MINNESOTA 5, OAKLAND 2 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Wednesday, April 15.

Batting stars:  Al Newman was 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI.  Greg Gagne was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Mike Smithson pitched 7.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts.  George Frazier struck out two in 1.1 innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Dave Stewart pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  Dwayne Murphy was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.

The game:  Puckett singled in a run in the third, Newman doubled one home in the fifth, and Puckett had another RBI single in the seventh to put the Twins up 3-0.  Doubles by Carney Lansford and Murphy made it 3-1 after seven, but Tom Nieto delivered a two-out two-run single in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

Of note:  Dan Gladden was 1-for-3 with a walk and three runs.  He was batting .400 on the young season.  Newman raised his average to .381.  Puckett raised his average to .444.  Randy Bush went 2-for-3 to raise his average to .321.  Roy Smalley went 0-for-4 but was still batting .310.  Greg Gagne raised his average to .346.  That's six of the nine batters in the starting lineup with averages over .300.

Record:  The Twins were 7-2, in first place, leading California by a game.

Notes:  Bush played right field in place of Tom Brunansky, who delivered a pinch-hit single in the eighth...Newman started at second base in place of Steve Lombardozzi.  Newman started nearly half the team's games in 1987, with 38 starts at shortstop, 32 at second base, 3 at third base, and 2 at DH...Bill Krueger, who would pitch for the Twins in 1992, was in the Oakland bullpen at the start of the 1987 season.  He made nine appearances, but pitched only 5.2 innings.  Four of those appearances and four of the innings were against the Twins.  He allowed three runs on six hits and two walks.  Two of the runs were in this game. He spent most of 1987 and 1988 in the minors before resurfacing with Milwaukee in 1989.  He had some decent seasons from 1989-1993, but was really never all that good, and after 1995 he was done.  He's had a successful life after baseball, though.   He's the Strategic Relationship Officer for Northwest Center, a nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities.  He is also a broadcaster for Root Sports Northwest.