CHICAGO 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Saturday, September 4.
Batting stars: Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his twentieth), scoring once and driving in one. Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Earl Battey was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
Pitching stars: "Stars" isn't really the right term today, but Mudcat Grant pitched seven innings, giving up four runs on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Bill Pleis pitched two innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Ken Berry was 1-for-3 with a home run (his tenth) and a walk, driving in two. Don Buford was 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base (his fourteenth), scoring once and driving in one. Ron Hansen was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.
The game: Pete Ward doubled in a run in the first to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. The Twins came back in the bottom of the first with two runs on no hits, as Hansen opened the game with two errors, a double steal put men on second and third, and a pair of RBI groundouts (Twins Baseball!) made it 2-1 Minnesota. Battey had an RBI double in the fourth to make it 3-1, but doubles by Tom McCraw and Buford keyed a two-run fifth to tie it 3-3. Berry homered in the fourth to make it 4-3 and in the eight Buford singled, went to second on a ground out, took third on a passed ball, and stole home to give the White Sox a 5-3 advantage. The Twins put men on second and third with one out in the ninth, but could only manage a sacrifice fly.
Record: The Twins went to 86-52 and their lead over Chicago dropped back to 6.5 games.
Notes: Oliva's average remained .320...Sandy Valdespino again replaced Bob Allison in left field...Ted Uhlaender made his major league debut in this game, pinch-hitting for Jerry Kindall in the seventh inning. He struck out...Hoyt Wilhelm pitched the last two innings of this game. He was forty-two in 1965 and would pitch seven more seasons. He made the all-star team in 1970 at age forty-seven... I always think of Don Buford as a Baltimore Oriole, but he actually played just as many seasons for the White Sox (five each).