BAUER'S 3 BLASTS PACE YANKS
Reynolds Overcomes Poor 1st

NEW YORK, June 17 (AP) - Hank Bauer belted three home runs, Mickey Mantle added a three-run clout of his own and the New York Yankees overcame a poor first inning by starter Allie Reynolds to whip the Detroit Tigers 11-6 in front of nearly 45,000 spectators at Yankee Stadium.  Winning the rubber match of the three-game series ensures that New York will retain sole possession of first place for at least another day, regardless of the outcome of Chicago's doubleheader at Philadelphia.

Reynolds (3-4) has struggled in the majority of his starts this season and this one was no exception right out of the gates.  Detroit batted around in the first inning, nearly driving the right-hander from the mound in the process.  Johnny Lipon led off the game with a double into the right field corner and Jerry Priddy immediately drove him home with a single to left-center.  George Kell followed with a single of his own and Vic Wertz continued the hit parade by dropping another single into right, plating Priddy and advancing Kell to third.  Four batters into the game and the Tigers were already on top 2-0 and threatening for more.  And more they would get.  After Pat Mullin popped out, Johnny Groth walked to fill the bases.  Aaron Robinson's fly ball to right was more than deep enough to score Kell with Wertz moving to third and when Don Kryhoski grounded a single between first and second, Wertz came home to make it 4-0.  Reynolds likely would have been pulled from the game had he not retired the ninth hitter of the inning, pitcher Ted Gray, as Yankees manager Casey Stengel had a reliever warming up in the bullpen, but Reynolds got Gray on a grounder to second.

The Yankees came back with a pair of runs in their own half of the first inning on Bauer's tape measure blast to left field with Phil Rizzuto, who had walked, aboard.

When Reynolds returned to the mound in the top of the second, he seemed like a different pitcher, and he held Detroit hitless until Kell singled with two outs in the seventh.  Ultimately, Reynolds worked into the ninth before tiring and allowed Jack Kramer to mop up what was then a New York rout.

The Yankees took the lead for good in the fourth.  Trailing 4-2, Bauer started the rally by bouncing a single into right field.  Jackie Jensen doubled past Kryhoski at first, advancing Bauer to third.  Johnny Mize's fly to right scored Bauer and moved Jensen to third.  Yogi Berra walked, putting runners on the corners, and Gil McDougald doubled to right, scoring Jensen to tie the game and chasing Berra to third.  Jerry Coleman walked to fill the bases and Reynolds' RBI grounder to second scored Berra, capping the fourth inning rally.

With Reynolds rolling along at this point, New York simply added to its lead.  In the seventh, Bauer's second home run of the game, a two-run blast just inside the left field foul pole, put the Yankees on top by three.  The left fielder's third round tripper was an opposite field solo shot into the right field bleachers, upped the Yankees' lead to 8-4.

Mantle capped New York's scoring for the day with a three-run home run into the lower grandstand down the right field line in the eighth.

The Tigers scored a pair of consolation runs in the ninth after Kramer replaced Reynolds, on Steve Souchock's triple and Lipon's ground out.

The three-game weekend series saw large crowds throughout.  The Yankees drew a total of 137,306 spectators for the Detroit series, including 50,632 for the second game, the largest crowd of the season at Yankee Stadium apart from opening day.

6/17/1951, Det51-NYA51, Yankee Stadium
 
                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
1951 Tigers            4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  2     6  9  0     8  0
1951 Yankees           2  0  0  3  2  0  1  3  x    11 10  1     3  0
 
Tigers               AB  R  H BI   AVG    Yankees              AB  R  H BI   AVG
Lipon             ss  5  1  1  1  .329    Mantle            rf  5  1  1  3  .311
Priddy            2b  4  1  2  1  .276     Mapes            rf  0  0  0  0  .367
Kell              3b  5  1  2  0  .302    Rizzuto           ss  4  2  1  0  .298
Wertz             rf  4  1  1  1  .318    Bauer             lf  4  4  4  5  .309
Mullin            lf  5  0  0  0  .240    Jensen            cf  4  1  1  0  .309
Groth             cf  3  0  0  0  .336    Berra             c   3  1  0  0  .269
Robinson,A        c   4  0  0  1  .250    Mize              1b  4  0  0  1  .264
Kryhoski          1b  4  1  2  1  .282     Brown,B          3b  0  0  0  0  .293
Gray              p   1  0  0  0  .148    McDougald         3b  4  0  1  1  .259
 Stuart           p   1  0  0  0  .000     Collins          1b  0  0  0  0  .278
 Souchock         ph  1  1  1  1  .333    Coleman,Je        2b  3  1  2  0  .311
                     37  6  9  6          Reynolds          p   3  1  0  1  .333
                                           Kramer           p   0  0  0  0  .200
                                                               34 11 10 11
 
Tigers                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Gray             L 1-4           4.0  6  7  7  3  3  84  50  5.94
Stuart                           4.0  4  4  4  1  0  55  30  4.91
                                 8.0 10 11 11  4  3 139  80
 
Yankees                          INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Reynolds         W 3-4           8.0  7  5  5  3  5 148  93  4.29
Kramer                           1.0  2  1  1  1  0  19  12 11.64
                                 9.0  9  6  6  4  5 167 105
 
Det: Souchock batted for Stuart in the 9th
NYA: Mapes inserted at rf in the 9th
     Brown,B inserted at 3b in the 9th
     Collins inserted at 1b in the 9th
 
E-Coleman,Je. 2B-Lipon(10), Jensen(5), McDougald(2). 3B-Souchock(3).
HR-Mantle(10), Bauer 3(8). RBI-Lipon(21), Priddy(20), Wertz(54),
Robinson,A(1), Kryhoski(23), Souchock(17), Mantle 3(41), Bauer 5(15),
Mize(25), McDougald(23), Reynolds(1). SB-Priddy(1), Rizzuto(8). K-Lipon,
Priddy 2, Kell, Mullin, Mantle, Rizzuto, McDougald. BB-Priddy, Wertz, Groth,
Gray, Rizzuto, Berra, Coleman,Je, Reynolds.
GWRBI: Reynolds
Temperature: 81, Sky: clear, Wind: in from center at 11 MPH.
Attendance: 44,832
Game Time: 2:25