NEW YORK 8, MINNESOTA 6 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Saturday, July 10 (Game 2 of doubleheader)
Batting stars: Don Mincher was 2-for-5 with a triple, scoring once and driving in three. Tony Oliva was 4-for-5 with a stolen base (his eighth) and a run. Sandy Valdespino was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.
Pitching star: Mel Nelson pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Roger Repoz was 4-for-5 with a home run (his fifth) and a triple, scoring three times. Hector Lopez was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fifth) and two walks, scoring twice. Clete Boyer was 1-for-4 with a grand slam, his ninth homer.
The game: Jimmie Hall's RBI double got the Twins on the board in the first, but Repoz and Lopez led off the second with back-to-back homers to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Ray Barker doubled in a run in the fourth to make it 3-1. The Twins came back in the fifth, getting a three-run double by Mincher and a run-scoring single by Valdespino to go ahead 5-3. Phil Linz singled in a run in the sixth to make it 5-4. In the seventh, a single, a walk, and a bunt single, all off Dick Stigman, loaded the bases with none out. Johnny Klippstein then came in to face Boyer, who hit a grand slam to give the Yankees an 8-5 edge. The Twins got three singles in the ninth, cutting the lead to 8-6 and putting the tying run on base with two out, but Steve Hamilton struck out Bernie Allen to end the game.
Of note: Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs. Hall was 1-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-5 with a run. Mudcat Grant struck out six in 6.1 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and no walks.
Record: The loss snapped the Twins' nine-game winning streak and made their record 52-29. They remained in first place, four games ahead of Cleveland, which lost to California 1-0.
Notes: Hall's average dropped to .325...Bob Allison and Earl Battey did not play, with Valdespino and Jerry Zimmerman taking their spots in the lineup...Mickey Mantle was out again as well, with Repoz playing center...Tom Tresh was also out of the lineup, with Joe Pepitone taking his spot in the outfield and Ray Barker coming into the lineup to play first base...It seems somehow fitting that we've reached the half-way point of the season on Christmas Day.