MINNESOTA 8, NEW YORK 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Thursday, August 12.

Batting stars:  Don Mincher was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his sixteenth), a double, and a walk, scoring twice.  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk, scoring twice.  Earl Battey was 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring twice.

Pitching star:  Jim Merritt pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on ten hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Clete Boyer was 3-for-4 with a home run (his eleventh) and a double.  Hector Lopez was 2-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.  Mickey Mantle was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

The game:  It was scoreless until the fourth, when Mincher hit a two-out two-run homer.  Tony Oliva's sacrifice fly in the fifth made it 3-0.  Each team scored once in the seventh.  The Twins put it away in the eighth when they got a pair of two-out walks and Frank Quilici circled the bases on a triple-plus error to make it 7-1.  Each team scored once in the ninth.

Of note:  Rich Rollins was 3-for-5 with a stolen base (his second, scoring once and driving in one.  Oliva was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Bob Allison was 0-for-5.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-5.

Record:  The win made the Twins 74-40.  Baltimore beat Boston 5-3, so the Twins' lead remained 8.5 games.

Notes:  Battey took over the team lead in batting with .310.  Oliva went to .308.  Hall dropped below .300 for the first time since May 31 at .299...Quilici's triple was the first of his major league career.  He would hit six in his career, four in 1968 and one in 1969...Battey hit seventeen triples in his career.  He never hit more than three in a season, but he had at least one every year from 1959-1967.