Lolich won 22 games and posted a career-best 2.50 ERA in 1972 to help the Tigers win the American League Eastern Division championship. He pitched impressively in the 1972 American League Championship Series against the Oakland Athletics, posting a 1.42 ERA in two starts. In Game 1, he pitched 10 innings allowing only 1 run before losing the game in the bottom of the 11th inning on an unearned run. He pitched nine innings in Game 4, again allowing only 1 run, but the win went to reliever John Hiller as the Tigers rallied in the 10th inning. The Tigers eventually lost the series to Oakland in five games. He finished third in the 1972 Cy Young Award voting behind Gaylord Perry and Wilbur Wood.