There wasn’t anything flashy about it, but in the end Denny McLain outlasted Dave McNally as the 1968 Detroit Tigers scored late to top the 1969 Baltimore Orioles 5-4 to take Game 1 of their best-of-five series. The teams traded runs early, but the Tigers carried a 3-2 lead into the 5th. That’s when Frank Robinson hit a 2-run home run to give Baltimore a 4-3 lead. That lead held until the 8th, when Willie Horton led off with a double, and Bill Freehan tied it with a single. The Tigers pulled ahead later in the inning when Freehan scored on a Don Wert sacrifice fly. McLain pitched three hitless innings to close things out for the win. Robinson finished 3 for 4 with the homer and 2 RBI. Five different Tigers had two hits. It was a great start to the Tournament for Detroit.