April 6, 1984 – Tigers 3, White Sox 2 (3-0)

The Tigers drew first blood , as they scored three runs before the White Sox even batted. Dave Bergman came up with a big two run, two out single to give the Tigers that three run lead. Of course they would have never known that all those runs would be very important, as they’d get only three more hits the rest of the way.

Milt Wilcox pitched seven quality innings, giving up only four hits and one run in seven innings. He did walk four, and one of those, drawn by Harold Baines, was the only player to score on him.

And then the Tigers got a minor scare in eighth. Pitching in his third consecutive game, Willie Hernandez gave up one run in the eighth, but slammed the door shut in the ninth, givng the Tigers their third straight win and Hernandez his first save of the season.

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April 3, 1984 – Detroit 8, Twins 1 (1-0)

Jack Morris was about as impressive as a pitcher could be in an opening day appearance, pitching seven innings, while giving up only one run on five hits. All while striking out eight. The Tigers drew first blood in the third with a one run double by Howard Johnson, and a one run single by Tram. After scoring these two runs, the Tigers would never look back, as the only dent the Twins would be able to make was in the second half of the inning, when Twins put one on the board.

And what would become an trend all season, Aurilio Lopez pitched a perfect eighth, and Willie (Guillermo) Hernandez pitched a perfect ninth. It wouldn’t always be those same innings, but those two guys were the anchor of a great pen, and you’ll be seeing their names pop up quite often.

April 4, 1984 – Day Off (1-0)

April 5, 1984 – Tigers 7, Twins 3 (2-0)

Dan Petry gave up the lead early in this one (two runs in the second), but the Tigers bounced back by scoring one in the third and three in the fourth. Petry calmed, and ended up going seven. Willie Hernandez then did the job by pitching perfect eight and nine innings. Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson led the way on offense. Both hit homeruns (Gibby’s was a three run shot to put the Tigers up for good in the fourth), and Tram went three for four.

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