WASHINGTON 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Tuesday, May 27.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4.  Rick Renick was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Pitching star:  Jerry Crider pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Future Twin Brant Alyea was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fifth) and three RBIs.  Barry Moore pitched a complete game, giving up one run on six hits and two walks and striking out three.  Paul Casanova was 2-for-4.

The game:  With two out in the bottom of the first, Frank Howard reached on an error and Alyea made the Twins pay with a two-run homer, putting the Senators up 2-0.  The Twins wasted a two-out double from George Mitterwald in the second and also did not score in the third after getting a pair of singles.

Washington added to its lead in the fourth.  With one out, Tim Cullen and Casanova singled.  Moore bunted them up, and Ed Brinkman delivered a two-run single to make the score 4-0 Senators.

Renick got the Twins on the board in the fifth with a leadoff home run.  With two out in the inning Cardenas singled and Harmon Killebrew walked, but Tony Oliva flied out to end the inning with the score still 4-1.  The Senators added one more run in the seventh, and it was Alyea again doing the damage.  With one out, Hank Allen singled and stole second.  Howard was intentionally walked, but Alyea singled the run home to put Washington ahead 5-1.  The Twins did not threaten again.

WP:  Moore (3-1).  LP:  Tom Hall (2-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  It was kind of a B lineup, with many regulars rested.  Cesar Tovar was in center instead of Ted Uhlaender.  Bob Allison was in left, which was not that unusual but Charlie Manuel had been getting the starts there recently.  George Mitterwald caught in place of Johnny Roseboro.  Frank Quilici was at second instead of Rod Carew.  Renick was at third.

Hall apparently had some sort of injury.  He was awesome in his first four appearances of the season (two starts, two in relief), then struggled in his next three starts.  He did not pitch from April 30 to May 23.  He struggled in two more starts, would do well in his next one, then go back to the bullpen, then miss another month.  In this game, he lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks and striking out one.

Cardenas raised his average to .301.

This was Crider's second major league appearance.  He had not given up a run in three innings.

Dean Chance, who had not pitched since May 17, pitched two innings of mop-up relief in this game.  He would make one more appearance on May 30, then miss the next two months, coming back on August 1.  His ERA was 2.43 at this point.

So who is this Barry Moore that threw a complete game at the Twins?  It turns out he was a fairly decent pitcher for a couple of years, anyway.  He made eleven starts for Washington in 1966 and was 3-3, 3.75, although with a WHIP of 1.51.  He did fairly well in 1967 and then had his best season in 1968, going just 4-6 but with an ERA of 3.37 and a WHIP of 1.34.  He made 18 starts and 14 relief appearances that season.  It looks like he always had control trouble--he only had one season in which his walks per nine innings were less than 4.3.  That was, as one might assume, that best season of 1968, when his walk rate went all the way down to 3.2.  1969 was the only year he had a winning record, at 9-8, but his ERA was up to 4.30 and his WHIP was up to 1.42.  The Senators apparently saw that his effectiveness was at an end and traded him to Cleveland after the season.  He split 1970 between the Indians and the White Sox, pitched in AAA for three seasons, and then was done.  For his career he was 26-37, 4.16, 1.46 WHIP.  He walked 4.5 batters per nine innings and struck out just 4.2.  From 1966-1968, though, he posted an ERA of 3.61 in 323.2 innings.  This was one of eight complete games in his career, four of them coming in 1969.  His only shutout came in 1967 and was also against the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 24-17, in first place in the American League West, one game ahead of Oakland.

MINNESOTA 3, NEW YORK 2 IN NEW YORK (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Sunday, May 25.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Charlie Manuel was 2-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.  Rod Carew was 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, and a stolen base (his ninth).

Pitching star:  Dick Woodson struck out nine in eight innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Stan Bahnsen struck out six in 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and five walks.  Johnny Ellis was 1-for-1 with two RBIs.

The game:  The Yankees put men on first and second in the third but did not score.  In the fourth, the Twins loaded the bases with one out as Carew walked, Killebrew doubled, and Manuel was intentionally walked.  They only scored one, as Leo Cardenas hit a fielders' choice and Cesar Tovar grounded out.  Still, it was a 1-0 Minnesota lead.

The Twins again loaded the bases in the fifth, this time with two out.  Woodson hit a one-out single, Carew had a two-out double, and Tony Oliva was intentionally walked.  Killebrew flied out, however, and the Twins did not score.

The Twins got another run in the sixth, but again missed a bigger chance.  Manuel led off with a home run.  Tovar doubled, Johnny Roseboro was intentionally walked, and the two pulled off a double steal of second and third with one out.  It went for naught, however, as Woodson struck out and Ted Uhlaender lined to center.  Still, the score was now 2-0.

The Twins added a run in the seventh.  Carew led off with a single and Oliva bunted him to second.  New York elected to pitch to Killebrew, and he delivered an RBI single to make the score 3-0.

The Yankees got back into it in the ninth.  Jerry Kenney led off with a walk, which resulted in Woodson being pulled in favor of Ron Perranoski.  He walked Bobby Murcer, and a ground out put men on second and third.  Ellis pinch-hit for Jimmie Hall and brought them both home with a single to make it 3-2.  Perranoski came back to strike out Frank Fernandez and get Tom Tresh on a grounder to end the game.

WP:  Woodson (2-1).  LP:  Bahnsen (1-7).  S:  Perranoski (9).

Notes:  Tovar again played third base.  He moved to left in the seventh, replacing Manuel, with Frank Quilici coming in to play third.

Woodson made only ten starts in 1969, coming out of the bullpen thirty-four times.  By game scores, this was his best so far and would be his second-best of the season. It was topped only by a complete game he would pitch on June 19 against California.  His fifth-inning single was one of only two hits (in twenty-seven at-bats) that he would have in 1969.

Carew was now batting .391.  Manuel was now hitting .347.  Woodson's ERA was now 2.85.

Killebrew had been in something of a batting slump.  From an average of .316 on May 4, he was down to .259 prior to this game.  He did not take a prolonged 0-for, but this was only his second multi-hit game since May 7.  Killer's calling card was power, of course, not batting average, but he had not hit for much power, either.  He had hit only one home run since May 9 and his double here was only his third in that span.

The Twins won three of four from the Yankees despite scoring just eight runs.  They out-scored New York by eight to seven in the series.  They had scored just eighteen runs in their last ten games but managed to win four of them.

Record:  The Twins were 23-16, in first place in the American League West, 1.5 games ahead of Oakland.