1968 World Series
In Game 4, a solo home run by Jim Northrup was the only offense the Tigers were able to muster, as Gibson struck out ten batters.
[1][2] Stanley, who replaced the superior fielding but much weaker hitting Ray Oyler, would make two errors in the Series, neither of which led to a run.
All seven games of NBC's TV coverage were preserved on black-and-white kinescopes by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and circulate among collectors.
Gibson finished the game in the ninth inning with his 15th, 16th, and 17th strikeouts to pass Sandy Koufax's previous record of 15, set in the 1963 World Series.
But Orlando Cepeda put the game out of reach in the seventh inning by smacking a three-run home run.
The Cardinals' reliever Joe Hoerner entered the game in the sixth in relief of Ray Washburn (who got the win) and earned a save with three scoreless innings pitched.
Hoerner also collected a single batting in the eighth and became the first[citation needed] major leaguer to get a hit in the World Series after going hitless for the entire season.
Tiger manager Mayo Smith, needing another left-handed bat in the lineup, made a major change by inserting veteran Eddie Mathews at third base.
A 31-game winner during the regular season, he struggled for the second time in this World Series, as this one-sided pitching match-up with Bob Gibson showed.
McLain's troubles continued, and after a walk to Julián Javier, the umpires stopped the game due to rain with two out in the third inning.
Bob Gibson did return after the delay, and helped his own cause by hitting a home run off Joe Sparma in the fourth inning.
Other than that, Gibson was a nearly perfect pitcher, tossing his second complete game in this World Series while striking out ten batters.
Lolich's first inning in this game was not too promising, as he allowed an RBI single by Curt Flood and a two-run home run to Orlando Cepeda.
Tigers' first baseman Norm Cash began the team comeback with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, plating Mickey Stanley who had tripled.
The Cardinals' starting pitcher Nelson Briles was taken out of the game in the seventh inning with one runner on base, and was replaced by reliever Joe Hoerner.
After Hoerner loaded the bases, the Tigers began a game-winning rally, with Al Kaline hitting a two-run single to give his team a 4–3 lead.
Jose Feliciano's unconventional pre-game singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" aroused considerable controversy, with the Tigers and NBC receiving thousands of angry letters and telephone calls about the performance.
[12] Lolich also blamed Feliciano's unusually long rendition for causing him to get cold after his warm-ups and thus give up three early runs.
Cardinals' manager Red Schoendienst stayed with his normal three-starter rotation, selecting Ray Washburn, who had won Game 3.
In a fitting end to this Series (and the final game of Roger Maris' career) the two teams' hottest pitchers, Mickey Lolich and Bob Gibson, squared off in a classic duel, until an infamous hit over the head of Curt Flood.
Jim Northrup then hit a hard smash to deep center; Curt Flood, who won numerous Gold Glove awards in his career, misjudged it and briefly started in on the ball before turning around to go back.
In the October 29, 1968, issue of The Sporting News, both Flood and manager Red Schoendienst indicated they would have expected the normally sure-handed outfielder to catch such a ball.
The final out of the series was recorded when Bill Freehan caught a pop foul off the very next batter, Tim McCarver.
