August 26, 1977 – Yankees 6, Rangers 5

NEW YORK – The Yankees just kept rolling, and not even an early 5-1 deficit was too much to overcome as they won for the 17th time in 19 games and increased their lead over the Red Sox to a season-high-to-date three full games.

Ed Figueroa struggled and lasted only five innings as he gave up four runs on a three-run homer by Toby Harrah and a solo shot by Mike Hargrove, the first homers he had allowed in his last six starts. When Harrah ripped a RBI triple off reliever Ken Clay in the sixth, the Yankees were in a spot of trouble, but then came their rally with one run in the sixth and two each in the seventh and eighth.

Willie Randolph had a RBI single in the sixth, Thurman Munson and Lou Piniella drove in runs in the seventh by making outs, and then came the thunder in the eighth. With two outs and Willie Randolph at second, Mickey Rivers singled him home to tie the game, and Graig Nettles followed with a game-winning triple.

What was incredible during this 19-game run of brilliance for the Yankees is their success against left-handed pitching, something that was supposed to be an issue this season for the lefty-hitting team. In the 19 games, Rivers was now hitting .486 against lefties, Nettles was at .395, Reggie Jackson .323 with 14 RBI, and Chris Chambliss .297 with 14 RBI.

Here's another look back at pop culture from 1977. This was the year one of my favorite movies was released, Slapshot, starring Paul Newman. Here's a clip of the all-time great Hanson Brothers, doing what they did best.

The daily baseball report

#Slapshot #EdFigueroa #WillieRandolph #PaulNewman