Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-four

MINNESOTA 8, BOSTON 5 IN BOSTON

Date:  Friday, September 10.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base (his twenty-first), scoring once and driving in three.  Jerry Kindall was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with two doubles and a stolen base, his eighteenth.

Pitching star:  Jim Merritt struck out eight in 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Tony Conigliaro was 1-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-eighth) and three RBIs.  Lee Thomas was 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs.  Jay Ritchie struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.

The game:  Versalles hit a two-out three-run double in the second to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.  The Red Sox got an unearned run in the bottom of the second, but doubles by Oliva and Don Mincher produced a two-run Minnesota third that made it 5-1.  It was 5-2 going to the sixth, when Kindall had an RBI double and Jimmie Hall came up with a two-run single to make it 8-2.  Conigliaro hit a two-run homer and Frank Malzone had an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 8-5.  That was as good as it got, however, as the last nine Red Sox batters went out.

Of note:  Hall was 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.  Bob Allison was back in the lineup, going 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, his tenth.  Jim Perry pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Record:  The win made the Twins 90-54.  Chicago lost to New York, dropping them into a tie for second with Baltimore, eight games back.

Notes:  Oliva raised his average to .316...Jay Ritchie pitched for the Red Sox from 1964-65, for Atlanta from 1966-67, and for Cincinnati in 1968.  He made only two starts in his career, both for the Reds.  He was a decent reliever, going 8-13, 8 saves, 3.49, 1.36 WHIP in 291.1 innings (167 appearances).  He later became a scout for the Braves.  He passed away in January of 2016.  Of interest to no one but myself, he has the same name as my nephew.