Daily News from New York, New York • 27

00 Tigers 'lop -as limy Tiiniks" Oh, That Yankee Defense By Red Foley YANKEES DETROIT b.av. ab. r. h. tb.rbi.po.a.

e. b.av. ab. r. h.

tb.rbi.po.a. e. Clarke.zo 280 0 2 2 2 3 3 0 2 Uil 3 i i -i C5 1 2 i Callison.rf .232 5 1 10 I .219 2 0 0 0 0 1 White. If 255 3 0 1 1 0 1 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I 0.0 1-0 4 0 0 1 0 I 0 1 I 0 0 2 2 0 10 1 0 0 I 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 Jala.lt Kaline.rf I. Brown, lb -Casn, lb btanley.ct Hailer.c Brinkman.ss Timmernuivp Scherman.p iec-m .182 .253 .288 .29 .236 .063 .111 Blomoerg.lb 267 2 0 1 1 .210 2 0 0 0 Munson.c .290 4 1 0 -0 McKinney Jb .231 4 0,2 2 Michael.ss -222 3 1 0 0 Kekicn.o .111 1 0 0 0 b-Torres .303 10 0 0 McDaniel, .000 0 0 0 0 e-Ellis J64 1 0 0 0 They credited Tom Tim-merman with the victory and awarded Fred Scherman the sve, but Tony Taylor, who performed flawlessly at bat and in the field, was forgotten in the tumult of the Tigers' 8-2 Stadium romp over the Yankees last night.

But then a lot of baseball people have- been discounting Antonio Tavlor's contributions for 4 7 27 9 I 37 I I I Totals c-Poooed out for Jafa in 9th. team Totals 33 2 7 7 2 27 15 3 'including last night's game. -a-yroonded out tor Blomberg in 4th. b-tlied out tor Kekich in 7th. e-struck out for McDaniel in 9th.

d-Waiked tor I. Brown 9th. Detroit 11 YANKEES ti 010 2 a lot of years. But Billy Martin, Scherman). Hits off Tim- Earned runs Detroit 4.

-Yankees I. Left Hdller. the Tigers skipper, isn one of the forgetful ones. He appreci ates the quiet Cuban, who is playing his second season with merman 4 and 1 run (I earneo) jti inns; box rman 3 and (0). in Kekich and 4 (4) in McDaniel 2 and 4 (01 in 2.

Hit by pitcner Scherman (Mercer). Wild pitch-Kekich Timmerman. Passed ball Munson 2. Winning Pitcher Timmerman 13-4). Losing Pitcher Kekick (4-3).

Time 2:53. Umpires Maloney, Napp, Franty, Anthony. Attendance on bases Detroit Yankees Stolen base Callison. caught stealing dv Haner (Clarke). Sacrifice Kekicn.

bases on bails oft nmmerman i (Michael, Murcer, White); Kekich 5 (Taylor, 2, Kaline, I. Brown, Jata); McDaniel 2 (Kaline, Cash). Struck out oy limmerman 4 (Callison, Blomberg, McKinney, Kekich, White); Kekich 6 (Kaline, nmmerman 2, I. Brown ennkman. Holler); McDaniel 3.

(Stanley, pi CZJ ri a Detroit after working more than a decade in the.NL. nlatonn Tonv with Dick) McAuliffe and laylor has been doing some kind of job for me, Martin said. "When vou think about it I have some of the youngest 37-year-old players you ever saw. Geriatric Wonders Taylor, Norm Cash and Al Ka- berg, put the Tiger southpaw got both Alou and Munson to cancel the locals' threat. After Taylor's two-out walk gave Detroit the impetus to fill the bases for Kaline's game-breaking hit, Scherman had no serious trouble" with the Yankees until Cash's error helped them eventually pickup their other run in the ninth.

By then few Yankee adherents were caring. A four-run ninth, which Rich McKinney and Michael prolonged with bobbles, prompted their so-what attitude. loaded boot, made it 6-1 before -Tom Haller punched a two-run single to complete the rout that tended to make 'em forget all the little things Tony Taylor had contributed. DIAMOND DUST: Today is Ball Day and Stadium officials are confident that gimmick, plus pitching matchup between Mel Stottlemyre and Joe Coleman might fill some of those vacant seats Jata, who piayed left-field, is local boy. He's from As-.

torja Haller's two RBI gave him 501 for his career r. Tigers have recalled Wayne Comer as numerical replacement for Willie NEWS photo by Dan Farrell Ump George Anthony-seems about to call out Tigers Tony Taylor at third last night at Stadium, but caught himself Jn time to avoid embarrassing boo-boo when it was' obvious Yankee third baseman Rich McKinney didn't have handle on ball. third strike eluded catcher line comprise Martin's' geriatric wonders and both Taylor and Ka-line made big contributions to the Detroit victory that edged the Tigers to within 'Half a game of Cleveland in the AL East. Most of the 9,579 paying customers applauded Kaline for the seventh inning single by which the Bengals turned a slim one run edge into a 4-1 cushion against loser Mike Kekich. But very few took into consideration Taylor's three singles and the two walks contributed to the defeat that pushed the Yankees I But the fact it was Taylor's one- board in the fifth and when Timmerman, whose good fastball and moving slider had been hampering the Yankees, walked Bobby Murcer and Roy White, Martin sent for Scherman.

Ralph Houk retaliated by inserting Felipe Alou for lefty-swing Ron Blom Thurm Munson, Taylor -helped build Detroit's second run with a clever poke itno right-center that sent Timmerman to third. When Rodriquez followed with a single the Yankees trailed, 2-0. Clarke's single got them on the out single that initiated the unearned runs against Lindy McDaniel shouldn't be dismissed lightly. Michael's error and two walks, plus McKinney's bases- Horton who's disabled with muscle tear in left leg Yankee pitchers haven' allowed enemy homer in nine games. games below the .500 level.

Actually, Taylor's output was (Cwds Thump Mot-loo 'Timing' Is Tom Sez By Dick Young St. Louis, May 26 The reason this may not be the greatest Met team of all-time is that Tom Seaver isn't nearly as great as he was in '69, the year that jneasures Met greatness. Tom Terrific, for the sixth straight time, tonight failed to go ST. LOUIS bav. ab.

r. h. tb.rbi.po.a. .317 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 .269 3 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 .346 4 0 1 1 0 6 1 1 .373 4 0 2 6 2 6 I 0 .279 32362700 .178 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .191 4 0 1 1 2 3 0 0 .081 40000530 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brock.lf Alou.lb Simmons. Carbo.rf Melendez.cf Maxvill.ss Team zoo- METS b.av.

ab. r. h. tb.rbi.po.a. e.

Harrelson.ss .221 3 1110 12 1 .266 .40 1 2-00 1 0 Aree.cf .289 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 Staub.rf .304 4 1 2 2 1 4 0 Jones. lb .280 4 0 1 1 0 6 0 0 Milner.H .273 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 Garrett.2b .143 40000250 Grote.c .245 4 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 Seaver.p .125 3 0000000 Sadecki.p .200 00000000 a-Marshall .000 10000000 Team .246 Totals 34 2 10 1 24 1 a-Popped out for Sadecki in 9th. Earned runs Mets 1, St. Louis i. Left on bases Mets 7, St.

Louis 6. Two-base hits Aoee, Torre, Freoosl. Home runs Torre, Simmons (off Seaver). Stolen bases Torre, Brock. Double plays St.

Louis 2 (Torre-Alou-Torre. Maxvill-Alou). Bases on balls off Seaver 3 (Sizemore. Simmons, Carbo); Wise 2 (Harrelson, Asee). Struck out by the distance, losing, 6-2, to the Cardinals the last-place Cardin Totals 33 6 8 IS 27 9 1 'Including last night's game.

METS 1 0 0 10 1 0 tJ St. Louis 3 (0 0 10 2 als, 12 lengths behind them walks were singles by Matty Alou and Luis Melendez. Melendez, subbing in center for sore-handed, Jose Cruz, knocked in two with his single. Torre ground-balled home another, so that Seaver trailed, 3-1, after an inning. The Mets had scored in the top half on hits by Bud Harrelson and Rusty Staub.

They got only one other run off Rick' Wise, who has struggled to the get-even plateau at 4-and-4. Wise has his problems, trying to make the Steve Carlton deal look good. A man likes to do better" than" the guy he was traded for, or at least as well, and Wise is trailing Carlton right now. Wise wasn't really responsible for the Mets' second run. Singles by Staub and Cleon Jones had two on with one down when Milner's catchable low liner was muffed by Matty all to apraise the DP possibilities of the moment.

As the ball trickled into short right, Staub, delayed en route by the possible catch, hustled home sufficient to clinch Timmerman's third win and Scherman's fifth save. He scored three runs and took two base hits away 'from Horace Clarke, one of them with a fine stop after the Yankees had gotten Gene Michael to third with two out in the third. Touch of Intangible Tony, whose wife and seven-year-old son, Antonio were among the chilled Stadium onlookers last evening, watched as their bread-winner wasted no time going to work. He opened the game with the first of five walks Kekich ws to issue and then demonstrated what the late Branch Rickey elegantly termed "the intangibles." When Aurelio Rodriguez followed with a fly to deep left, Taylor, unlike most major leaguers, didn't prance halfway to second and play spectator. Realizing the ball, although well hit, would be caught by Roy White, Taylor lingered near first and then re-tagged that bag and sprinted easily to second after the out! It became a bright move when Paul Jata followed with a single to left that enabled Taylor to score the first run.

After Timmerman was struck out but reached first because the Seaver 2 (Alou. Wise 6 (Jones, Mil-ner 2, Grote, Seaver 2). Hits off Seaver and 6 runs (6 earned) in 7 inns; Sadecki 0 and 0 (0) in Winning Pitcher Wise (4-4). Losing Pitcher Seaver (7-2). Time 2:14.

Umpires Dale, Crawford, Pelekoudas, Steiner. Attendance 21.247. on hdmers by Joe Torre and led Simmons. It has been a month since Seaver went the distance. Not that he has been all that bad.

It's just that you expect more from Tom Seaver. So does Tom Seaver. Timing Is Off can't figure it," he said. "My timing is lousy, and I don't know why. My arm is fine.

My legs no longer bother me. I just can't get m.i delivery together." What SevaeJ -calls timing is his body-coordin tion, the smoothness of delivery. Still, this is only his second defeat, and he has seven wins. Show me a man who wouldn't like to be 7-and-2, and 111 show you Mickey Lolich, 8-and-2. Seaver was done tonight before he got gopher-bit.

He was wild at the start, walking three men and going 3-balls on several others. Mixed with the early PUNCH LINES By BILL GALLO Gbobge CHUVALO was at vm kIWGSIDe AS A TV COOMEMTATOg- There were 06E CDMEZClMS TK4AJ 0U THE JdWKIV cassou Scow fiJKT TMS SAW 6Oe6S WAS MM. AL Standings LAST NIGHT Detroit YANKEES 2. Baltimore 2. Cleveland 0.

Boston 5. Milwaukee 4. Oakland 4, Chicago 2 California 10. Kansas City 5. Minnesota 7.

Texas a. roe a irri tmue we TTwuarr WE WV60m rSbJT am. TO SCA4ym4S- jwtMiiM mum tC7ROAA4r 7X H4em from second, a display of adven-. (Continued on page 30) SPi(5nf4) YEVTCRDAY SI. Louis METS 2, Right.

Chiraoo itrr Cinc-nnati 4, San Diego 0, night. Pittsburgh 6. Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 9. San Francisco 4. nioht.

Houston Lo 3. night. EAST W. L. Pet.

G.B. METS 26 10 .722 Pittsburgh 21 13 .613 4 Chicago 18 16 .529 7 Montreal 16 20 .444 10 Philadelphia 15 20 .429 10 Vt St. Louis 14 23 .378 12 WEST W. L. Pet.

G.B. Houston 24 12 .667 Los Angeles 21 16 .568 ZV Cincinnati 19 17 .528 5 Atlanta 15 20 .429 SM San Diego 15 23 .395 10 San Francisco 13 27 .325 13 TODAY METS, McAndrew (2-1) at St. Louis, Santorim (2-5), ni9ht. Montreal, Torrei (4-1) at Chicago, Jenkins (4-4). Philadelphia.

Chan-won (3-2) at Pitts- burgh, Johnson (0-2), night. San Diego. Kirbv (3-4i at Cincinnati, McGlothlin (1-4), night. Los Angeles, Singer (3-4) at Houston, Reuss (3-2), night. San Francisco.

-McDowell at Atlanta, liekro r.i.- EAST W. L. Pet. G.B. Cleveland 18 13 .581 Detroit 18 14 .563 Baltimore 17 15 .531 1 YANKEES 14 17 .452 4 Boston 12 18 .400 5 Milwaukee 10 19 .345 7 WEST W.

L. Pet. G.B. Chicago 21 11 .656 Oakland 20 11 .645 Minnesota 20 11 .645 Texas 15 20 .423 TVt Kansas City 12 20 .375 9 California ,13 22 9 TODAY Hot A TOTAL LOS? FOR IS RcDftAB-V BTTE(f THAnJ BliSXtR Tieev pauieW amp FACE SPLITS LIKE A TAM6gW. TO0CAA7EU 1 0f f0fl6flTPO? Detroit, Coleman (-3) at YANKEES.

Stottlemrr (4-4). Chicago. Bahnsen (6-4) at Oakland, Hunter (3-2). Milwaukee. la ton (1-5) at Boston, Sie-bert (2-2), night.

Cleveland, Perry (8-2) at Baltimore, Palmer (4-3). night. Texas, Bosman (2-4) at Minnesota, Woodson (3-2) Kansas City. Hedlund (B-4) at California, Clark (3-4), night. HOSOWS TO BFAT tea the TtTLE .11 -i I ivi.