Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Twenty-six

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BALTIMORE 6, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, May 6.

Batting star:  Tom Nieto was 2-for-3.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Scott McGregor pitched a complete game shutout, giving up three hits and three walks with one strikeout.  Cal Ripken was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his ninth.  Ray Knight was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  An RBI groundout put the Orioles up 1-0 in the second, in the third, the first three Baltimore batters singled, making it 2-0, and Ripken followed with a three-run homer to make it 5-0.  Twins starter Bert Blyleven settled down after that, and the Orioles did not score again until the ninth.  Unfortunately, the Twins could do nothing against McGregor.  The only man to advance past first base was Steve Lombardozzi, who led off the fourth with a single, was bunted to second, and advanced to third on a ground out.  Tom Brunansky lined to first to end the inning.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .337...Blyleven recovered from the poor start to pitch 8.1 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and a walk.  He only struck out one, but he pitched well other than the pitch he left up to Ripken.

Record:  The Twins were 14-12, tied for second with Kansas City, a game behind California.

Notes:  Tim Laudner was the designated hitter in this game.  He came in batting .067.  He went 0-for-3, dropping his average to .056...Scott McGregor is another fine pitcher that people seem to have forgotten about.  He spent his entire major league career with the Orioles, coming to the organization in a mammoth trade in 1976 in which McGregor, Rick Dempsey, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May went to Baltimore and Doyle Alexander, Jimmy Freeman, Elrod Hendricks, Ken Holtzman, and Grant Jackson went to the Yankees.  He made his Orioles debut as a September callup in 1976 and came up to stay early in 1977.  He joined the rotation in 1978 and stayed there through 1987.  He posted double digit wins from 1978-86 and ERAs in the threes seven times in that period.  His best years were 1980 (20-8, 3.32, 1.24 WHIP) and 1983 (18-7, 3.17, 1.22 WHIP).  By 1987, though, he was on his last legs.  This and a game against Cleveland in April were his only good starts, and by June he was out of the rotation.  He would appear in four games in 1988, then his career was over.  He was not a superstar--he only made one all-star team (1981) and only twice received Cy Young consideration--but he was a rotation starter for Baltimore for nine years.  His final record was 138-108, 3.99, 1.29 WHIP.

8 thoughts on “1987 Rewind: Game Twenty-six”

  1. In 1987 the starter goes 8.1 innings in this game; in what inning does the groundskeeper come into the same game in 2016?

    1. If Molitor's managing and it's one of his young starters on the mound, he pulls him in the third and uses five or six relievers for about an inning apiece. But the thing is--and I should've mentioned this in the game story, but was simply in too big a hurry and didn't notice--after Ripken's three-run homer Blyleven retired the next eighteen batters. He didn't allow another baserunner until Eddie Murray hit a ground ball in the hole to lead off the ninth.

      2. About the only thing I ever thought Ozzie Guillen did a good job was keeping his starters in the game when trailing big early. He would usually get his 100+ pitches from a starter even if he gave up 5, 6, 7 runs as long as his own offense didn't suddenly get back into the game. And really, what's the point of bringing in relievers other than to just get through the game because once you're down 5+ runs, you've got about 1 chance in 50 of winning, so might as well get as many innings as possible out of the starter as long as he's throwing strikes and getting outs.

  2. Doyle Alexander, of course, was traded to the Tigers in '87 for John Smoltz. Alexander pitched for the Tigers in the '87 ALCS vs. the Twins and Smoltz pitched for the Braves against the Twins in the '91 World Series. I never stopped to think about how that trade was so important in Twins history considering it didn't involve them at all.

    1. I believe Morris was interested in coming to Minnesota as a free agent in the winter of '86-'87, but it didn't work out.

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