MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, July 8.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Earl Battey was 3-for-4 with a double and a run.  Bernie Allen was 1-for-3 with three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts.  Johnny Klippstein pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up two walks with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Eddie Bressoud was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring once.  Felix Mantilla was 0-for-1 with three walks and a run.  Dennis Bennett pitched three innings of relief, allowing one run on four hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

The game:  Allen's two-run single gave the Twins a 2-0 lead in the second.  A sacrifice fly by Hall in the third and another by Allen in the fourth made it 4-0.  The Red Sox got an RBI single by Chuck Schilling in the fifth and a sacrifice fly by Bob Tillman in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-2.  The Twins got another sacrifice fly in the seventh, this one by Harmon Killebrew, to go up 5-2.  With two out in the ninth, a strikeout/wild pitch and a walk brought the tying run to the plate, but Al Worthington came in to retire Schilling on a fly out to end the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch and an RBI.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Record:  The win was the Twins' seventh straight and made them 50-28.  Their lead fell to a game and a half, however, as Cleveland swept a doubleheader from the White Sox.

Notes:  Hall raised his average to .326.  Battey raised his average to .316...Jim Lonborg started for the Red Sox and took the loss.  It dropped his record to 5-9 with a 3.18 ERA.