April 24, 1977 - Yankees 10-7, Indians 1-1
- Sal Maiorana
- Apr 24, 2017
- 2 min read
CLEVELAND - Almost as if it had never happened, the Yankees’ five-game losing streak was a thing of the past, completely offset by the current five-game winning streak that began when Billy Martin pulled his lineup from a hat. New York completed a sweep of the Indians by winning both ends of a double header by the lopsided scores of 10-1 and 7-1 and improved to 7-8.
In the five games, the Yankees had scored 41 runs and pounded out 63 hits, including 17 runs and 23 hits on this chilly day in Cleveland. On the flip side, the Indians couldn’t get anything going and saw their losing streak reach six games.
Rookie Gil Patterson started the opener for New York, but walked six in the first three innings so Dick Tidrow and Sparky Lyle were called on to eat up the rest of the innings, none of which were high leverage after Chris Chambliss’ three-run double off Dennis Eckersley made it 4-0 in the fourth. Chambliss later tagged Eck for a three-run homer during a six-run sixth inning.
In the nightcap, Willie Randolph had a big two-run single during a three-run seventh inning that broke open a game that had been tied at 1-1. That was enough for Ed Figueroa who pitched a complete game six-hitter and lowered his ERA to 1.78. Oddly, it was his first win in eight starts dating back to 1976, and he said, “It was a long time coming. But with all the hitters we have, I don’t have to worry about it.”
What was interesting about this new lineup was the way Randolph was excelling in the leadoff spot in place of Mickey Rivers. In 25 plate appearances over the five games, Randolph had gotten on base eight times for an on-base percentage of .320 and he had scored six runs.
“I feel comfortable batting leadoff,” Randolph said. “I’ve always battled at the top of the order, I like it there. It’s much easier to hit up there than it is at the bottom.” His reasoning is that with big boppers like Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, and Graig Nettles behind him, pitchers “have to throw strikes (to him). They don’t want to walk me with all those hitters coming up.”
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