STL 83 68 2 8   WAS 82 69 3 9
Wed Sep 17	Griffins Clinch First Playoff Appearance DET 9, STL 3 -- The third time was a charm as Detroit beat St. Louis 9-3 in their third attempt to clinch a playoff spot.  The Griffins booked their first postseason appearance in their 25-year history.  Fittingly, they did it with the long ball, as Bobby Bonds, Reggie Jackson, Dick Allen, and Willie Stargell each homered in the clincher.  The four sluggers have combined for 735 home runs for the Griffins--more than 20 percent of all home runs hit in club history.  Allen recently overtook Ralph Kiner, the namesake of the Griffins' stadium, for the club record in home runs.  Detroit has always have no trouble scoring runs but hasn't had a top-six pitching team since 1965, and this year is no exception.  The club ranks 2nd in runs and 10th in runs allowed, but is a stunning 30-10 in one-run games and 11-3 in extra innings. ATL 3, LA 2 -- The Maroons' loss cut the Outlaws magic number to one, despite a 3-2 loss in Atlanta.  Larry Herndon's two-run pinch single in the seventh proved to be the game-winner. MAN 14, BOS 1 -- Two homers by Rico Petrocelli against his former club paced a 14-run explosion, helping Steve Carlton to his 18th win of the season with a eight-hit complete game and 10 strikeouts.  The Sox magic number is down to two. CLE 4, WAS 3, 11 inn. -- Washington is one loss from elimination after losing in extra frames on an RBI single by Cito Gaston. Batting Race .352 - Rod Carew, DAL (1-4) .341 - Joe Torre, ATL (DNP) ERA Race 2.06 - Fergie Jenkins, SF (DNP) 2.08 - Mike Hedlund, SF (DNP) 2.27 - Rich Reuschel, CLE (DNP)	W L GB MN                                                   MON 99 53 -- ***    LA 87 65 +4 1    DET 89 63 +5 *   MAN 86 66 +3 2   STL 83 68 3 8   WAS 82 70 4 9
Thu Sep 18	Playoff Field Set Outlaws Clinch West, Sox Grab Second Wildcard LA 6, ATL 4 -- Dave Winfield and Jorge Orta homered and Phil Niekro got his 14th win as Los Angeles clinched their second West Division crown in Atlanta. MAN 5, BOS 1 -- Tom Grieve homered and drove in four runs to push his league leading totals to 46 and 128, and Steve Rogers got his 18th win with a four-hitter, as the Gray Sox completed a sweep of the Federals to return to the postseason for a second straight year. DET 7, STL 4 -- Claudell Washington homered and drove in three runs as Detroit clinched the top wildcard spot and a date with the Los Angeles Outlaws in the semifinal series.  St. Louis is eliminated despite a 17-win turnaround over last season. CLE 7, WAS 6, 14 inn. -- By the time the game ended the result was irrelevant--the Mons had already been eliminated--but the defeat on the road on a 14th inning  error by Art Howe brought an especially painful end to Washington's season. MON 1, BRO 0 -- Ernie McAnally edged Catfish Hunter in a 1-0 pitchers' duel for their 100th win of the season. Batting Race .353 - Rod Carew, DAL (2-4) .344 - Joe Torre, ATL (3-4) ERA Race 2.06 - Fergie Jenkins, SF (DNP) 2.17 - Mike Hedlund, SF (8.1 IP, 4 ER) 2.27 - Rich Reuschel, CLE (DNP)	W L GB MN                                                   MON 100 53 -- ***    LA 88 65 +5 **    DET 90 63 +7 *   MAN 87 66 +4 *   STL 83 70 4     WAS 82 71 5
Fri Sep 19	Griffins Beat V's in Possible WS Preview, Sox Bats Hot DET 7, MON 6, 15 inn. -- In a potential World Series preview, the Griffins nipped the V's on a Brian Downing sac fly in the 15th after rallying to tie the game in the 7th, 11th, and 12th.  Matty Alou was 4-for-4 but didn't enter the game until the 7th. WAS 3, LA 2 -- Art Howe atoned for his game- and season-ending error the night before with a game-winning RBI single in the 7th, as Vida Blue finished the year 13-12. MAN 10, CLE 3 -- Craig Robinson homered twice, driving in six, as Manhattan again exploded.  The Sox offense has scored 36 runs in their last four games and seems to be peaking just in time for the playoffs. Batting Race .357 - Rod Carew, DAL (4-4) .347 - Joe Torre, ATL (3-4) ERA Race 2.06 - Fergie Jenkins, SF (DNP) 2.17 - Mike Hedlund, SF (DNP) 2.27 - Rich Reuschel, CLE (DNP)	W L GB MN                                                   MON 100 54 -- ***    LA 88 66 +5 **    DET 91 63 +7 *   MAN 88 66 +4 *
Sat Sep 20	Cepeda Gets 10th 100-RBI Season MON 5, DET 3 -- Dock Ellis won his 18th against his former team as Montréal avenged their game one defeat.  3B Roy Howell hit his first UL home run in his 72nd game. LA 4, WAS 3 -- Dennis Leonard got his 16th win in his final start of the season, Goose Gossage got his 29th save, and Gary Thomasson homered for the second game in a row. CLE 4, MAN 2 -- Rick Reuschel cooled the red hot Gray Sox bats with a six-hitter for his 15th win, and Orlando Cepeda hit a solo homer for his 100th RBI--the 10th 100-RBI season of his career. Batting Race .357 - Rod Carew, DAL (1-4) .350 - Joe Torre, ATL (3-4, 9-12 in last 3) ERA Race 2.06 - Fergie Jenkins, SF (DNP) 2.17 - Mike Hedlund, SF (DNP) 2.26 - Rich Reuschel, CLE (9.0, 2 ER)	W L GB MN                                                   MON 101 54 -- ***    LA 89 66 +5 **    DET 91 64 +7 *   MAN 88 67 +4 *
Sun Sep 21	Carew Wins Batting Title Allen Homers in 9th, Griffins End on High Note DET 2, MON 1 -- Detroit, which won 89 games in 1962 and 88 in 1970, notched their club-record 92nd win on the last day of the season, nipping 1st place Montréal 2-1 with homers by Reggie Jackson in the 8th inning and Dick Allen in the 9th. LA 3, WAS 0 -- Larry Dierker tossed a four-hit shutout with nine strikeouts and Dave Collins drove in a pair as Los Angeles' clinched its fourth 90-win season in club history. CLE 4, MAN 3 -- Cleveland ran up four early runs on Lefty Carlton and Marcelino Lopez and a trio of relievers held the lead. Batting Race .356 - Rod Carew, DAL (1-4) .350 - Joe Torre, ATL (0-0, pinch BB) ERA Race 2.07 - Fergie Jenkins, SF (8.0, 2 ER) 2.17 - Mike Hedlund, SF (DNP) 2.26 - Rich Reuschel, CLE (9.0, 2 ER)	W L GB MN                                                   MON 101 55 -- ***    LA 90 66 +5 **    DET 92 64 +7 *   MAN 88 68 +4 *