Oakland shortstop Bert Campaneris came to bat, having had three hits, two runs scored, and two stolen bases in his first three at-bats in the game.
The benches cleared, and while there were no punches thrown or other incidents involving players, Tigers manager Billy Martin had to be restrained by umpires and teammates to prevent him from going after Campaneris.
The A's infield and outfield were positioned shallow for a play at the plate; Jim Northrup hit a deep fly ball off Dave Hamilton to drive in the winning run.
In the second inning on a double steal, center fielder and cleanup hitter Reggie Jackson scored from third base, but was injured and was out for the season.
But by the fourth, it was clear runs wouldn't come easy, so when George Hendrick scored on a Gene Tenace RBI single, the Tigers knew they were in trouble.
Odom got the win, Blue got the save, and the A's were a World Series team for the first time in Oakland,[1][2] and won the first of three straight American League pennants.
Norm Cash homered to give the Tigers a 1–0 lead in the second inning, and the A's tied it in the third on a Joe Rudi sacrifice fly.
Cash laid down a sacrifice bunt, but reached first when second baseman Ted Kubiak, covering first, dropped Sal Bando's throw.
Gene Tenace attempted a sacrifice bunt, but third baseman Aurelio Rodríguez pounced on it and forced Blue Moon Odom, running for Bando, at third.
Odom got the win for the A's, who now had a 2–0 lead, but would play without Campaneris for the remainder of the Championship Series, on account of a suspension he was issued due to the bat-throwing incident described in the Overview above.
Joe Coleman put the Tigers back into the series by throwing a complete-game, seven-hit shutout, striking out a then ALCS record 14 batters.
In the sixth, A's second baseman Dick Green was hurt on a hard slide by Norm Cash trying to break up a double play.
Rollie Fingers relieved Hunter and Billy Martin called for a suicide squeeze that failed and McAuliffe was thrown out trying to score.
A's reliever Joe Horlen's wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third and Gates Brown walked to load the bases with no outs.
Bill Freehan then grounded an apparent double play ball to third, but the inexperienced Tenace at second dropped Sal Bando's throw.
Dave Hamilton then relieved Horlen and promptly walked Norm Cash to tie the game, and then gave up a walk-off single to Jim Northrup, a ball hit over right fielder Matty Alou's head (the outfield was drawn in), scoring Brown with the winning run.
The A's got the winning tally in the fourth when George Hendrick, Jackson's replacement, reached on a ground ball to shortstop McAuliffe that was ruled a throwing error when Norm Cash's foot was pulled off first base.
Odom got the win and Vida Blue the save in four innings of relief as the A's, minus Jackson, won their first pennant since 1931 and moved on to the World Series.
[1][2] As an odd precursor to what became an explosive relationship years later, Martin visited the A's locker room and consoled Jackson, expressing regret that he would miss the Series.