MINNESOTA 4, DETROIT 3 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Friday, June 25.
Batting stars: Don Mincher was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third) and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two. Bernie Allen was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Joe Nossek was 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit RBI.
Pitching stars: Al Worthington pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk with one strikeout. Johnny Klippstein pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Dave Wickersham pitched 8.2 innings, allowing four runs on three hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Don Demeter was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and two RBIs. Al Kaline was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourteenth.
The game: Kaline opened the scoring with a home run in the fourth. The Twins got the run back with Mincher's RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, but Demeter homered in the fifth and delivered an RBI single in the sixth to put the Tigers up 3-1. Mincher homered in the seventh, but the Twins still trailed 3-2 going to the bottom of the ninth. The first two batters went out, but then Wickersham issued a pair of walks that ended his day. Fred Gladding came in and gave up an RBI single to Allen, tying the score. The runners had moved up to second and third on a failed throw to the plate, so Rich Rollins was intentionally walked to load the bases. Nossek then pinch-hit and singled home the winning run.
Of note: Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4. Sandy Valdespino, again playing in place of Bob Allison, was 0-for-4. Tony Oliva was 0-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base (his sixth), and a run. Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4. dropping his average to .323. Starter Dave Boswell pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and no walks with htree strikeouts.
Record: The win made the Twins 40-25 and kept them in first place by a half game over Chicago and Cleveland.
Notes: In my memory Dave Wickersham was a relief pitcher, but that was a bit later in his career. He was a rotation starter from 1963-65, started his transition to the bullpen in 1966, and was almost exclusively a reliever from 1967-69, after which his career ended.