On This Date in Sports September 6, 1974: 00000 Orioles
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The Baltimore Orioles sweep a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, shutting the Tribe out in both games at Municipal Stadium 2-0 and 1-0. The Orioles had come into the doubleheader, with three shutout wins against Boston Red Sox. In total, the Orioles would get a 54-inning shutout streak spread out over seven games to set a new American League record.
As September began, the Baltimore Orioles were sitting in third place, six games back with a record of 66-65. Since the start of divisional play in 1969, the Orioles had owned the American League East, winning four times in five years. After posting losing records in July and August, the Orioles streak was in jeopardy as they were hovering near .500. They had hit rock bottom on August 28th, when they dropped into fourth place with a record of 63-65 and sat eight games behind the first-place Red Sox.
After winning the final game of a series against the Texas Rangers, the Orioles moved on to Kansas City and swept the Royals to get back over .500. In the finale, the Orioles beat the Royals 7-1, with Dave McNally allowing just one run in the eighth inning. Coming home the Birds hosted the Boston Red Sox in a Labor Day doubleheader against the first-place Red Sox, with the season hanging in the balance.
The Orioles had Ross Grimsley on the mound against 20-game winner Luis Tiant in the opener. Both pitchers were at the top of their game, allowing just three hits. One of those hits for Baltimore was a fourth-inning home run by Bobby Grich. It was the only run of the game, as Baltimore won 1-0. In-Game 2 of the doubleheader, it was Mike Cuellar going for Earl Weaver’s Orioles, as Bill Lee made a start for Boston. Cuellar was even better, as he tossed a complete-game two-hitter. Enos Cabell scored the game’s only run on a sacrifice fly by Paul Blair in the third inning, as the Orioles again won 1-0. Two days later Jim Palmer who had struggled with injuries most of the season made a start for the Orioles as they looked for the sweep. Allowing just three hits, Palmer improved to 6-10 on the year, as the Orioles won 6-0. Earl Williams had a big game with the bat, driving in three runs, with a pair of solo homers as Roger Moret took the loss for Boston.
Now in Cleveland, the Orioles were just two games out of first as they played a Friday doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians. Dave McNally started for the Orioles, while Fritz Peterson started for the Indians in the opener of the twi-nighter at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Coming off a series, in which the Orioles held the Red Sox to eight hits in three games, McNally kept the hit totals low, as the Tribe managed just three hits. The game was scoreless until the eighth inning when Enos Cabell hit his first home run of the season to give the O’s a 1-0 lead. The Orioles added an insurance run in the ninth when Paul Blair scored on a sac-fly by Tommy Davis, for a 2-0 win. In the nightcap, Mike Cuellar took the mound again on three day’s rest. Jim Kern making his big league debut got the start for the Indians. Both pitchers were sharp, allowing just five hits. Once again, it was the Orioles scratching out a run as Mark Belanger scored on a double by Rich Coggins in the seventh inning for the game’s lone run, as the Orioles got their ninth straight win.
Looking for a sixth straight shutout the following afternoon, the Orioles had Ross Grimsley going up against Gaylord Perry. For eighth innings, Grimsley delivered nothing but zeroes, as they took a 3-0 lead on Cabell scoring on a Blair sacrifice fly in third, Tommy Davis scoring on an RBI single by Don Baylor in the fourth and Coggins driving in Belanger in the seventh. Looking for the complete-game shutout, Grimsley ran on of gas in the ninth allowing a leadoff double to George Hendrick and a two-run homer to Charlie Spikes to end the scoreless inning streak at 54. Bob Reynolds would come on to get the next three batters, as the Orioles won 3-2 to extend their winning streak to ten games.
The Orioles would go on to win 23 games in September as they won the American League East for the fifth time in six years with a record of 91-71. In the ALCS, they would lose for the season straight season to the Oakland Athletics in four games. The five consecutive shutouts at 54 innings established a new American League record. Only the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1903 had a longer streak, going 56 total innings.