MINNESOTA 6, NEW YORK 5 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Sunday, July 11.
Batting stars: Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his sixteenth) and a walk, scoring twice. Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-4 with a home run (his tenth) and two walks, scoring twice. Rich Rollins was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.
Pitching stars: Bill Pleis pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two walks with one strikeout. Johnny Klippstein struck out both batters he faced.
Opposition stars: Elston Howard was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two. Mickey Mantle was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs. Hector Lopez was 2-for-4 with a walk.
The game: It was close all the way. The Yankees got an RBI single from Lopez in the first to go up 1-0, but Versalles homered in the third to tie it 1-1. In the fourth, two singles, a sacrifice fly, and an Earl Battey run-scoring single put the Twins up 3-1, but the Yankees got the two runs right back in the fifth when Howard came through with a two-run double. Rollins doubled in a run in the bottom of the fifth to put the Twins ahead again at 4-3, but a walk, a single, a walk, and a wild pitch tied it for the Yankees in the seventh. In the ninth, a single and two errors gave the Yankees a 5-4 advantage but with two out in the bottom of the ninth, Killebrew delivered a walk-off two-run homer to give the Twins the victory.
Of note: Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a run. Jimmie Hall was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Battey was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Jim Kaat pitched 4.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks with one strikeout.
Record: The win made the Twins 53-29 and gave them a five-game lead heading into the all-star break. Baltimore and Cleveland were now tied for second.
Notes: Hall now had an average of .325...Battey raised his average to .313...I don't remember Joe Nossek as having a reputation as a great defender, but he was in center field in this game, with Hall moving to left in place of Allison, who remained out of the lineup. Don Mincher pitch-hit for Nossek in the seventh and stayed in to play first, with Killebrew moving to left and Hall to center. It was one of only two games in which Killebrew would play in the outfield that season. He had been the Twins' regular left fielder from 1962-64, with Vic Power manning first base from 1962-63 and Allison as the primary starter there in 1964...Mantle was obviously back in the starting lineup but played left field. I hadn't realized this, but probably as a concession to age and/or injury, Mantle was no longer in center in 1965 but was the regular in left.