TORONTO 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN TORONTO

Date:  Tuesday, April 28.

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Les Straker struck out three in two perfect innings of relief.  Jeff Reardon pitched a perfect inning of relief.

Opposition stars:  Jim Clancy pitched a complete game, giving up one run on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts.  George Bell was 1-for-2 with a home run (his fifth), a walk, and a hit batsman, scoring twice and driving in three.  Jesse Barfield was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks, scoring once.

The game:  Cecil Fielder's two-run single in the second put the Blue Jays up 2-0.  It was 3-0 after three, Hrbek's homer made it 3-1 in the fourth, and Bell hit a two-run homer in the fifth.  The Twins did not get a man past first base after the fourth inning.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 and is batting .346...Frank Viola pitched five innings, allowing five runs on five hits and five walks with four strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 12-8, in first place by a half game over California.

Notes:  Randy Bush was the leadoff batter in right field.  Brunansky was again in left with Dan Gladden on the bench...This was one of five relief appearances Straker made in 1987.  It appears that sometimes, when there was an off day, his spot in the rotation would be skipped and he would be used in relief... When people talk about the top pitchers of the 80s, Jim Clancy is seldom mentioned, but he was pretty good for most of the decade.  He joined the Blue Jays rotation in 1978 and was pretty mediocre.  He was injured for much of 1979 and was ineffective when he did pitch.  He led the league in walks in 1980 but still had some good numbers:  3.30 ERA, 1.38 WHIP.  He had a down year in 1981 but came back in 1982 to make his only all-star appearance and lead the league in starts with forty.  He remained in the Toronto rotation through 1988.  He became a free agent and signed with Houston for 1989.  Things did not go well for him there.  He moved to the bullpen in 1990, was traded to Atlanta in 1991, and ended his career after that season.  He never had great won-lost records, but he pitched over 200 innings six times and was over 190 two more time.  I'm not saying he was a superstar, but he was a valuable man to have around for quite a few seasons.