On This Date in 1978...

Roy White's two-RBI single in the top of the 4th put the Yankees ahead to stay, as they cruised to a 7-3 victory over the Tigers in Detroit.  Jim Beattie worked the first 6-1/3 innings, while Goose Gossage got the final eight outs (striking out future Yank Steve Kemp to end the game).

The win gave the Yankees undisputed possession of 1st place in the American League East, overtaking the Red Sox, whom they'd trailed by 14 games in mid-July.

With 18 games to go, nothing was truly settled.  The Yanks would go 12 and 6, finishing in a tie with their forever rivals and forcing a one-game playoff at Fenway Park.  

And Yankee fans know, and will forever celebrate, the rest of that story.



 

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