MINNESOTA 6, CHICAGO 4 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Friday, September 3.
Batting stars: Tony Oliva was 3-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base (his sixteenth), driving in four. Don Mincher was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his nineteenth) and a walk. Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base (his ninteenth), scoring twice.
Pitching stars: Johnny Klippstein pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits with one strikeout. Al Worthington pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.
Opposition stars: John Romano was 2-for-3 with a home run (his sixteenth) and a walk, scoring twice. Ron Hansen was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Ken Berry was 1-for-3 with a home run, his ninth.
The game: The first three Twins reached base, with Oliva delivering a two-run single to give them a 2-0 lead. Romano homered in the second to make it 2-1, but Mincher hit a two-out two-run homer in the third to make it 4-1. Berry homered in the fifth to make it 4-2, but Oliva delivered another two-run single in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-2. Klippstein came in with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth and promptly gave up a two-run double to Hansen, but then settled down to retire the next five batters he faced. The White Sox put two on with two out in the ninth off Worthington, but Danny Cater grounded out to end the game.
Of note: Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-4 with a double and a run. Jim Kaat struck out six in 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks.
Record: The Twins went to 86-51 and stretched their lead over Chicago to 7.5 games.
Notes: This was a big series, at least from the White Sox' point of view. They entered the series 6.5 games back; had they swept it, they'd have been only 3.5 games out with still over twenty games to play. It was the last chance they were likely to have to get back into the pennant race...Oliva raised his average to .320. He was now 8-for-11 in his first three games back after missing five games...Valdespino played left in place of Bob Allison. It is surprising, given that the Twins had an outfield of Oliva, Jimmie Hall, and Allison, how much Valdespino played. Yes, sometimes it was due to injuries, but quite often it was not. He played in 108 games for the Twins, often as a pinch-hitter but often not. It was by far the most playing time he would get in a season and by far his best season, other than the sixty-three at-bats he got for Kansas City in 1971. He batted .261/.319/.322 in 245 at-bats.