BALTIMORE 4, MINNESOTA 2 IN BALTIMORE
Date: Tuesday, September 28.
Batting stars: Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his twenty-third. John Sevcik was 1-for-4 with a double. Rich Rollins was 1-for-1 with a run.
Pitching star: Dave Boswell struck out four in three perfect innings of relief.
Opposition stars: Wally Bunker pitched 7.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Brooks Robinson was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in two. Luis Aparicio was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base (his twenty-sixth), scoring twice.
The game: RBI singles by Robinson and Jerry Adair put the Orioles up 2-0 in the first inning. Baltimore scored two more in the fifth without a hit, as Al Worthington came on to issue a walk, hit a batter, and then give up three more walks before settling down to retire the next three batters. In fact, the last twelve Orioles were retired, but it made no difference because the Twins were too far down. They had threatened in the third, as Sevcik was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on a single, but did not score until the eighth, when Killebrew hit a two-run homer. Jimmie Hall followed with a two-out single, but the last four Twins were retired.
Of note: Frank Quilici was 0-for-2 with a walk. Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-4. Hall was 1-for-4.
Record: The Twins record went to 99-59. Baltimore won its ninth straight game and remained in second, six games back.
Notes: With the pennant clinched, a few regulars were rested. Valdespino replaced Tony Oliva in right field. Andy Kosco played first base in place of Don Mincher. Jerry Kindall was at shortstop instead of Zoilo Versalles...The Versalles MVP award has been the subject of controversy, but manager Sam Mele clearly thought he was extremely valuable. This was only the second day off Versalles was given all season...The double by Sevcik was his one and only hit in the major leagues. He appeared in twelve games, all in 1965, and went 1-for-16.