MINNESOTA 3, CALIFORNIA 1 IN CALIFORNIA
Date: Friday, August 20 (Game 2 of doubleheader).
Batting stars: Rich Rollins was 1-for-4 with a double and a run. Andy Kosco was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-1 with an RBI.
Pitching stars: Dave Boswell pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts. Johnny Klippstein struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up only a walk.
Opposition stars: George Brunet pitched 8.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and no walks with five strikeouts. Jose Cardenal was 1-for-4 with a home run (his eleventh) and a walk. Bobby Knoop was 2-for-3 with a walk.
The game: Cardenal homered leading off the bottom of the third to give the Angels a 1-0 lead. The Twins managed only three singles in the first eight innings, and after a one-out single by Kosco in the fourth the next fourteen Twins were retired. In the ninth, however, Zoilo Versalles led off with a single and Rollins doubled, putting men on second and third with none out. Tony Oliva hit a fielder's choice that did not result in an out, scoring Versalles to tie the score. Kosco followed with a sacrifice fly and Valdespino delivered a pinch-hit RBI single, giving the Twins a 3-1 lead. California was retired in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Of note: Versalles was 1-for-4 with a run. Oliva was 0-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Earl Battey was 1-for-1.
Record: The win made the Twins 78-45. Detroit swept a doubleheader from Boston and moved into a tie for second with Chicago, eight games back.
Notes: Kosco was in right field, with Oliva moving to center. Jimmie Hall was rested...Battey was removed in the fourth inning due to either injury, illness, or exhaustion--he had been asked to catch both games of a doubleheader in the middle of August. He would be back in the lineup the next day. Jerry Zimmerman took over at catcher...Oliva and Battey were now in a tie for the team batting lead, each at .310...Jose Cardenal was in the rookie year of what would turn out to be a long and successful career. He would be a major league regular from 1965-76 and was a reserve from 1977-80. His best years would be with the Cubs, for whom he played from 1972-77. He was named on a few MVP ballots in 1972 and 1973, but his best season was probably 1975, when he batted .317 with an OBP of .397. He was a major league coach for a number of years as well, with his coaching career ending in 2003 with Cincinnati. He is a cousin to longtime Oakland infielder Bert Campaneris.