MINNESOTA 17, BOSTON 5 IN BOSTON

Date:  Tuesday, May 25.

Batting stars:  Bob Allison was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer (his fifth) and a walk, scoring three times.  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourth) and a double, scoring three times and driving in three.  Earl Battey was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and a walk, scoring twice and driving in five.

Pitching stars:  Mudcat Grant pitched a complete game, giving up five runs on eight hits and no walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Eddie Bressoud was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and a double.  Jerry Moses hit a pinch-hit home run.  Gary Geiger, who entered the game as a defensive replacement, hit a home run in his only at-bat.

The game:  Tony Oliva singled in the first run and a second scored on a ground out, putting the Twins up 2-0 in the first inning.  In the fourth, Allison hit a two-run homer and Jerry Kindall had a solo shot in a four-run inning that made it 6-0.  The Red Sox got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, but the Twins scored five in the fifth to put the game out of reach.  Battey had a three-run homer and Versalles a two-run homer in the inning.

Of note:  Rich Rollins was 2-for-6 with a double.  Oliva was 2-for-6 with a home run (his seventh), scoring twice and driving in three.  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-6 with two runs, raising his average to .302.

Record:  The win made the Twins 22-13, still in second place, but only one game behind Chicago.

Notes:  Pitchers were definitely used differently in 1965.  We've seen a lot of quick hooks, and then we see Grant pitch a complete game in a 17-5 victory.  I cannot think of a circumstance in which a pitcher would throw a 17-5 complete game now.