MINNESOTA 8, NEW YORK 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Thursday, April 22.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, and a stolen base, scoring twice and driving in three.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his second and third), driving in four.  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-5 with a run.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Rollie Sheldon struck out four in 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up three hits.  Bob Schmidt was 2-for-4.  Joe Pepitone was 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch, scoring once.

The game:  A walk, an error, and a ground out put the Yankees on the board 1-0 in the first.  The Twins came back with three in the second, tying it on a Jerry Kindall RBI single and taking the lead on a two-run single by Versalles.  It stayed 3-1 until the seventh, when Oliva hit a two-run homer.  Hector Lopez delivered a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to cut the Twins lead to 5-2.  The Twins added three in the ninth when Versalles hit an inside-the-park home run and Oliva hit another two-run homer.

Of note:  Rich Rollins was 0-for-4 with a walk and a run.  Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Kaat was 1-for-4, dropping his average to .300.

Record:  The win made the Twins 5-1, in first place, a half-game ahead of Detroit.