WASHINGTON 10, MINNESOTA 7 IN WASHINGTON
Date: Tuesday, July 27 (Game 1 of doubleheader).
Batting stars: Earl Battey was 3-for-5 with a three-run homer (his fifth) and a double. Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer (his twenty-first) and a walk, scoring twice. Rich Rollins was 1-for-3 with two walks and a run.
Pitching star: Dwight Siebler pitched two perfect innings with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Mike Brumley was 2-for-3 with two home runs and a walk, driving in three. Don Blasingame was 1-for-3 with a triple and two walks, scoring twice and driving in one. Pete Richert struck out eight in 6.2 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on seven hits and four walks.
The game: The Senators scored one in the second and two in the third, but took control of the game with a six-run fourth which put them ahead 9-0. Don Zimmer had an RBI single, Brumley hit a two-run homer, Blasingame contributed a run-scoring triple, Willie Kirkland drove in one with a single, and a ground out finished the scoring. The Twins got on the board in the sixth on Killebrew's two-run homer, but Washington got one of the runs back in the bottom of the sixth on a Frank Howard RBI single to make it 10-2. In the seventh, two walks, two errors, and Battey's three-run homer (all with two out) got the Twins back into the game at 10-7. That was as good as it got, though. The Twins brought the tying run up to the plate with two out in the eighth, but Mike McCormick got Tony Oliva to ground out, ending the threat.
Of note: Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-5. Oliva was 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs. Jimmie Hall was used as a pinch-hitter and was 0-for-1. Jim Perry lasted only 3.1 innings, giving up five runs on five hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
Record: The game one loss made the Twins 61-37. Combined with a Baltimore extra-inning win, the Twins lead over the Orioles fell to 3.5 games.
Notes: Versalles had his average drop to .228...Battey brought his average back over .300 at .301...Hall fell to .306...This was the first bad start Perry had since joining the rotation at the beginning of the month...This was the first good season Pete Richert had. After struggling with the Dodgers, he was traded with Howard and others to the Senators, went 15-12, 2.60, and made the all-star team. He would make the all-star team again in 1966. Traded to Baltimore during the 1967 season, he would have several good years as a reliever for the Orioles and for other teams...The two home runs Mike Brumley hit were 67% of his season total and 40% of his career total. He had been the regular catcher for the Senators in 1964, shared the job with Doug Camilli in 1965, and was mostly in the minors through 1969. He is the father of the Mike Brumley who was an infielder from 1987-1995.