MINNESOTA 3, BALTIMORE 2 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Friday, July 30.
Batting stars: Rich Rollins was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Earl Battey was 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.
Pitching star: Mudcat Grant pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Curt Blefary was 1-for-2 with a home run (his fourteenth) and a walk. Dave McNally pitched seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and five walks with two strikeouts. He was also 1-for-2 with a run. Russ Snyder was 1-for-4 with an RBI.
The game: Tony Oliva's RBI ground out put the Twins up 1-0 in the first. That lead held until the fifth, when Blefary homered to tie it. The Twins got the lead right back in the bottom of the fifth on Rollins' RBI double, but the Orioles tied it back up again in the top of the sixth when Snyder delivered an RBI single. It stayed 2-2 until the ninth. Don Mincher singled, Harmon Killebrew doubled, and Bob Allison was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. Battey then bunted and pitcher Dick Hall made an error, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Baltimore went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Of note: Oliva was 0-for-4 with an RBI. Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a double.
Record: The win made the Twins 64-37 and increased their lead to five games. Baltimore, by losing, fell into a tie for second with Cleveland, which beat the Yankees 5-0.
Notes: Battey was hitting .306. Oliva dropped to .305. Jimmie Hall did not play, with Joe Nossek taking over in center field...This was Curt Blefary's rookie year. He hit .260/.381/.470 with 22 homers and was the Rookie of the Year at age 21. His 1966 was similar: .255/.371/.468 with 23 homers at age 22. Those would be the best two seasons he would have. He was a starting outfielder for the Orioles through 1968 but when he batted only .200 in '68 he was traded to Houston in a deal that sent Mike Cuellar to Baltimore. He had a pretty good year for the Astros, hitting .253/.347/.393 with 12 homers in the spacious Astrodome, but it was the last good year he would have. He went to the Yankees in 1970, to Oakland in 1971, and finished his career with San Diego in 1972.