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At an age when many pitchers are finishing their careers, Lindy McDaniel was establishing a personal standard for endurance.

On Aug. 4, 1973, McDaniel, 37, pitched 13 innings in relief and got the win for the Yankees in a game against the Tigers.

It was the most innings McDaniel had pitched in a game since entering the majors at 19 with the Cardinals in 1955. His previous high was 9.2 innings for the Cardinals in a start against the Dodgers at Brooklyn in June 1957.

“He is one of the best-conditioned athletes I have ever managed,” the Yankees’ Ralph Houk told The Sporting News.

McDaniel entered the game in the second inning and pitched through the 14th. He allowed one run, a home run by Mickey Stanley in the fifth, and held the Tigers scoreless over the last nine innings, the equivalent of a complete-game shutout.

Yankee dandies

The bullpen combination of McDaniel, a right-hander, and left-hander Sparky Lyle helped the Yankees contend in the American League East in 1973. “I don’t see any club in the division stronger in the bullpen than we are,” Houk said.

The Sporting News noted, “McDaniel and Lyle are as different as day and night. Lindy is the austere, quiet lay preacher who is all business at all times. Sparky is the bon vivant, the fun-loving Rover boy of loud laughter and practical jokes. Yet they have one similarity: neither frets about his day’s work when it is over, nor does either get too carried away by success.”

Entering their Saturday night game at Detroit, the Yankees (60-51) were tied with the Tigers (58-49) for second place, a half-game behind the Orioles (57-47).

The starting pitchers were left-handers, Fritz Peterson for the Yankees and Woodie Fryman for the Tigers.

In the first inning, the Tigers scored a run. While fielding a groundball for the third out, Peterson felt discomfort in his thigh. When he went out to pitch the second, Peterson threw one pitch to the first batter, felt pain in his leg and removed himself from the game.

Houk brought in McDaniel to relieve.

Good stuff

The Yankees reached Fryman for a run in the third, tying the score at 1-1, and Stanley’s home run against McDaniel put the Tigers back in front, 2-1, in the fifth.

Facing a Tigers lineup featuring Al Kaline, Willie Horton and Frank Howard in the third through fifth spots in the order, McDaniel kept them in check.

“The secret is velocity,” McDaniel told The Sporting News. “I can’t succeed without it. My velocity is better than it had been in a long time. If I have good velocity, I can be successful without a good forkball. A fastball and slider are enough, but when I also have the good forkball, I really can do a job. Without velocity, I can’t go to the fastball when my forkball is off.”

In the ninth, the Yankees had Hal Lanier on first with two outs, when Matty Alou came to the plate to face John Hiller, the Tigers’ closer. The matchup appeared to favor Hiller, the American League saves leader and a left-hander. Alou, who batted from the left side, drove a pitch to the wall in left-center for a double, scoring Lanier with the tying run.

The Tigers threatened in the 12th, loading the bases with two outs, but McDaniel got Tony Taylor to fly out to end the inning.

Oh, what a night

As the game entered the 14th, Houk decided he would lift McDaniel in the bottom half of the inning. Lyle was warming and ready in the bullpen.

Horace Clarke changed Houk’s thinking when he led off the top of the 14th with a home run, his first since September 1972, against Hiller. “I surprised myself as much as everyone in the park,” Clarke told the Detroit Free Press.

With the Yankees ahead, 3-2, Houk stayed with McDaniel to pitch the bottom half of the 14th. “I felt he deserved it,” Houk said.

McDaniel delivered, retiring the Tigers in order. Boxscore

The win boosted McDaniel’s record for the season to 9-3.

“I’m specializing in wins this year and letting Sparky take care of the saves,” McDaniel said to the Detroit Free Press.

McDaniel’s line for the game: 13 innings, 48 batters faced, 6 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts.

“Did you ever see anything like that in your life?” Houk asked.

Dick Young of the New York Daily News wrote, “Of all the wondrous things this night, the most magnificent was the job turned in by Lindy McDaniel.”

Joe Falls of the Detroit Free Press offered, “It was the most amazing night of his baseball life.”

McDaniel’s 13 innings in relief represented a personal best, but not a baseball best. On June 17, 1915, Zip Zabel of the Cubs pitched 18.1 innings of relief in a win against the Dodgers. Boxscore

According to the New York Daily News, the American League mark for most innings pitched in relief in a game was established by Eddie Rommel, who went 17 innings for the Athletics in a win versus the Indians on July 10, 1932. Boxscore

Durable winner

The Yankees and Tigers eventually fell out of contention, and the Orioles won the division title, finishing eight games ahead of the runner-up Red Sox.

McDaniel had a 12-6 record with 10 saves and a 2.86 ERA. He asked for a chance to start and Houk granted the request. As a starter in 1973, McDaniel was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA. As a reliever, he was 12-4 with a 2.60 ERA.

Traded to the Royals after the 1973 season for Lou Piniella, McDaniel pitched two seasons for Kansas City. Though primarily a reliever, he made a few starts as well. On June 23, 1974, when he was 38, McDaniel pitched a three-hitter for the Royals in a 4-1 win versus the defending World Series champion Athletics. Boxscore